Research Nester published a report titled “GCC Outbound Travel and Tourism Market: Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2028” which delivers detailed overview of the GCC outbound travel and tourism market in terms of market segmentation by duration, tourism type, age group, booking method, spent type, and by region.

Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth indicators, restraints, supply and demand risk, along with detailed discussion on current and future market trends that are associated with the growth of the market.

The GCC outbound travel and tourism market is estimated to grow with a significant CAGR over the forecast period, i.e., 2021 – 2028. The Saudi Arabia outbound travel and tourism market is estimated to garner USD 27,030.19 million revenue by 2028, by growing at a CAGR of 18.21% over the forecast period. In the same period, the market in UAE is estimated to generate USD 30,484.37 million of revenue by 2028, up from USD 19,448.49 million in 2019. Similarly, Qatar’s market is estimated to grow by 18.66% CAGR over the forecast period and gain USD 13,212.47 million by 2028. Additionally, in Kuwait, the market is anticipated to generate a substantial revenue of USD 17,392.50 million by 2028, up from USD 12,345.20 million in 2019, by growing at a CAGR of 18.40% over the forecast period.

The GCC outbound travel and tourism market is segmented on the basis of tourism type into leisure, religious, cultural tourism, medical tourism, sports & adventure, MICE, and others. In Saudi Arabia, the leisure segment is evaluated to grab USD 10,808.9 million by 2028, up from USD 6043.3 million in 2019 on the back of rising individual disposable income and changing lifestyle of the masses. In UAE, the cultural tourism segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR, i.e., 20.83% during the forecast period on account of increasing penetration of social media, especially among the younger population. Additionally, the religious segment of Qatar’s market is projected to witness growth at a CAGR of 19.01% during the forecast period, owing to the majority of Muslim population, and increasing government funding to promote religious travels. Furthermore, in Kuwait, the leisure segment is anticipated to garner USD 11,409.5 million revenue by 2028, owing to the changing lifestyle, and economic development.

The GCC outbound travel and tourism market is estimated to grow on the back of increasing number travelers, backed by growing income, and changing lifestyle. With growing disposable income, the average expenditure of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait travelers on tourism is also increasing over the past couple of years, leading to a direct growth in leisure activities including international travel.

Regionally, the Saudi Arabia outbound travel and tourism market is segmented into five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa region, out of which, the Europe region segment is estimated to garner USD 13,161 million revenue by 2028, up from USD 7,361.7 million in 2019 on the back of increasing leisure travel to colder European countries where temperature is favorable, as compared to the hotter gulf countries. The UAE’s, Qatar’s and Kuwait’s markets are segmented on the basis of region into Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United States, India, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, and Rest of the World. In UAE, the Saudi Arabia segment is estimated to record a revenue of USD 11,410.3 million in 2028, up from USD 7606.3 million in 2019. Additionally, in Qatar, the same segment is projected to garner USD 5542.6 million revenue, by growing at a CAGR of 19.01% during the forecast period. The discussed segment in Kuwait’s market is forecasted to grow at 19.02% CAGR over the forecast period and gain a revenue of USD 7252.7 million by 2028. This can be collectively attributed to the increasing business trips to Saudi Arabia, backed by its high GDP growth, economic development and availability of more job opportunities.

Increasing Disposable Income and High Number of Direct Flights to Boost the Market Growth

The GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, are experiencing robust economic growth, resulting in high disposable income and changing lifestyle of the citizens, which is estimated to increase the demand for travel. Moreover, increasing investments in travel and tourism market, along with increasing number of direct and indirect flights to all parts of the world, are estimated to further boost the market growth.

However, post-COVID-19 restrictions are expected to operate as key restraint to the growth of the market over the forecast period.

This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the GCC outbound travel and tourism market which includes company profiling of major airlines, hotel chains, and travel insurance companies operating in these countries. The report includes revenue share, average per tourist revenue, impact on hospitality industry, and travel restrictions. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the GCC outbound travel and tourism market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.