Travel trends: More than 50% people in UAE and Saudi Arabia are seeking new experiences

A new Twitter Insights Survey commissioned in May, asking audiences in Saudi Arabia and the UAE what they prioritised when planning their travels or booking a trip, has revealed the following:

Novel experiences are key: Over half of those surveyed in the kingdom and the UAE are motivated to travel to escape from everyday life and encounter new experiences. Around 33 per cent of people in Saudi Arabia don’t know how they feel about travel in 2022 against 31 per cent who are confident to hop on a plane and travel, while 56 per cent of people in the UAE are confident about travelling.

Family is the focus: The most popular reason for people in Saudi Arabia to travel this summer is for a family holiday (46 per cent), which matched the sentiments of over 51 per cent respondents in the UAE.

Price matters: On key factors that would eliminate specific travel destinations from travel plans, the most popular reason for Saudi Arabia residents was high expenses at the destination (46 per cent) closely followed by ticket prices (40 per cent). Surprisingly, these ranked above safety (35 per cent), geopolitical situations (29 per cent) and public health (19 per cent).

UAE residents differed in their opinion by placing safety as their number one factor (39 per cent), closely followed by ticket prices (36 per cent), geopolitical situations (35 per cent) and high expenses at the destination (35 per cent). Public health ranked as one of the lowest threats to travel plans for UAE respondents, at 24 per cent.

Demand for short-haul flights: People displayed mixed reactions to a question on which is the most appealing destination. Individuals in Saudi Arabia identified Dubai to hold the highest appeal (24 per cent) with Switzerland as a close second (17 per cent). Asia (25 per cent) and Turkey (23 per cent) were the most popular picks in the UAE.

Last minute getaways remain popular: Travel at short notice proved the most common lead time for booking, where most people in the UAE said they would book a trip around a month in advance (33 pere cent) and people in Saudi Arabia said they would book less than two weeks ahead of their travel (30 per cent).

Interestingly, on the likelihood of international travel this summer, only 4 per cent of people in Saudia Arabia have already booked flights while 48 per cent said they are unlikely to travel. On the other hand, 21 per cent of people in the UAE have already booked flights and 50 per cent said they are likely to travel in summer this year, suggesting a significant difference in overall confidence between the two surveyed markets.

Brand loyalty matters: Around 75 per cent of people in both markets said that the price of the ticket is the most important criteria when choosing an airline. The most popular passenger carriers for people’s next trip abroad were Saudi Airlines for people in KSA (67 per cent) and Emirates for people in the UAE (79 per cent).