Around a half of UAE business travellers this year are aiming to travel more and upgrade to premium economy class, according to a survey released on Monday by researchers at YouGovSiraj.
In January, YouGovSiraj’s Travel Tracker Update surveyed 330 leisure and 255 business travellers from the UAE and found that 46 percent of respondents said they expect their business travel to increase, compared to 24 percent who said the same in January 2009.
Fifteen percent said they expect their travel to increase “a lot” over the next 12 months, while 16 percent said they expect it to drop.
“As people are feeling more positive about the economy and are increasingly focused on growth, they are now planning to travel on business more,” said Jane Wilson, director of travel and tourism research at YouGovSiraj.
| Advertisement |
At present, 53 percent said they were flying economy class when they travel and only 24 percent are flying first or business class, compared to 31 percent in 2009.
However, 55 percent said they plan to fly more premium economy class this year and only ten percent said they plan to fly more economy, compared to nine percent and 21 percent respectively last year.
“The financial crisis has forced companies to look more at what these business trips can achieve. And the optimistic expectations show that many firms continue to manage their costs on travel related activities that add to the organisation’s value and long-term revenue,” Wilson added.
The survey comes as the latest United Nations World Tourism Organisation report forecasts that global tourism will grow by three to four percent this year. While the Middle East saw a decline of six percent in international visitor number in 2009, the report said that growth levels had improved in the second half of 2009 and the region was showing signs of recovery.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
