UAE travellers buy 'extra' happiness

Travellers from the UAE would be willing to spend an average of Dh370 ($107) on extras to personalise their trips.

The UAE travellers - families or solo - are ready to explore the world and are 'willing' to pay that extra 'price' to get that experience which can promise them a life-time experience of memories to fall back on.
A new research from global travel technology company Sabre Corporation has found that travellers from the UAE would be willing to spend an average of Dh370 ($107) on extras to personalise their trips.
The UAE travellers are serious explorers and trends have changed from conventional once a year holiday to minimum three to four trips annually. So what has triggered such a rise in travel trips? Geet Bhalla, CEO & Co-founder of HolidayMe, explains that the gap between the low-cost carriers and full-service carriers is narrowing in terms of ticket cost making travel more affordable. The tickets are almost 30 per cent cheaper and hence people like to check new destinations and experiences. Despite the global situation the leisure industry proved resilient and people continued to travel from UAE to absolutely unheard of destinations.
These examples only prove how the UAE travellers are demanding and pampering and ready to pay for it. The Sabre research, which surveyed business and leisure travellers from the UAE in order to learn about their latest behaviours, motivations and expectations, also found that almost 50 per cent of travellers are more likely to be loyal to an airline or a hotel if they receive a personalised service.
 

Daniel Naoumovitch, CEO, Sabre Travel Network, Middle East, explains that personalisation is no longer a trend driven by a specific group of people. Irrespective of their location, age and gender, travellers are expecting and demanding personalised offers and services in return for their loyalty and the information they share with travel providers. If they receive a tailored service, they are willing to spend a considerable amount of money.
Hotel and air extras
Representing a significant retail opportunity for the travel industry, 29 per cent said they would pay more than Dh500 ($136) on air ancillaries, while 25 per cent would spend at least this amount on extras at their hotels. And this willingness to spend on extras is considerably higher in the UAE than in many other regions; earlier research conducted by Sabre found that the global average figure travellers would be willing to spend on extras was Dh360 ($98) and just Dh312 ($85) in Europe.
Andrea Bailey, founder, Travel Counsellors, said her firm has been observing this trend lately. Travelling on experiential trips is something of a growing trend wherein travellers would like to pay an extra amount to have a more immersive experiences. Staying with a tribal family, learning to cook a meal with them in Borneo or swimming between the tectonic plates in Iceland are just among many examples of the adventures that travellers are interested in these days. Whether it is solo travel or family travel, the scope to enjoy the destination even more with interesting experiences is ever increasing.
The Sabre research also found that a desire for personalisation is not linked to any particular demographic of traveller. Forty-five per cent of millennials would demonstrate loyalty to their airline or hotel in return for a tailored service, compared with 60 per cent of generation X. Furthermore, 30 per cent of millennials would be willing to share their location and basic personal details in return for offers that are customised towards their individual needs, compared with 27 per cent of generation X. The survey also suggested that travellers are expecting the same level of personalisation in their business trips as they do during leisure travel. Driven by millennial and generation X travellers, 64 per cent of respondents would consider extending a business trip for leisure purposes.
Mobile and online travellers
The survey also highlighted the latest trends in mobile usage during travel shopping and booking. Forty-one per cent of the UAE travellers use their smartphone to purchase travel, while 47 per cent prefer to use their laptop and 15 per cent use tablets. Representing a need for multi-device retailing in the travel industry, one in five UAE travellers now uses more than one electronic device to research and book travel.
"One of the most unique characteristics of the UAE travel market is that mobile and desktop bookings are practically on par," said Antonella Vecchio, vice president Western Europe and Online, Travel Network, Sabre. "Mobile bookings are also particularly high in this region when compared to a global average of 13 per cent. The online travel market is booming in the UAE; it is the second fastest growing online market globally. Local and regional Online Travel Agency, or OTA s, as well as all travel companies in UAE, need to understand the behaviours and expectations of today's travellers in order to compete on a global level. They need to recruit the right technology to address their customers on the device they want, capture their data and action it to provide them with an exceptional travel experience that is designed specifically around their preferences and needs. That's how they can gain their loyalty and to be more competitive in such an evolving industry."
When asked about the source of their online travel purchases, 69 per cent of UAE travellers stated they booked via an OTA. Forty-three per cent preferred to use a global OTA, while 26 per cent choose to book via local or regional online travel agents. "Technology is crucial in order to provide the travel industry with an understanding of each individual traveller's needs. With the right technology, travel companies can harness data effectively and create meaningful and relevant interactions with individual travellers at various points throughout their journeys - leading to more revenue opportunities," said Naoumovitch.
Deepa Rajesh, head of sales, holidays and business development, Cozmo Travel said their company actively promotes personalised and tailor-made trips by paying a small supplement which brings huge values - like having a vehicle at their disposal versus a shared coach, a 3-4 bedroom apartment/villa where they can connect better against hotel rooms just to name few - but it definitely helps reuniting families/friends/parents/children together. We all lead such a busy lifestyle in this part of the world and when such experience happens, people really don't mind spending this extra money that actually makes lifetime memories.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com