Saudi Arabia, UAE, top markets in ME for outbound travel

Emphasising on the ever-growing Middle East’s business travel market, the seventh Annual Mice Arabia and Luxury Travel (Malt) Congress, the region’s premier by invitation-only business platform concluded day 1 focusing on new disruptions in the Mice and Luxury Travel industry at the luxurious Rixos Premium Dubai JBR.

UAE was highlighted as the second biggest market for outbound travel from the Middle East, surpassed by Saudi Arabia with business and luxury outbound travellers being a combination of locals and expats. The growing number of destinations served by the UAE's airlines is one of the factors that attributes to the growth of outbound travel from the UAE.

Bringing the world under one roof for the seventh time in Dubai, the Congress kicked off on a high note with attendance from top industry professionals, government policymakers, senior decision makers from leading organizations such as Adnoc Group, Bayer Middle East, Saudi German Hospital Group, Johnson & Johnson, Emirates NBD, and Saudi Council of Engineers, among many others.With Middle Eastern countries investing heavily in infrastructure, cruise lines are adding to the attraction of luxury travel.

Mohammed Saeed, general manager for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises in the Middle East, said: “Middle Eastern travellers see cruises as an easy way to check off several bucket list attractions they may not previously have visited with the introduction of leisure cruise industry from the GCC region. We are always on the lookout to offer the next best and effortless experience. Participating in the Malt Congress gives us an excellent opportunity to immerse ourselves to discuss trends.”

Discussing the need for incentivisation and focusing on the growing interests for Russian countries, tourist itineraries now have travellers explore more destinations and have increased exposure on Sochi, Kazan, Karelia, the Trans-Siberian Railway and others, among the well-known destinations of Moscow and St. Petersburg. “This is only possible due to the incentivisation programs and great infrastructure built during the preparation of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia,” said Victoria Globina, senior project manager, Russian Empire, DMC.

“Face-to-face meetings are one of the most effective tools to find reliable suppliers and customers, so for us, participating in the Malt Congress is very important."

"Travellers are showing a keen interest in upcoming destinations like Zanzibar and Tanzania. These exotic destinations do have the infrastructure for Mice travel and are looking for innovative ways to attract travellers."

Hailing their participation at the Congress, Sabine Emmerich, general manager, ZanTours, said: “Mice shows like Mice Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress, gives us the platform to target very specific incentive agents, corporates in the GCC market to promote our destination as the perfect and more important still fairly new destination for incentives, events, and conferences,” Globina said.

The Malt Congress this year focused on driving business success, benefiting from all year-round opportunities to making connections, exploring trends and technologies from around the world and deep diving into every aspect of travel.

A Panel of Women Panelists led a discussion on the best practices and checklists, unveiling the next gen of events. The Congress also emphasised on the use of future travel & technology trends while exploring the role of augmented reality in the world of Mice. The growing sustenance of Social Media, Digitisation, personalisation and budgeting was discussed during the “Ideathon sessions” at the event.

Commenting on Day 1 success of the Congress, Sidh NC, director, QNA International, said: “As the Middle East continues to see a surge in outbound travel, there is more emphasis to recognise the importance of Mice and making Mice friendly destination offerings and unique experiences available. As Middle East buyers are continually on the lookout for new destinations and novel experiences, the seventh Annual Mice Arabia & Luxury Travel Congress was all about exploring new destinations as well as addressing local, regional and global trends and challenges in the Mice and luxury travel sector.”

Day 1 of the congress concluded with participation from Mice suppliers from destinations like Kuwait, Oman, Finland, Iceland, Greece, Croatia, Russia, Korea, Spain, Italy, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Georgia, Ethiopia, Poland, Singapore amongst many others.