Editor's note: this post is an excerpt from our Travel Trends Report 2018 which you can access now.
While there has been a major focus on the Chinese travel market in recent years, a market that is just as influential has been the growing Arabic market.
Experts estimate its growth will be more than 50% between %2000 and 2020. The U.S. travel industry is forecast to grow to $284.5 billion by 2020.
Here is some information from our Travel Trend Report 2018:
Leisure travel is king in the region. With some 77.4% of tourism being associated with leisure travel, the spending is expected to grow to AED 191.5 billion by 2027.
Unsurprisingly, business travel is predicted to fall below its 22.6% through 2020. In other words, “bleisure” travel is far from being the buzzword of the region.
The region’s inbound tourism is also growing. The total amount of international guests in Dubai alone, went from 8.40 million in 2016 to 9.20 million in 2017.
The tourism industry generated 317,500 jobs in the region in 2016 and nearly 325,000 in 2017. This has come in the form of hotels, travel agencies, tours, and transportation.
The long-term growth estimate between 2017 to 2027 for UAE's tourism contribution to the GDP is 4.9%, according to The World Travel & Tourism Council, 21 while the world’s percentage estimate is currently 3.9%.
Why it's important?
The current estimate by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says that by 2027, tourism could count for more than 400,000 jobs in the United Arab Emirates. With so many jobs being created, it’s brought in a further boost to the economy and made locals feel quite comfortable with travel.
Most Arabic outbound travelers are looking for:
A vacation. These travelers looking out for the perfect cafes to sip coffee from and a quick hour-long tour of the city. They want to own the experience and be fully present in the moment with their trips.
Further reading:
Download your copy of our Travel Trends Report 2019:
