GCC Travel Intent: When does the GCC plan to travel again?

While the travel industry’s near future remains uncertain, the tourism and hospitality sector continues its fight for survival. The GCC audience remains on the edge of their seats awaiting the lift of travel restrictions. As of now, Dubai is open for tourists and the K.S.A. has announced the beginning of international flights starting January 2021. The biggest question remains, when will the GCC start travelling again?

Sila x Travel

As part of our travel investigation, using Sila our data warehouse, domestic travel was previously identified to be the first to return. Kuwait, KSA and the UAE were the top three intended destinations for travelers from the GCC. Meanwhile, the U.S.A. and Turkey were the top foreign countries. London was also identified as the favourable destination for those travelers. Mentions of travel continue to increase with time. With new announcements from governments, travelers see potential.

We identified where, but when exactly will those journeys begin?

Previously, our travel analysis had identified that specimen between the ages of 21-30 had the biggest desire to travel. Next, we took a look at when they planned to start their adventures. Only 21% of our sample identified the period between September and October as their favourable travel period. 29% had lost hope in travelling this year and have moved their plans on to 2021. November and December; however, had the interest of the majority with 50% of the sample intending to travel this Winter.

The what for?

Since the majority of the GCC has started to plan their visits in November and December, we thought it would be quite interesting to find out what they intend to travel for. As expected, vacations were on top of the list with over 30K mentions on Twitter. Travel for work followed with 22% while family visits, studies and medical treatment gained lower than 10% of the total mentions.

What activities?

After identifying vacations as the main target of interest, we identify the different vacation activities that the GCC would be interested in participating in. Nature visits (42%) were identified as the most popular form of activity, while cultural visits (33%) followed right after. Parks (12%) and Beaches (13%) seemed to be less popular choices for these travelers.

Key Takeaways

This fast-changing situation continues to be uncertain for those working in the travel sector. Sila's automatically-updated data keeps us up-to-date with actionable insights on a daily basis. For now, the travel industry should look forward to winter when GCC residents intend to fly out on vacations. A change of scenery seems to be their main purpose for travel as nature-related activities are the most popular.

About the data

DA has built a custom data warehouse service called Sila, powered by data science we turn that raw social data into actionable insights. To find out more, please click here and use the contact form to get in touch.