GCC outbound travelers spent $69 bln in 2018: report

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) saw travelers spend over $69 billion worldwide in 2018, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2017, GlobalData said in a recent report.

Visiting friends and relatives, and religious pilgrimages still heavily influence both domestic and intra-regional travel decisions in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with 52 percent and 20 percent of respective outbound consumers traveling for these reasons last year.

Vacation types such as cruises (36 percent), city breaks (33 percent), adventure/sport holidays (30 percent) and culinary holidays (30 percent) are also spurring outbound travel, the report noted.

“In 2018, families dominated the outbound GCC traveler market, accounting for an average of 60 percent of total trips from both Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” said Johanna Bonhill-Smith, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData.

Iconic city destinations and cultural experiences are driving inbound travel into Europe from the GCC. Italy, France and the UK are major holiday destinations for these travelers, the report added.

According to GlobalData, tailored experiences are important to GCC travelers, with 84 percent stating they are “always”, “often” or “somewhat” influenced by a personal experience. 

“Businesses seeking to tap into the GCC outbound travel market should aim to impress this market segment by respecting Arabian cultural needs, aspiring to exceed expectations through providing high quality and upmarket services whilst targeting evolving market opportunities such as the ‘coming of age traveler’ seeking cultural adventures,” Bonhill-Smith concluded.