A rising number of United Arab Emirate residents are spending more on vacations at home, according to a recent report by Network International.
Growth in 2015 spending in the hospitality sector was driven by ‘staycationers’ recording +10% against 2014, according to a report based on credit and debit card transactions in the UAE.
Staycation spending in the UAE offset the flat spending by US cardholders and a strong decline in European visitors including Germans (7%), French (12%), Austrians (36%), and Russian tourists (35%).
“The UAE economy, driven by diversification into non-oil revenues, has borne resilience to current market dynamics, as indicated by our analysis of card-spending data over the past year. Our analysis indicates some strong trends that can be leveraged by retailers and merchants in the UAE to bolster marketing strategies,” said Network International chief commercial officer David Mountain.
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Overall, hotels witnessed a 4% growth in spends in 2015 against 2014, however the per-purchase spend declined, indicating a lower RevPAR of hotels in the UAE.
Network International’s full year 2015 consumer spending report also indicated that domestic spenders were the highest spending group in the UAE last year.
In addition to positive staycation figures, the report also highlighted UAE growth in visitors from Saudi Arabia (+12%) and the United Kingdom (+14%).
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