THE tourism sector has in recent years gone through difficult times. However, thanks to the combination of successful vaccination campaigns and the pent-up demand of frustrated travellers, the situation in the sector improved significantly during the summer of 2022.
But has the travel and tourism industry in the MENA region fully recovered from the debilitating impact of the pandemic? Does the post-pandemic travel boom being seen today suggest that the massive desire to travel has been realized?
Wego looks at the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic numbers—September 2019 and September 2022— for insights into the MENA travel landscape and preferences post-COVID.
Saudi Arabia is MENA’s top destination
As for the most visited destinations in the MENA region, Saudi Arabia retains the lion’s share during this period. 25% of all flights to the MENA region are attributed to Saudi Arabia followed by Egypt at 17%, India at 13% and UAE and Turkey each at 7%.
Flight and hotel bookings recovery
The bookings for flights and hotels in the MENA region are well on their way to a full recovery.
For flight searches and bookings, September 2022 levels are at 97% and 75% of pre-pandemic levels respectively. International flights continue to grow their dominance reaching 80% of all trips. Saudi Arabia is the top international destination in the MENA region – the reopening of its border and loosening of restrictions might have contributed to these encouraging numbers.
On a country level, there are also reasons to be optimistic. Kuwait’s users, searches, and bookings for flights have outperformed their pre-COVID numbers. The UAE, meanwhile, gets as close as 94% of its pre-COVID level for travel interest.
Looking at the hotels front, booking levels are at 72% compared to the pre-pandemic period, with international hotel bookings accounting for 51% of all stays made by MENA travellers.
A shift to 5-star hotels
Hotels are the accommodation of choice edging out resorts and apartments with a 9% increase compared to the post-pandemic period. Overall, 83% of MENA travellers are opting to stay at hotels rather than other types of accommodation most likely due to safety and hygiene-related reasons.
Wego’s country-level data on Kuwait is even more telling; 5-star hotels claim a 60% share over all other types of hotels with the majority of guests being couples for the current period.
This shift to 5-star hotels has also been observed in the MENA region during the post-pandemic period. Bookings for 5-star hotel stays account for over 40% of the overall share, a 6% increase from the previous period. This may very well be attributed to the heightened safety and hygiene levels associated with higher-end hotels. Major hotel brands the likes of Hyatt and Marriott have rolled out extensive hygiene and sanitation procedures during the height of the pandemic and these measures are still in place today.
Travellers tend to book closer to the date of flight or stay
About 40% of users book their flights within a week prior to departure, around 3% lower than pre-pandemic. At the same time, 59% of hotel bookers are booking less than a week in advance (34% tend to book on the same day) which is 1% higher than the pre-pandemic level.
The shorter periods between booking and the actual flight/stay date are indicative of travellers’ inclination to complete their bookings closer to their date of travel. This suggests that travellers may still be wary of the possibility of cancelled trips due to sudden changes in rules and regulations, as was common during the pandemic.
Shorter trips are still the norm
By far the most common round-trip flights continue to be short trips with a duration of 3 days or less accounting for 71% of all roundtrips made in September 2022. This may serve as an indication that the pandemic may still negatively affect travellers’ confidence and willingness to travel for extended periods.
