Saudi Arabia’s leading travel company Almosafer, part of Seera Group, reported steady growth in travel demand among Saudi consumers in the first quarter of 2025, driven by rising interest in both domestic and international markets.

Data from Almosafer’s consumer travel channels between Jan. 1 and March 31 showed domestic bookings rising 4 per cent year-on-year, while travel within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grew 14 per cent. International travel beyond MENA increased 11 per cent, with MENA and domestic trips each accounting for 42 per cent of total bookings and international trips making up 16 per cent.

Flight bookings rose across all segments, led by a 12 per cent increase within MENA and a 5 per cent uptick internationally. Domestic room nights rose 14 per cent, while international stays increased 13 per cent, reflecting strong momentum for both close-to-home experiences and global travel.

Top destinations for Saudi travellers

Top regional destinations included Dubai, Doha, Cairo, and Manama, while Istanbul, London, Paris, and Phuket remained popular for long-haul trips.

Emerging destinations for Saudi travellers included Bangkok, Amman, Milan, Moscow, Madrid, and Prague.

Domestically, cities like Makkah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Al Khobar, and Madinah continued to lead demand, alongside growing interest in Taif, AlUla, and the Red Sea.

Solo travellers made up 53 per cent of flight segments, particularly on long-haul routes.

Family travel remained steady at 16per cent of flight segments, with a 23 per cent rise in average trip length within MENA, signalling a preference for longer holidays. Families also contributed to a 22 per cent rise in domestic stays, while solo travellers drove a 23 per cent increase in stays beyond the region.

Mobile bookings dominated, with the Almosafer app accounting for 70per cent of transactions. Retail bookings represented 7 per cent, with 15 per cent of these now completed via WhatsApp. Android device bookings grew 32 per cent, supported by greater affordability and accessibility.

Payment preferences continued shifting toward digital methods. “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) bookings rose to 25 per cent of total transactions, up from 14 per cent in 2024.

Apple Pay usage accounted for 36 per cent of all bookings.

Full-service carriers saw a 24 per cent rise in domestic market share, while low-cost carrier segments declined 6 per cent. Both full-service and low-cost flights grew within MENA, up 19 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. For long-haul international travel, low-cost carrier segments jumped 35 per cent following new route launches, while full-service carriers declined 8 per cent.

Flexible booking options gained popularity, with mixed-carrier round-trip flights making up 24 per cent of all bookings.

Luxury travel still in demand

Luxury travel remained strong, with over 75 per cent of room nights booked at four- and five-star hotels. However, interest in alternative and value-driven accommodations grew, with bookings for 3-star and below properties increasing 12per cent for international stays.

Alternative accommodations, such as serviced apartments and holiday homes, rose 15 per cent in MENA and 21 per cent internationally, now representing 8 per cent of total bookings and offering an average saving of 37 per cent compared to hotel stays.

Interest in destination-based activities also grew. Domestically, Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, Makkah, and Al Khobar led activity bookings, while internationally, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Phuket, and Paris were top markets.

Cultural, religious, and seasonal events – including Ramadan celebrations, cruises, and Formula 1 events – were among the most popular experiences.

“The continued growth in travel demand across domestic, regional, and international markets reflects a robust appetite and confidence for exploration among Saudi travellers,” said Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of Almosafer. “We’re seeing a clear shift towards value, flexibility, and personalised experiences, whether it’s through choosing alternative accommodations, mixing and matching flight options, or leveraging mobile-first payment methods like Apple Pay and flexible options like Buy Now, Pay Later.”

Read: Saudi Arabia set to deliver 362,000 new hotel rooms by 2030

Emirates signed eight memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with tourism boards across Asia, Europe and Africa on the opening day of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), in a move aimed at strengthening inbound tourism flows to multiple destinations.

The airline inked agreements with tourism authorities from Sharjah, the Philippines, Maldives, Britain, Thailand, Japan, Uganda and Hungary, to drive visitor traffic across its network of more than 140 destinations.

The agreement with Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) will see the two parties jointly promote tourism to the UAE, offering bespoke packages through Emirates’ ‘Dubai Experience’ platform and implementing a series of marketing and promotional campaigns.

Emirates also signed an MoU with the Philippines Department of Tourism to boost inbound traffic from the Middle East and Europe. The collaboration will focus on joint marketing initiatives and familiarisation trips targeting key tourism stakeholders.

In the Maldives, Emirates will work with the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation to promote the archipelago through advertising campaigns, customised travel packages, and travel trade activations. The airline, which has served the Maldives since 1987, will also support business and trade development via its cargo operations.

These European countries sign MoUs with Emirates

In Europe, Emirates and VisitBritain signed a declaration of intent to drive tourism to the United Kingdom. The partners will launch joint promotions and familiarisation trips to major UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

VisitBritain forecasts 43.4 million visits to the UK in 2025, with Emirates operating 133 weekly flights to the country.

Emirates also entered a strategic partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to boost tourism from its global network to Thailand. Joint advertising campaigns, media familiarisation trips and promotions through tour operators are planned as part of the agreement.

With Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Emirates pledged to collaborate on data sharing, joint analyses and promotional efforts to encourage travel between Japan and the Middle East.

