3 out of 10 UAE travellers likely to travel solo… why?

Travellers from the UAE on average spend Dh9,240 ($2,518) per trip which is higher than the global median with three out of 10 likely to travel solo, said the latest Global Travel Intentions Study 2015.

While globally, respondents say they put aside a median travel budget of $2,281 per trip, those from the Mena region report they will spend substantially more. Of the 25 countries surveyed, travellers from Saudi Arabia said they spend the most - a median of $5,866 per trip - closely followed by Egyptians at $4,917 in second place and Chinese travellers at $4,780 in third.

Solo travel is a long-standing trend for travellers from the Mena region with 26 per cent travelling solo in 2015.

While about three out of 10 travellers (31 per cent) from the UAE and Egypt are likely to travel solo, Moroccans are the biggest solo travellers from the region at 36 per cent. These Mena solo travellers have a tendency to have defined travel plans with 83 per cent of them already having decided on their destination before they start to plan their holidays.

The study also revealed that the UAE is the most popular destination for travellers from the Middle East and Africa (Mena) region.

Ranking ahead of Egypt and Turkey, the study shows that 16 per cent of the 1,637 respondents from Mena chose UAE as their most favoured travel destination within the region in 2015. The UAE also remains among the top destination choices for global travellers over the next year.

The regular barometer of travel trends from Visa Inc. was launched at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, and surveyed 13,603 travellers across 25 countries in January and February 2015.

Marcello Baricordi, General Manager UAE and Global Accounts Lead at Visa Mena, said: "The convenience, security and benefits that payment cards offer are aspects that travellers really value. Our Study showed that 61 per cent of UAE travellers prefer to use cards across all merchants when they are at their destination. In fact while globally, 29 per cent of travellers said they would spend more if they are able to use cards more frequently and at more merchants, 33 per cent of UAE travellers would use their cards more frequently."

Baricordi said what's interesting to see is that people from this region are serious about their leisure time.

“People from the MEA region holiday for an average of 13 nights per trip - which is more than the global average, and travellers from Saudi Arabia and Egypt put aside the largest travel budgets per trip," said Baricordi.

The regular barometer of travel trends from Visa revealed that future travel sentiment from the Middle East and Africa looks very positive with 81 per cent of people surveyed from the region planning to travel for leisure in the next year. Travellers from the UAE especially as prolific travellers with 95 per cent of respondents saying they will travel for leisure in the next year.

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