How 'likes' influence our travel plans

Dubai - With experiences shared on social media, you've basically got a travel agent at your fingertips

So much for travel agencies to be your go-to place when it comes to planning your next vacation.
Nowadays, it's quite easier to get the skinny on travel, thanks to some thing called social media - a vast and ever-expanding universe, which practically contains anything you may require.
And since summer's here and school's out, let's take a look at how social media has affected the preferences of Middle East travellers, with a little help from a recent report from Crimson Hexagon, which gives a lot of insight on what has happened between 2012 and 2016.
 
Dubai's still the place
Let's get this out of the way first: Dubai, for obvious reasons, remained the most popular in that five-year span. The main difference, however, is the number of hot spots in the Middle East during that time frame: in 2012, five out of the top nine destinations were from the region, but that has since dropped to four in 2016. If you filter that even further for the top five, it's down from three to two.
Dubai's strength not only stems from its seemingly endless offerings for tourists: with more business events being held in the emirate, a lot of delegates won't mind spending some more time here.
"It is clear that Dubai is... a major destination on the global stage for business events," Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said.
"We will continue to strengthen our business events offering, and strive towards transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub."
And, in effect, an even greater tourism hot spot.
It also shows the growing popularity of some areas: more than half of those on the list - Saudi Arabia, India, Tokyo, Mexico and even Europe - were not on the radar in 2012.
London - since been expanded to include the rest of the UK for the list - was the most popular international destination in 2012. By 2016, it's almost at the bottom, supplanted by a more diverse group of locations.
Still, Middle East countries still represent a full half of the list, which reinforces another theme in the report's trend analysis: the push and pull between global and localised trends within the region.
And the region's consumers are taking a, should we say, home stand: unlike other areas in the world where international trends have been fully embraced, people in the region are taking a Middle East-first approach.
Chris Nader, vice-president of development at Shaza Hotels, recently said that intra-regional travel between GCC countries is on the rise. And this is because families prefer to take shorter holidays - yet more frequently.
"This has created more opportunities for us not only in main cities... but also in [smaller] destinations," he added.
Slowly but surely, however, a modern mindset is spreading thanks to, of course, social media: with the growth of its channels, people are sharing more about their experiences, allowing others to get more insight, aiding their decisions on where to travel next.
 
With you all the way, baby
Of equal importance is, of course, with whom do people travel with. While vacations have historically been a family affair, this has started to change.
Worldwide, the younger demographic is travelling more often before they even start families. And it makes sense: social media has a massive appeal to them, leading them to be more curious and, eventually, start exploring.
And while solo travelling has indeed experienced a marked growth on a global scale, the same cannot be said in the Middle East: in 2012, an overwhelming 72 per cent travel with their boyfriend/girlfriend, followed by family (18 per cent), by themselves (eight per cent) and friends (three per cent).
Fast-forward to 2016 and it just gets higher. Those who'd love to go places with their sweethearts are now at 91 per cent, with the rest of the field shaken up: friends now come next (five per cent), followed by a marked drop in family (three per cent) and, in contrast to global trends, solo travel (one per cent).
Travelling with that loved one tops the study's English- and Arabic-language analysis. Filter that for the latter, and you'll find out that friends have a decisive advantage over the former, 21 per cent to five per cent. Sweethearts still win out (though lower at 69 per cent), while family and solo travel are both deadlocked (seven per cent and three per cent, respectively).
The study proved that through social media, the opinions of Middle East consumers about vacationing fit in with larger trends. And while they are simultaneously retaining some of their more traditional preference for travelling within the region, they are also updating their behaviours by adding in more international travel experiences accompanied by their partners.
It always helps to have that 'travel agent' assist you, whether they'd be actual professionals, or just those lurking in cyberspace - all at the palm of your hand.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com