In these uncertain times for the travel and tourism and industries, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. As well as the recent changes in the UK’s red to amber listing for the UAE, and the easing of travel restrictions for those who are double vaccinated, a recent Euronews poll showed that seven in 10 Europeans were intent on travelling for holidays this year – with around half of those looking to travel beyond their own borders. This bodes well for the sector, and for the hosts of major events like the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai, as Europeans will no doubt be keen to enjoy some autumn and winter sunshine after another year in which opportunities to travel were often limited.
Based on the finding of our survey – conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies with 6,000 people from across Germany, France, Spain and Italy – we know that people want to travel, and that they want to travel safely. Four in five Europeans say they would willingly carry vaccine passports to enter another country. Now, as the numbers of double vaccinated would-be-travelers continue to increase, there is a pent-up demand to go beyond national borders. To have the chance to sit and stare out of a plane window and then to experience something other than the domestic environments so many of us have inhabited over the last 18 months.
How do we know there is this pent-up demand? It’s not just from our survey results, but also from our website data. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic and travel restrictions, we launched Euronews Travel, a digital destination aimed at those who are looking for unique experiences and memories, but not at the expense of the planet and local communities. Some questioned our timing, but we knew from our data that appetite for tourism content was real and growing. In the autumn last year, we also published a white paper on new travel trends and found out that people’s aspirations for travel were evolving. And we’ve only seen that appetite for travel content grow in the year since launch.
Tourism and travel matter to us and matter to our audiences, in particular our European audiences. According to the Global Web Index, every month 96 million people who say that they “like to explore the world” consume our content on TV or on digital platforms. Over 32 million of them are in Europe. And, according to Ipsos, over a third of affluent Europeans who say they want to travel to Dubai or the UAE for leisure in the next 12 months watch Euronews.
Historically Europeans have booked their holidays early – planning their summer and winter breaks as much as a year in advance. But in another survey conducted on our website in June and July this year, almost half (46 percent) said they would book three months or less before travel. While the pandemic may have changed their behaviours, with last minute travel driven by quarantine restrictions and flight availability now the norm, this too provides opportunities for the industry to recoup some additional revenues before year end.
Yes, there are still some consumer fears that need to be allayed when it comes to travelling – whether this is during the journey or on arrival at the chosen destination – but the Gulf’s tourism sector is in a strong position. Extensive national vaccination programmes combined with social distancing and use of masks in public places are seen as positive indicators by tourists and build on the region’s existing reputation for offering high levels of safety and security for travelers.
By combining this focus on health and safety with the experiences that are driving clicks and shares – whether that’s outdoor pursuits or Instagrammable backdrops, authentic cultural moments or wellness retreats – the tourism industry in the Arabian Gulf is well positioned to capitalise on the wanderlust of European audiences. And that’s definitely a reason to be cheerful in my book.
Carolyn Gibson, chief revenue officer with news channel Euronews.
By ITP
More of this topic
Reasons to be cheerful for MENA’s travel industry
While the pandemic is far from over, and changing rules and regulations continue to cause uncertainty, there are clear causes for optimism for the travel and tourism industry in the region, says Carolyn Gibson, chief revenue officer with news channel Euronews.
Carolyn Gibson, chief revenue officer with news channel Euronews.
In these uncertain times for the travel and tourism and industries, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. As well as the recent changes in the UK’s red to amber listing for the UAE, and the easing of travel restrictions for those who are double vaccinated, a recent Euronews poll showed that seven in 10 Europeans were intent on travelling for holidays this year – with around half of those looking to travel beyond their own borders. This bodes well for the sector, and for the hosts of major events like the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai, as Europeans will no doubt be keen to enjoy some autumn and winter sunshine after another year in which opportunities to travel were often limited.
Based on the finding of our survey – conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies with 6,000 people from across Germany, France, Spain and Italy – we know that people want to travel, and that they want to travel safely. Four in five Europeans say they would willingly carry vaccine passports to enter another country. Now, as the numbers of double vaccinated would-be-travelers continue to increase, there is a pent-up demand to go beyond national borders. To have the chance to sit and stare out of a plane window and then to experience something other than the domestic environments so many of us have inhabited over the last 18 months.
How do we know there is this pent-up demand? It’s not just from our survey results, but also from our website data. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic and travel restrictions, we launched Euronews Travel, a digital destination aimed at those who are looking for unique experiences and memories, but not at the expense of the planet and local communities. Some questioned our timing, but we knew from our data that appetite for tourism content was real and growing. In the autumn last year, we also published a white paper on new travel trends and found out that people’s aspirations for travel were evolving. And we’ve only seen that appetite for travel content grow in the year since launch.
Tourism and travel matter to us and matter to our audiences, in particular our European audiences. According to the Global Web Index, every month 96 million people who say that they “like to explore the world” consume our content on TV or on digital platforms. Over 32 million of them are in Europe. And, according to Ipsos, over a third of affluent Europeans who say they want to travel to Dubai or the UAE for leisure in the next 12 months watch Euronews.
Historically Europeans have booked their holidays early – planning their summer and winter breaks as much as a year in advance. But in another survey conducted on our website in June and July this year, almost half (46 percent) said they would book three months or less before travel. While the pandemic may have changed their behaviours, with last minute travel driven by quarantine restrictions and flight availability now the norm, this too provides opportunities for the industry to recoup some additional revenues before year end.
Yes, there are still some consumer fears that need to be allayed when it comes to travelling – whether this is during the journey or on arrival at the chosen destination – but the Gulf’s tourism sector is in a strong position. Extensive national vaccination programmes combined with social distancing and use of masks in public places are seen as positive indicators by tourists and build on the region’s existing reputation for offering high levels of safety and security for travelers.
By combining this focus on health and safety with the experiences that are driving clicks and shares – whether that’s outdoor pursuits or Instagrammable backdrops, authentic cultural moments or wellness retreats – the tourism industry in the Arabian Gulf is well positioned to capitalise on the wanderlust of European audiences. And that’s definitely a reason to be cheerful in my book.
Carolyn Gibson, chief revenue officer with news channel Euronews.
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