Eid season brings brisk business for exchange houses in Qatar

With the advent of Eid Al-Fitr, exchange houses are witnessing a great demand from citizens and residents wishing to buy foreign currencies for the purpose of traveling for vacation outside the country or wishing to transfer money to their families to bring happiness to them and help them with Eid expenses, as exchange offices made sure to keep their doors opened for longer hours around the day, including working during Eid vacation to meet the demand of all clients.Several owners and officials of exchange companies expected that they would achieve great gains during the Eid Al-Fitr season, pointing out that Qatar enjoys a solid and strong economy that promoted the existence of an ideal and attractive environment for job seekers, especially considering the availability of various, multiple, and safe channels to send money abroad. The exchange and transfer operation from and to the State of Qatar is rising, and demand for foreign currency is also increasing.In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), CEO of Al Dar for Exchange Works Jumah Al Maadhdi stressed that the Eid Al-Fitr holiday has greatly revived the exchange markets, indicating that exchange companies witnessed a great turnout during the past few days from citizens and residents who buy foreign currencies for the purposes of traveling for vacation outside the country or residents who transfer money to their families to celebrate the holiday.He added that two Gulf currencies, Saudi Ryal and the UAE Dirhams witnessed increased demand during the period that preceded Eid Al-Fitr, as demand on them from citizens and residents wishing to travel to these two countries increased by 50 to 60%, in addition to a significant increase in the demand for the Euro and the Pound Sterling.On the destinations of the remittances sent abroad from the State of Qatar, the CEO of Al Dar for Exchange Works indicated that India and Nepal came first and second in terms of the number of remittances sent abroad, followed by other Asian countries and Arab countries.In his remarks to QNA, CEO of Gulf Exchange Ahmad Al Sarraf stressed that demand for foreign currencies doubled during the few days before Eid Al-Fitr, especially with the commencement of Eid holiday, as turnout usually increases in Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha and when annual vacations season draws near because these occasions are accompanied by strong travel movement to outside the country, thus reviving the exchange sector in Qatar.He indicated the strong demand for the US dollar days before Eid Al-Fitr, recording the most demanded currency, followed by the Euro, the Pound Sterling, along with Gulf, Arab, and Asian currencies.He attributed that increase to the strong and active return of the international tourism sector after the Covid-19 pandemic and the gradual lift of imposed restrictions and procedures, as well as the huge increase in travel trips for Umrah during Ramadan, which increased the demand for various foreign currencies compared to the same period of the past years.Regarding the main destination for the remittances, the CEO of Gulf Exchange indicated that several countries from South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa formed the big portion of the total financial remittances that took place during the past few days, pointing out that the financial remittances of Asian workers represent about half of the total remittances, followed by remittances to Arab and African countries.