Middle East tourism slows but no decline in 2010

By Karen Leigh

Middle East tourism numbers slowed but didn’t fall into actual decline in 2010, off the bat of package deals, discount rates and high inter-GCC travel.

Though the sector took a hit from the continuing fallout of the economic crunch, a report from Euromonitor International says the UN/WTO World Tourism Barometer marked the Middle East as one of the globe’s stronger performers, with a 20 percent growth in inbound tourism flows.

It’s in contrast to a 16 percent decline for the same period in 2009, when main tourist supplier Europe was in the throes of economic crisis.

It said the region’s tourism economy would depend heavily on travelers from the GCC and even India and China, now that would-be travellers in Europe and other traditional Western tourism sectors are cutting back on expenditures like exotic travel.

“Outlook for the Middle East Africa region will depend on intra-regional travel from countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all experiencing positive economic conditions, compared to European countries on a slow recovery trajectory,” the report said.

Though Egypt, Morocco and the UAE would continue to be the most enticing regional destinations for Europeans, “powerhouses China and India are expected to boost both business and leisure travel to the region, thanks to a growing middle class and long-established connections in the case of India.”

It said the fastest-growing GCC markets for inbound travel in 2009 were Saudi Arabia, with 15.1 percent, and Oman, at 7.9 percent.

“Intra-regional travel was the clear winner during the crisis, with Middle East countries benefiting from visits from neighbouring countries, keeping travel costs down. Many regional neighbours have close cultural and religious links which further boosted this trend," analysts said.

"The large number of Arab expatriates living and working in the Middle East travel frequently to their home towns, encouraging regional demand.”
The Gulf’s rapidly-expanding airplane industry, especially low-cost carriers, is also a boost to inter-GCC travel and a reason the industry has stayed afloat.

“Developments in the low cost carrier segment in the Middle East are starting to have a positive impact on increasing the tourism pie and opening up the markets to different types of tourists,” Euromonitor said. “New entrants such as flydubai continued to drive this emerging segment.”
This adds to contributions from the elite fleets. IATA recently revised its 2010 profit forecast for MidEast airlines to $400m, citing factors like MENA”s increasing market share with power players Etihad, Emirates and Qatar leading the way.

“Developments by airlines in the region and the UAE, in particular, are designed to cater to an ever-expanding market and to increase air traffic from the major hubs,” the report said.

"The number of passengers carried by airlines in the UAE alone is forecast to reach 47.6 million in 2010, compared to 46.2 million in 2009, with capacity continuing to outpace demand.”