· 48% of UAE & 46% of KSA
residents confirmed they intended to make an international trip within the next
12 months
· Survey results further good
news for ME aviation sector after vaccines begin to roll out around the world, says
Arabian Travel Market
The poll, which was conducted during
October and November 2020, asked recipients if they were planning to make an
international trip within the next 12 months and 48% of those polled in the UAE
confirmed their intent to travel, with Saudi Arabia coming in a close second
with 46% of respondents confirming their intent to travel abroad in 2021.
“Nearly half of those polled, confirmed
that they intended to travel in 2021 and once vaccines have been rolled out around
the world, those numbers can only increase.
“In terms of outbound travel, many
expatriates will be looking for a relaxing holiday or hoping to travel home to
see family and friends.
“In terms of inbound travel, it was
welcome news that almost a third of Germans polled said that they intended to
travel internationally – Germany is one of the largest European feeder markets to
the GCC, 1.8 million overnight stays in 2018. Indeed, over 316,000 Germans
visited Dubai between January and June 2019.”
Denmark, Norway and Germany rounded off
the top five places with 36%, 34% and 31% respectively, with intent to travel
overseas, while Japan at 5%, China at 10% and US on 14% were the least likely
to travel internationally in 2021.
In terms of domestic travel, Thailand
came out on top with 68% of residents confirming their intent to travel, with
Indonesia (61%), Australia (59%), China (55%) and Malaysia (54%) making up the
rest of the top five.
Singapore was at the bottom of the
domestic travel poll with just 14% of respondents saying that they intended to
travel in 2021, followed by Canada (27%), UAE (35%), KSA (37%) and Germany
(40%).
“Much of the domestic travel in Asia
will no doubt be linked to Chinese New Year, which is due to take place on 12th
February” added Curtis.
Now in its 28th year and
working in collaboration with DWTC and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and
Commerce Marketing (DTCM), the theme of the show next year will be ‘A new
dawn for travel and tourism’ and the spotlight will be thrown onto the current
state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds. It will also
look at emerging trends and how innovation can drive the industry forward.
ATM 2021 will also play
an integral role in Arabian Travel Week and for the first time, a new hybrid format
will be in place. This means an additional virtual ATM will be organised to run
the following week, which will complement the live event by accommodating
visitors who may be unable to travel to Dubai. The inaugural ATM Virtual 2020, attracted 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries, over three days.
Other notable features of Arabian Travel Week will include International Luxury Travel Market Arabia, (ILTM Arabia) and Travel Forward, the travel technology vertical. ATM will also be partnering with Arival, with content covering future trends for tour operators and destination managers.
Other highlights will include Buyers Forums dedicated to key source markets including Saudi Arabia, India and China plus a virtual digital influencers’ speed networking the session, a hotel summit and a responsible tourism programme.
ATM generally welcomes thousands of
travel trade professionals from more than 150 countries and is considered a
barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector. As such DWTC has set out to provide
a touchless and seamless experience.
“The team
at DWTC is working hard to ensure that all events run safely and have
implemented a range of measures including an enhanced cleaning regime, improved
air circulation, multiple hand sanitiser stations and temperature checks,”
added Curtis.
Tags: Arabian Travel Market
