European guests to GCC to improve 17% by 2020 Oman to obtain two.21mn

This will be driven by added flights, routes, competitive fares, and the increasing quantity of mid-marketplace hotels all through the area, according to the most recent information published ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018.

According to ATM’s study companion, Colliers International, as numerous as 24.6mn EU residents will travel to the GCC among now and 2020, an extra 4 million travellers when compared to figures for 2015-17, stated a press release.

While Oman is anticipated to obtain two.21mn guests by 2020, the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to be the preferred GCC destinations for European guests, collectively they are on track to welcome 81 per cent of the projected enterprise and leisure travellers.

The UAE is anticipated to obtain 14.5mn, Saudi Arabia five.4mn, Bahrain 1.72mn and Kuwait 738,000, by 2020. Simon Press, senior exhibition director, ATM, stated, “Historically, Europe and the GCC have enjoyed excellent travel and tourism links. Building on this, over the next three years, EU arrivals to the GCC will increase and we will see this in both the leisure and business segments. “While European tourists have previously travelled to the GCC for its luxury resorts, the growing numbers of millennial travellers, middle-class tourists and corporate travellers on a budget, are slowly changing traditional market trends, as is the growth in affordable, mid-market hotels combined with an increase in low-cost flights.”

GCC hotel developers have also turned their interest to top quality mid-marketplace properties with Dubai and Riyadh now house to a collection of 4-star hotels flagged by names such as Aloft, Centro and Studio M.

This development will continue with a 19.1 per cent compound annual development price (CAGR) forecast in 4-star improvement among 2018 and 2020. Colliers information indicates GCC travel to Europe will develop 36 per cent more than the subsequent 3 years, with a forecasted eight.5mn GCC residents projected to pay a visit to Europe.

While component of this development can be attributed to the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s huge expatriate populations, GCC nationals are no strangers to European destinations. Press added, “Travel to Europe will continue to be dominated by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which collectively will account for 93 per cent of GCC arrivals to the continent. Germany, Italy, the UK, Austria and Switzerland have historically been the best European destinations for GCC nationals to pay a visit to. ATM will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22-25.

Information Source: Muscat Daily