(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Travellers from the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region travel longer and spend more on their vacations compared to other travellers around the world, a new study has shown.
The study by global payments technology company Visa revealed that future travel sentiment from the Middle East and Africa looked "very positive" with some 81% surveyed from the region planning to travel for leisure in the next year.
Travellers from Saudi Arabia and UAE are even more positive with 97% and 95% of travellers from these countries respectively planning to travel in the next year.
This optimism is reflected largely by the Millennial generation, with more than 40% of those aged 25-35 in Kuwait, Morocco and Egypt planning to travel for leisure in the coming year.
This positivity bodes well for the region's travel industry as MENA travellers are generally travelling close by with the UAE, Turkey and Egypt topping their favourite destinations.
"Great scenery, interesting attractions and good shopping are the top three drivers for individuals from this region who are planning their next vacation. Budget is no longer the primary driving factor when choosing a holiday destination," Visa said.
"Our latest Visa Global Travel Intentions Study is shining a very positive light on the region's industry and what's interesting to see is that people from this region are serious about their leisure time. People from the MENA region holiday for an average of 13 nights a trip, which is more than the global average, and travellers from Saudi Arabia and Egypt put aside the largest travel budgets per trip," said Marcello Baricordi, general manager (UAE) and global accounts lead at Visa MENA.
"Leisure is a serious business and insights of this kind are invaluable in our collaboration with the travel, hospitality and leisure sectors, and to understand individual traveler sentiments. We have been publishing the Visa Global Travel Intentions Study since 2006 and it has become a valuable tool to help the industry make informed decisions that bring significant benefits to the wider travel industry and individual travelers."
While globally, respondents say they put aside a median travel budget of $2,281 per trip, those from the MENA region report they will spend substantially more. Of the 25 countries surveyed, travellers from Saudi Arabia said they spend the most € a median of $5,866 per trip - closely followed by Egyptians at $4,917 in second place and Chinese travellers at $US 4,780 in third.
The study also found strong use of payment cards throughout a holiday € both to plan and pay before one leaves and to pay for activities during a holiday. In the planning stage, cards are the most preferred way to pay for holidays with 46% of global travellers using only cards at that stage. While at their destination, eight out of 10 global travellers (81%) use a combination of cards and cash to pay.
"The convenience, security and benefits that payment cards offer are aspects that travellers really value. Our study showed that one in two MENA travellers prefer to use cards across all merchants when they are at their destination. In fact globally, 29% of travellers said they would spend more if they are able to use cards more frequently and at more merchants," Baricordi said.
"Considering the travel industry generated 10% of global GDP in 2014, and this is expected to grow by 3.7% in 2015, this is an important message for merchants, governments and industry partners," Baricordi added.
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