MIDDLE EAST LEADS TRAVEL RECOVERY

The Middle East experienced the highest business travel sentiment throughout the pandemic, which kickstarted recovery. at’s according to research by YouGov, presented at the ‘future of business travel’ session at ATM by the rm’s Commercial Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sam Dawson.

YouGov’s survey of travellers, which is drawn from a pool of 20 million-plus registered panel members in more than 55 markets, found that while domestic leisure travel still leads the way in terms of industry recovery, international travel is picking up fast too.

When asked which trips they were planning in the next 12 months, 41 per cent of YouGov survey respondents said domestic leisure and 37 per cent said international leisure, which was 17 percentage points higher than the global average. e percentage of travellers intending to take international business trips, meanwhile, was seven per cent higher than the global average.

With destinations like the UAE promoting their livability credentials and launching remote work visas, Dawson highlighted the potential to attract the growing number of digital nomads and longer stay ‘bleisure’ travellers, pinpointing key source markets.

Workcations appealed to 80 per cent of Filipinos surveyed, 73 per cent of Indonesians, 68 per cent of Indians, 25 per cent of Americans and 17 per cent of Brits, he revealed.

Dawson also noted diverse market conditions and di erent stages of business travel recovery existing across the Middle East.

According to YouGov ndings, 65 per cent of Middle East business travellers believe the COVID-19 situation is improving worldwide, compared to the global average of 50 per cent.

In the UAE, just 39 per cent of business travellers had cancelled or were considering cancelling overseas travel plans compared to 59 per cent the previous year.

Dawson said the proportion of people who had not travelled for business or pleasure in the last 12 months remained above pre-COVID levels, however, 58 per cent of business travellers in the Middle East had taken more than one business trip in the past 12 months.

Lastly, YouGov found sustainability is top of mind for business travellers, particularly in the UAE, with Dawson stressing that travel companies need to match their expectations.

When asked if they considered themselves an environmentalist, 69 per cent of UAE business travellers said yes in April 2022 compared to 68 per cent in April 2021. In addition, 60 per cent said they only buy from companies who are socially and environmentally responsible (April 2022) versus 56 per cent in April 2021.

New travel experiences in demand

D/A, highlighted the important role GCC travellers have to play in tourism recovery. ey are looking to make up for lost time when it comes to travel, with the anticipation of new experiences dominating conversations, according to research based on the analysis of more than four million social media posts and comments from more than two million Arabic-speaking unique users in the GCC. e number of travel conversations and posts about travel increased by 110 per cent and 151 per cent respectively, between 2019 and 2021.

“Travel conversations increased to more than 1.3 million in 2021, underscoring the willingness by Arabic speakers in the GCC to travel, regardless of age or nationality,” said Kelly.

“We are ultimately witnessing the pent-up demand from the last two years coming to the fore as borders reopen, ights are back on track and restrictions are li ed.”

GCC travellers have a vital role in tourism recovery, a direct result of their spending power. According to the UNWTO, GCC travellers spend 6.5 times more than the global average, with 40 per cent of GCC travellers spending more than AED 36,700 on their last trip to Europe. Travellers from Saudi Arabia are reportedly the highest travel spenders globally.

“Overall, when it comes to the GCC traveller, the conversations indicate that something new is the order of the moment. Even in the familiar, a new experience is at the top of the wish list for those intent on travelling soon – a huge change from what we have seen in the past year or two,” Kelly added.

In terms of holiday preference, the consensus is on escaping and breaking free and discovering new experiences, which many have been unable to do in the last two years. ose in the younger age groups were keen on shopping and enjoying local avours, while the older groups were more focused on staying closer to nature and relaxing. Having fun was a mainstay; however, mid-career professionals have a lot of work travel lined up.

Holiday destinations favoured by GCC travellers followed the global Google trend, which saw a spike in the search terms ‘staycation’ in 2020, which was representative of the number of people from GCC countries looking to vacation locally.