The airline renewed its MoU with the Uganda Tourism Board for 2025, following a year of partnership that saw a 16 per cent increase in passenger traffic on the Dubai-Entebbe route.

Emirates and the board will continue to promote Uganda as a premier tourist destination through familiarisation trips and trade engagements.

Meanwhile, a partnership with Visit Hungary aims to promote inbound travel to Budapest via joint marketing campaigns and media and travel agent familiarisation visits.

Emirates and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises tie-up

Emirates and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises have announced a partnership to offer combined luxury cruise and air travel experiences through special packages.

Starting from the 2026/2027 season, the two brands will collaborate on developing and marketing premium air-sea packages, targeting upscale customer segments and trade partners.

The partnership will establish dedicated fares and capacity aligned with cruise seasonality and luxury demand, while coordinating global cruise itineraries with Emirates’ route network to offer seamless connectivity for passengers travelling to ports across the Indian Ocean Islands, Africa, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai is launching a new intercity bus service, Route E308.

This route will connect Stadium Bus Station in Dubai to Al Jubail Bus Station in Sharjah and will be operational starting May 2, 2025.

The fare for a one-way journey is set at Dhs12, a WAM report said.

“RTA is committed to expanding the public bus network and improving its integration with other transit modes such as the metro, tram, and marine transport,” said Adel Shakeri, Director of Planning and Business Development at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

Read- Dubai: RTA opens new flyover to ease traffic, support Etihad Rail network

“Enhancing intermodal connectivity is central to positioning public transport as the preferred choice for mobility across the emirate,” he added.

Also effective May 2, RTA will implement enhancements to several bus routes, rerouting services to provide passengers with a smoother, more efficient, and more comfortable commuting experience.

The improved routes are as follows:

• Route 17: Now terminates at Baniyas Square Metro Station instead of Al Sabkha Bus Station
• Route 24: Re-routed within the Al Nahda 1 area
• Route 44: Re-routed from Al Rebat Street to serve Dubai Festival City
• Route 56: Extended to reach DWC Staff Village
• Routes 66 & 67: A new stop added at Al Ruwayah Farm area
• Route 32C: Service between Al Jafiliya Bus Station and Al Satwa Bus Station has been curtailed. Passengers travelling to Al Satwa may use Route F27 for continued service
• Route C26: The bus stop has been moved from Al Jafiliya Bus Station to Max Metro Land Side Bus Stop 2
• Route E16: Now terminates at Union Bus Station instead of Al Sabkha Bus Station
• Route F12: The section between Al Satwa Roundabout and Al Wasl Park has been curtailed; route now re-routed via Kuwait Street
• Route F27: Bus stop relocated from Al Jafiliya Bus Station to Max Metro Land Side Bus Stop 2
• Route F47: Re-routed within Jebel Ali Industrial Area
• Route F54: Extended to serve the new JAFZA South labour camp
• Route X92: Bus stop moved from Al Jafiliya Bus Station to Max Metro Land Side Bus Stop 1

Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with energy companies to restore power after large parts of Spain and Portugal were hit by a power outage on Monday.

E-Redes, a Spanish electricity grid monitoring company, said in a statement it was working on reestablishing connection in phases.

Read- 6 of the biggest tech outages in recent years

“This is a wider European problem,” it added.

Spanish radio stations said part of the Madrid underground was being evacuated. There were traffic jams at Madrid city centre as traffic lights stopped working, Cader Ser Radio station reported.

The Portuguese police said traffic lights were affected across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto, and trains were not running.

The Spanish airport operator AENA says spanish airports suffer some disruptions due to power outage, contingency generators are active and the spanish government has convened a crisis meeting at offices of Red Eléctrica due to power outage, Spanish newspaper El Pais reports.

RTE, the grid operator in France also reported that parts of France briefly lost power following outages in Spain and Portugal.

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas on Monday said that the Saudi startup carrier would be ready to buy Boeing aircraft destined for Chinese airlines if they are not delivered due to the escalating trade war between the United States and China.

Boeing is looking to resell potentially dozens of planes locked out of China by tariffs after repatriating a third jet to the United States in a delivery standoff that drew new criticism of Beijing from US President Donald Trump.

Read-Riyadh Air to start operations by end of 2025, says CEO

“What we’ve done… is made it quite clear to Boeing, should that ever happen, and the keyword there is should, we’ll happily take them all,” Douglas said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market conference.

Boeing took the rare step of publicly flagging the potential aircraft sale during an analyst call last week, saying that there would be no shortage of buyers in a tight jet market.

Riyadh Air, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has been ordering planes from both Boeing and Airbus ahead of its launch, including 60 narrow-body A321-family jets from Airbus in October and up to 72 Boeing 787 Dreamliners ordered in March 2023.

The airline does not expect delivery delays from either airline to be resolved any time soon.

Douglas said Riyadh Air had not seen any impact on demand for travel to and from the country’s capital from global macroeconomic uncertainty, adding that the company plans to announce an order for wide-body jets this summer.

The airline, which is aiming to launch in the fourth quarter, has hired 500 employees and intends to increase its workforce to 1,000 over the next 9 to 12 months, Douglas said.

Thereafter, hiring of pilots and cabin crew will steadily continue as aircraft are delivered.