GCC Outbound Travel & Tourism Market size is poised to cross USD 252 Billion by the end of 2031, growing at a CAGR of 17.54% during the forecast period, i.e., 2023-2031. In the year 2022, the industry size of GCC outbound travel & tourism was over USD 50 Billion. The growth of the market can be attributed to the higher expenditure by people on their international trips. Outbound tourism expenditure involves the tourist costs incurred by a local visitor traveling beyond the economy of reference. The average amount spent by Qataris and Kuwaitis while traveling abroad is USD 4,000 and USD 3000, respectively.
In addition to these, factors that are believed to fuel the market growth of GCC outbound tourism include the rising international tourist departures to a different part of the world. According to the UNWTO statistics, in the year 2020, 46 million people traveled out of GCC, furthermore, by 2030, the tourist departures are expected to reach 61 million. In all around the world, Europe is the most visited country by people of GCC, moreover, 7 out of 10 trips to Europe are with the family. In addition to this, rising trade through airways is expected to boost the GCC outbound travel & tourism market. Through increasing trade with different countries, the origin country gets the opportunity to improve the image of the nation in the outbound market. In the fiscal year 2022, Qatar Airways carried more than three million metric tonnes of cargo.
Growth Drivers
Challenges
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Base Year |
2021 |
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Forecast Year |
2022-2031 |
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CAGR |
17.54% |
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Base Year Market Size (2022) |
USD 50 Billion |
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Forecast Year Market Size (2031) |
USD 252 Billion |
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Regional Scope |
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The GCC outbound travel & tourism market is also segmented and analyzed for demand and supply by tourism type into leisure, religious, cultural tourism, medical tourism, sports & adventure, mice, and others. Amongst these seven segments, the leisure segment is expected to garner a market revenue of USD 107,856.2 million by the end of 2031, by growing at a CAGR of 17.28% over the forecast period. In addition to this, the segment generated a market revenue of USD 22,078 million in 2021. The segment growth is expected on the account of higher expenditure by people on leisure activities during their holiday trips. The total spending on leisure activities by people of UAE in their trips was around USD 40,000 million and 16,000 million in the year 2019 and 2020, respectively. On the other hand, the rising need for people to take international trips with a motivation of leisure is projected to boost the segment growth. A leisure trip is a visit that has a specific goal and motivation. The main reason people take trips outside of their normal environment is for relaxing, seeing new places, having recreation, having a change from monotonous routine, and other. According to UNWTO, 70% of GCC people took international trips for seeing new places, 66% of people wanted to de-stress and relax and around 52% took a trip to abroad for having a break from their routine.
The GCC outbound travel & tourism market is segmented and analyzed for demand and supply by spending type into air tickets, hotels, insurance, and others. Out of all types of spending, the air tickets segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.16% over the projected time frame. The segment garnered a revenue of USD 24,723 million in 2021, moreover, it is estimated to gain the largest market size of USD 119,494.6 million by the end of 2031. The growth of the segment can be attributed to the higher number of people travelling by airplane. According to the World Bank data, 1,451.36 thousand and 1,823.59 thousand people in Bahrain and Kuwait respectively traveled by air in 2020. Furthermore, Emirates Airlines carried over 50 million passengers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our in-depth analysis of the global GCC outbound travel & tourism market includes the following segments:
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By Duration |
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By Tourism Type |
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By Age Group |
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By Booking Method |
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By Traveler Type |
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By Spending Type |
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The UAE outbound travel & tourism market, amongst the market in all the other regions, is projected to hold the largest market size of USD 67,089.1 million by the end of 2031 by growing at a CAGR of 15.06% over the forecast period. Moreover, the region garnered a revenue of USD 16,597.8 million in 2021. The growth of the market can be attributed majorly to the rising expenditure on tour and travels followed by higher outbound travel. In contrast to the UAE's GDP in 2019, which was around USD 50 billion, the travel and tourism industry contributed a total of nearly USD 20 billion which makes up for around 5 percent of the GDP in 2020. In UAE, the total number of outbound trips was around 4 million in 2020. Out of which, around 30% of people went to Saudi Arabia, and around 17% went to the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the rising government initiative to boost the tourism market is expected to augment the market growth in the region. For instance, the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 was introduced on Friday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, in an effort to increase tourism's contribution to the country's gross domestic product to USD 122 billion annually by 2031.
dnata Representation Services, branch of dnata Travel Group has extended their partnership with Banyan Tree Group across Thailand. Since 2016, dnata Representation Services has served as the Banyan Tree Group's sole Middle Eastern sales representative for its Maldivian properties. With customized vacation packages dnata will now offer support for a number of its well-known hotels and resorts in Thailand.
Almasafer a travel agency of Seera Group, has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to grow tourism between GCC countries and Thailand. Through this collaboration, both Almasafer and the Tourism of Authority of Thailand plan to focus on sports tourism, health & wellness tourism, and luxury tourism
Author Credits: Anil Kumar, Ipsheeta Dash
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