Revealed: Half of UAE residents intend to travel abroad in 2021

The survey was conducted before the most recent announcements about Covid-19 vaccines

Nearly half of residents in the UAE are most likely to make an international trip in 2021, according to a recent ‘Global Holiday Intent’ survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of Reed Travel Exhibitions, the organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

The poll, which was conducted during October and November this year, asked recipients if they were planning to make an international trip within the next 12 months. Forty-eight per cent of those polled in the UAE confirmed their intent to travel. Saudi Arabia came in a close second with 46 per cent of respondents confirming their intent to travel abroad in 2021.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said the survey was conducted before the most recent announcements about Covid-19 vaccines — so, in many respects, this is even better news for the Middle East’s aviation sector.

“Nearly half of those polled confirmed that they intended to travel in 2021 and once vaccines have been rolled out around the world, those numbers can only increase,” she said.

“In terms of outbound travel, many expatriates will be looking for a relaxing holiday or hoping to travel home to see family and friends.

“In terms of inbound travel, it was welcome news that almost a third of Germans polled said that they intended to travel internationally. Germany is one of largest European feeder markets to the GCC, with 1.8 million overnight stays in 2018. Over 316,000 Germans visited Dubai between January and June 2019.”

Denmark, Norway and Germany rounded off the top five places with 36 per cent, 34 per cent and 31 per cent respectively, with intent to travel overseas, while Japan at 5 per cent, China at 10 per cent and US on 14 per cent were the least likely to travel internationally in 2021.

In terms of domestic travel, Thailand came out on top with 68 per cent of residents confirming their intent to travel, with Indonesia (61 per cent), Australia (59 per cent), China (55 per cent) and Malaysia (54 per cent) making up the rest of the top five.

“Much of the domestic travel in Asia will, no doubt, be linked to Chinese New Year, which is due to take place on February 12,” added Curtis.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com