IN the run-up to WiT Middle East tomorrow, November 25, we present the second part of the Wego Travel Pulse “Covid-19 & MENA Traveller Intent” from November 18. Part 2, North Africa.

North Africa: Travel Pulse

North Africa: Top Destinations

Travel Demand From Egypt

• Interest in travel in first half of November remains at the low levels of late October
• Domestic accommodation which has remained strong throughout the summer is now lagging international travel
• Domestic and Chinese vaccine trials have now completed, with mass production set to begin

COVID Trends in Egypt

• The density of new cases in official statistics remains extremely low by both MENA and global standards
• Circumstantial evidence on celebrities getting sick and strict measures on mask wearing and a possible lockdown suggests the actual case counts might be higher
• The lack of systematic reporting on testing also undermines the trustworthiness of the case numbers

Travel Demand From Tunisia

• The recent surge in COVID cases continues to depress domestic travel to the lowest level since April
• A 15-day night curfew began on 23rd October in a number of regions
• Interest in flights has stayed above 50% of 2019 levels- most of the trips abroad are work or family-related
• Turkey continues to be ahead of KSA for Tunisia’s top international destination with majority of traffic leisure-focuses as opposed to work or family-related

COVID Trends in Tunisia

• The health situation continues to be dire though new cases have stopped increasing 
• Tunisia no longer reports data on testing 

Travel Demand From Morocco

• While the health situation continues to deteriorate, interest in flights remains strong especially for domestic travel
• Interest in accommodation remains low suggesting most of the travel is essential work and family-related 

COVID Trends in Morocco

• Both new cases and test positivity continued increasing in October
  • Test positivity rate now exceeds 20%
  • Density of cases is now close to 150 per million with the increase continuing

Travel Demand From Algeria

• Travel remains largely mute in Algeria 
• International travel continues to be heavily depressed and remains less than 20% of 2019 levels- lower than even the April/May period

COVID Trends in Algeria

• The number of new cases continues to be good, however, the lack on visibility on testing remains a critical point in validating Algeria’s success in handling the health situation
• Circumstantial evidence of top politicians getting sick and trends in neighbouring countries suggest that the real case numbers might be significantly higher

Turkey & Levant: Travel Pulse

Turkey: Top Destinations

Travel Demand From Turkey

• Despite recent tensions, international flights remain strong particularly to GCC markets 
• The sacking of the central bank chief provided a boost to the Turkish lira which surged in value

COVID Trends in Turkey

• The official COVID statistics remain strong for Turkey but have come under public scrutiny as circumstantial evidence mounts that the real case numbers are significantly higher than officially reported  
• Official plans for mass vaccination using China’s Sinovac have been announced with the program starting from early 2021

Levant: Top Destinations

Travel Demand From Lebanon

• With a health crisis on top of economic issues, travel interest remains depressed
• A country-wide night curfew is now in place with all types of social gatherings banned limiting economic and social activity

COVID Trends in Lebanon

• While case numbers have surged to second highest in MENA, at least they are finally showing signs of tapering 
• While there are no reports on testing, signs are clear that Lebanon continues to struggle fighting the pandemic

Travel Demand From Jordan

• The rapid rise in new COVID cases along with new lockdown measures depressed travel interest throughout October 
• International flights continue to significantly outpace international accommodation, most travel is for essential work and family-related
• Domestic accommodation has slumped dramatically from previous months with lockdown restrictions increasingly in place

COVID Trends in Lebanon

• The health situation continues to rapidly deteriorate with record number of daily new cases reported.  Jordan now has the highest density of COVID cases among all MENA countries and among the highest in the world
• Further lockdown restrictions were implemented on 2nd November

Note: To get your free pass for WiT Middle East where we will be delving deeper into the trends unfolding in the region and how that will impact your business, sign up here.

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