Gulf Cooperation Council Source Tourism Insight by Domestic and Outbound Tourism, Key Destinations and Tourist Profiles, 2023 Update

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Source Tourism Insight Report Overview

The GCC source tourism market research report provides insights into GCC’s domestic and outbound tourism market. It looks at the profiles of GCC tourists and summarizes the key reasons for their traveling. Moreover, it offers an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets, and current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the GCC outbound travel market.

GCC Source Tourism Market Dynamics

The GCC source market demonstrates a diverse interest in its favored holiday types, with significant opportunities to attract them to different destinations. Accessibility, well-developed transport infrastructure and ease of multi-country travel are key factors influencing the destination choice for GCC travelers. Additionally, intra-regional travel is a strong driver of tourism for GCC tourists. However, many of the GCC’s top outbound destinations such as Turkey and Jordan are short flights away, while developing destinations in Europe meet accessibility demands to attract visitors from the GCC.

GCC Source Tourism Market Segments

The key segments in the GCC source tourism market are domestic tourism and outbound tourism. Travel among the six GCC countries shows that domestic trips were the most preferred in 2022.

Domestic Tourism: Due to general ease, land transport continues to be the primary mode of travel for domestic travelers in 2021. Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were the most preferred domestic destinations for GCC visitors. Abu Dhabi, the capital city of UAE is well-known for adventure activities, luxury hotels, and beaches. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia draws the most GCC visitors due to the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. It is also a destination of outstanding natural beauty.

Outbound Tourism: For GCC travelers, leisure continues to be the leading purpose of international travel. Outbound travel in the GCC region experienced a slight decline prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, changing traveler attitudes, deepening bilateral relations, and developments in international connectivity have encouraged outbound travel in the region. While Saudi Arabia had a large number of outbound travelers in 2019, other countries have shown healthy growth in outbound tourism. For instance, international departures from Bahrain grew significantly with most of it being concentrated intra-regionally and to other Middle Eastern countries.  According to GlobalData, outbound travel from the UAE is expected to witness the highest growth by 2026.

GCC Source Tourism Market Analysis by Segments, 2023 (%)

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GCC Source Tourism Market Segmentation by Holiday Types

The types of holidays preferred by tourists from the GCC are sun & beach holidays, visiting friends or family, cruise, adventure/sports holidays, city break holidays, religious holidays, gastronomical holidays, eco holidays, cultural holidays, wellness/medical holidays, multi-stop trip holidays, wedding-related holidays, and LGBTQIA+ holidays. GCC tourists typically enjoy sun and beach holidays. The top outbound destinations such as Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Thailand are most popular sun and beach destinations.

GCC Source Tourism Market Analysis by Holiday Types, 2023 (%)

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GCC Source Tourism Market Report Overview

Segments Covered in the Report 

GCC Source Tourism Segments Outlook (2023)

• Domestic Tourism
• Outbound Tourism 

GCC Source Tourism Segments Holiday Types (2023)

• Sun & Beach Holidays
• Visiting Friends or Family
• Cruise, Adventure/Sports Holidays
• City Break Holidays
• Religious Holidays
• Gastronomical Holidays
• Eco Holidays
• Cultural Holidays
• Wellness/Medical Holidays
• Multi-Stop Trip Holidays
• Wedding-Related Holidays
• LGBTQIA+ Holidays

Scope

This report is part of GlobalData’s Source Market Insights Series. This report provides an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets, as well as current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the GCC outbound travel market.

Reasons to Buy

• This report provides clear insight into developments in the GCC’s regional and outbound tourism markets.
• The report uses data and analysis to discuss future trends related to domestic trips, international departures, traveler spending, and main destination markets.
• The report explores the different profiles of GCC tourists and the reasons that they travel, hence providing insight into the trends in different segments of the market.
• The reader gains a strong understanding of the opportunities in the country, as well as the risks, to support better business decisions.
• This report examines the impact of COVID-19 on GCC outbound and domestic tourism.