This thread is old and the code provided is deprecated due to changes in JQuery 1.9.1 and current versions (3.5.1).
While there are several other jquery-hoverintent discussions on the web, e.g.
[StackOverflow] Delay jquery hover event?
... this thread is good as it directly addresses Ajax and the JQuery .tabs() ecosystem, here with hoverIntent.js.
I wanted to get this approach / code working for my project, so I dumped @eric-goncalves excellent JSFiddle (other answer, here) into a HTML file and debugged it.
As a Javascript novice I'm not sure that this code is the best current approach to JQuery ui-tab delayed loading (noting again the much-upvoted StackOverflow discussion linked above).
I was not able to implement that example due to the specific applications embedded into that code and the lack of a working copy, obfuscating it's generalization.
However I was able to implement Eric Goncalves's code, which I provide below as a complete, working copy. :-)
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html encoding="UTF-8" charset="UTF-8" lang="en-US" language="English" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/" itemtype="http://schema.org/WebPage">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=0.1">
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="#">
<title>Adding hoverintent to JQuery ui-tabs</title>
<!-- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15346939/adding-hoverintent-to-jquery-ui-tabs -->
<!-- ALL JQUERY VERSIONS: https://code.jquery.com/jquery/ -->
<!-- <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.9.1.min.js" integrity="sha256-wS9gmOZBqsqWxgIVgA8Y9WcQOa7PgSIX+rPA0VL2rbQ=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> -->
<!-- COMMENT: all three of these JQuery scripts are required.  Note COMMENTS -->
<!-- in code for updates from jquery-1.9.1.min.js >> jquery-3.5.1.min.js -->
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.min.js" integrity="sha256-9/aliU8dGd2tb6OSsuzixeV4y/faTqgFtohetphbbj0=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.12.1/jquery-ui.min.js" integrity="sha256-VazP97ZCwtekAsvgPBSUwPFKdrwD3unUfSGVYrahUqU=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.12.1/themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css">
<script type = "text/javascript">
  $(init);
  function init(){
      $("#tabs").tabs({event: "click hoverintent"});
  };  /* init(){} */
  var cfg = ($.hoverintent = {
    sensitivity: 3,
    interval: 400
  });  /* cfg */
  $.event.special.hoverintent = {
    setup: function() {
      $( this ).bind( "mouseover", jQuery.event.special.hoverintent.handler );
    },  /* setup (){} */
    teardown: function() {
      $( this ).unbind( "mouseover", jQuery.event.special.hoverintent.handler );
    },  /* teardown */
    handler: function( event ) {
      var that = this,
      args = arguments,
      target = $( event.target ),
      cX, cY, pX, pY;
      function track( event ) {
        cX = event.pageX;
        cY = event.pageY;
      };  /* track */
      pX = event.pageX;
      pY = event.pageY;
      function clear() {
        target
        .unbind( "mousemove", track )
        .unbind( "mouseout", arguments.callee );
        clearTimeout( timeout );
      }  /* clear */
      function handler() {
        if ( ( Math.abs( pX - cX ) + Math.abs( pY - cY ) ) < cfg.sensitivity ) {
          clear();
          event.type = "hoverintent";
          // prevent accessing the original event since the new event
          // is fired asynchronously and the old event is no longer
          // usable (#6028)
          //
          // COMMENT [2021-01-20]:
          //   "Uncaught TypeError: e.preventDefault is not a function"
          //   SWITCHING FROM JQuery 1.9.1 to 3.5.1 comment out this line:
          //
          // event.originalEvent = {};
          // COMMENT [2021-01-20]:
          //   "Uncaught TypeError: jQuery.event.handle is undefined"
          //   jQuery.event.handle is deprecated; you can use $.event.dispatch instead.
          //   https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16527658/jquery-error-typeerror-event-handle-is-undefined
          //
          // jQuery.event.handle.apply( that, args );
          jQuery.event.dispatch.apply( that, args );
        }  /* if */
        else {
          pX = cX;
          pY = cY;
          timeout = setTimeout( handler, cfg.interval );
        }  /* else */
      }    /* handler (inner) */
      var timeout = setTimeout( handler, cfg.interval );
      target.mousemove( track ).mouseout( clear );
      return true;
    }  /* handler (outer) */
  };   /* event.special.hoverintent */
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="tabs">
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#tabs-1">Nunc tincidunt</a></li>
    <li><a href="#tabs-2">Proin dolor</a></li>
    <li><a href="#tabs-3">Aenean lacinia</a></li>
  </ul>
  <div id="tabs-1">
    <p>Proin elit arcu, rutrum commodo, vehicula tempus, commodo a, risus. Curabitur nec arcu. Donec sollicitudin mi sit amet mauris. Nam elementum quam ullamcorper ante. </p>
  </div>
  <div id="tabs-2">
    <p>Morbi tincidunt, dui sit amet facilisis feugiat, odio metus gravida ante, ut pharetra massa metus id nunc. Duis scelerisque molestie turpis.</p>
  </div>
  <div id="tabs-3">
    <p>Mauris eleifend est et turpis. Duis id erat. Suspendisse potenti. Aliquam vulputate, pede vel vehicula accumsan, mi neque rutrum erat, eu congue orci lorem eget lorem. Vestibulum non ante. </p>
  </div>
</div>
</body>
</html>