According to the D/A research, the UAE was the most popular destination in the MENA region, followed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Qatar. In Europe, the UK was the most popular destination, followed by France, Germany and Italy, with Switzerland rounding out the top ve list.

Destinations have opportunities to attract digital nomads

High-value business trips dominate

Short and frequent business trips by air are ‘out’, and longer trips that maximise business opportunities and perhaps, include leisure, or even a ‘workcation’, are ‘in’. at was the upshot of debate at the ‘future of business travel’ session at ATM, which not only involved the GBTA and YouGov, but panellists Shaun Anderson, Head of Sales, dnata Travel Management; Matthew Roberts, Vice President of Sales, at Accor, India, the Middle East and Africa; and Matteo Atti, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at global business aviation company VistaJet.

Anderson said corporate travel was picking up, but companies were ensuring employee trips delivered ROI. ESG and carbon reduction considerations, o en built into travel policies, as well as e ective travel cost management, were also factors that had led to the reduction in short and frequent trips.

Roberts said he believed business travel would not return to pre-COVID levels in terms of volume and total value but conceded there were opportunities to capture the post-COVID traveller – those opting for hybrid and remote work, longer stays, bleisure and workcations.

Atti said the pandemic had proven that when a deal needs to be clinched, there is no replacement for face-toface interactions, with VistaJet ying more CEOs and top executives to “make that handshake” than ever before in 2020 and 2021, both of which were record years for the private aviation specialist. e company reported a 64 per cent increase in global ight hours across Vista brands in 2021 as demand for ights surged, while client members grew 26 per cent. e Middle East saw a 79 per cent year-on-year hike in the number of new VistaJet Programme members versus 2020.

In terms of VistaJet ight demand, the UAE posted a 55 per cent year-on-year increase in ight numbers and the gure in Saudi Arabia was 29 per cent.

Atti referred to VistaJet’s 2021 ‘ e Future of Business Travel’ report, which revealed 81 per cent of global leaders believe business travel will be more important than ever to driving success in the future. e report surveyed more than 200 high-level company executives in the US, EMEA and APAC in association with WSJ Intelligence, asking them about the role of travel in their professional lives.

During the pandemic, travel was limited for 90 per cent of companies surveyed, and almost all (97 per cent) said their businesses experienced negative impact directly related to those restrictions. Nearly one-quarter (24 per cent) indicated massive or substantial disruptions across all eight areas measured, and 87 per cent cited massive or substantial disruption in at least one area. More than a third (37 per cent) said international business development and product launches took a hit due to a lack of inperson presence. As restrictions ease, built-up anticipation for business travel is clear. Among respondents who take eight or more private ights a year, 60 per cent plan to signi cantly increase in-person meetings. VistaJet has witnessed a 49 per cent increase in corporate interest around the world since the start of the pandemic, which is said proves ying private continues to be a key support for business travel. e main bene ts of taking private ights for business travel are reported by those surveyed, in order, as exibility, e ciency, safety and privacy. e two top priorities for trips are visiting partners and vendors and going to industry events, each at 34 per cent. Managing current relationships and building new ones are also key drivers.

“ e COVID-19 pandemic upended our world, including travel. It also showed that some business travel is truly essential and having to forgo in-person trips came at a real cost to companies: any savings in travel budgets were exceeded by the cost of missed opportunities, sometimes worth millions.” Visit vistajet.com/businesstravel for the full report.

“The COVID-19 pandemic upended our world, including travel. It also showed that some business travel is truly essential and having to forgo in-person trips came at a real cost to companies: any savings in travel budgets were exceeded by the cost of missed opportunities, sometimes worth millions.”

PRIORITY SITUATIONS FOR A PRIVATE FLIGHT

CEO SURVEY RESULTS

55%

Said they would take a private flight to save a client relationship worth more than $5m

53%

To deliver on a commitment to a client worth more than $5m

46%

To attend an extremely important conference or meeting (e.g., WEF)

45%

To close a deal worth more than $5m

40%

To meet with key government o icials and legislators

31%

To meet a prospective client

29%

To hire a key talent

(Source: VistaJet)