Industry experts have backed a resilient Gulf tourism sector to reach new heights, even as the sector grapples with regional challenges.
The arrival of a much-anticipated unified GCC tourism visa and an expanding regional rail network are fuelling the belief that the Middle East can rival Europe for connectivity and ease of travel
The wider effect of the war in Gaza and Red Sea shipping attacks has been felt across the region’s tourism sector.
But as with other setbacks, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry is braced to bounce back strongly and attract more tourists.
Occupancy rates for hotels in Jordan were down in the first quarter of 2024, with local reports stating reservations were expected at around 25-32 per cent in Amman, 18-20 per cent in the Dead Sea and less than 10 per cent in Petra.
Rail could be the point-to-point connectivity that we need. It could be a cabin cruise, or it could be a desert cruise
Fahd Hamidaddin,
CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority
In Egypt, the 3.6 million visitors recorded from October to December last year were 600,000 below the expected 4.2 million, the numbers picked up in early 2024.
According to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, the UAE has retained confidence from world travellers, despite regional instability.
From January to March, Dubai welcomed 5.18 million overnight visitors, an 11 per cent increase on last year's numbers.
Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Haitham Mattar, managing director in the Middle East, Africa and South-West Asia, for IHG Hotels and Resorts, said the travel industry was proving its durability.
“Our industry has been through a lot, from foot-and-mouth disease to volcanic ash cloud, Sars and the financial crisis of 2008,” he said.
“But the only thing that brought the industry down to its knees was Covid.
“We have realised hospitality and tourism in general is too big to fail.
“The resilience of this industry is what makes it stand back on its feet, along with the togetherness, where airlines, tour operators, travel agents, governments and hotels all come together during very difficult times to keep this industry together.”
GCC travel visa crucial to growth
With connections to 255 destinations in 104 countries and serving 90 international airlines, Dubai International Airport is the linchpin of regional travel.
Collaboration between GCC nations via a regional travel visa aims to make it even easier for tourists to discover more of the Middle East.
With Bahrain already operating a new airport and exhibition centre, and new airports planned for Riyadh and Dubai – ease of movement within the bloc is seen as crucial to bring a wider regional benefit from tourism and hospitality.
Scheduled to be in place by the end of the year or early 2025, a GCC-wide travel visa is a crucial element of the GCC’s 2030 tourism strategy that aims to increase visitor numbers to 128.7 million by the end of the decade.
Last year, 39.8 million tourists were attracted to the region, an increase of 136.6 per cent from 2021.
“As we see the region growing, we see a lot of potential,” said Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.
“One of the vital sectors is tourism.
“Business travellers play a major role in contributing to this and create many potential opportunities for businesses to come and establish here in this part of the world.
“The unified tourism visa will play a major role in streamlining and making it much easier for people to travel from one country to another.
“We have the hotels, the venues, the airlines, the airports and the expansion.
“So it makes sense to have more accessible destinations within the GCC countries, and I think it will be really good for everyone.”
UAE aims to double visitor numbers
The UAE is hoping to double the number of visitors to 40 million by 2031, and is on track to increase jobs in the tourism sector from 809,000 last year to 833,000 in 2024, experts said.
A recent alliance in the cruise industry between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman is an example of collaboration that could extend across the wider region.
Unveiled at the ITB Berlin travel trade show, the Cruise Arabia Alliance aims to promote multi-country holidays in the Gulf.
In Saudi Arabia, an ambition to attract 150 million visitors by 2030, could be bolstered by the development of a regional rail network offering similar services to the cruise industry, according to officials.
“The best indicator for future performance is fast performance,” said Fahd Hamidaddin, chief executive of the Saudi Tourism Authority.
“In the last year, we have adopted a new travel visa to all residents in the GCC because we trust the security measures, and we share standardised information sharing platforms among governments.
“Having a railway system that connects (the region) would also be a game changer.
“Rail could be the point-to-point connectivity that we need. It could be a cabin cruise, or it could be a desert cruise.
“It's an opportunity to reimagine what a rail network can provide, connecting us to other cities within Saudi, and extending across the GCC.
“If it is a desert cruise rather than just a connectivity of point-to-point travel, it becomes as much about the journey, as the destination.”
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More coverage from the Future Forum
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
