The destination rankings are derived from the flight and hotel search activity by users of Wego’s apps and websites users during the quarter surveyed.
Online travel marketplace Wego has released the MENA Traveller Destination Leaderboards for Q2 2018, which looks at the rise and fall in popularity of travel destinations among travellers from the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region.
The destination rankings are derived from the flight and hotel search activity by users of Wego’s apps and websites users during the quarter surveyed.
Egypt was the most popular global destination among MENA-based travellers, maintaining its undisputed #1 position for Q2 2018 thanks to the continued patronage of both leisure and business travellers from the region.
India jumped two places to the #2 position, up from #4 in the same quarter in 2017, with Pakistan doing the same in moving up from #11 to the #9 position. “This is probably a result of the holy month of Ramadan beginning mid-May, and many Gulf-based Indian expats who chose to travel to their home country during this period (or immediately afterwards),” says Wego in a statement.
Turkey moved down one spot to #4 position, but it is looking especially affordable for GCC-based travellers this year owing to continued currency weakness, with its tourism numbers reflecting strong demand.
Travel to the Philippines from the MENA region saw strong growth because of expats travelling home during Ramadan, marketing efforts by the Philippine Department of Tourism and the opening up of new airline routes.
The top 10 destinations:
1. Egypt
2. India
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Turkey
5. UAE
6. Indonesia
7. Jordan
8. The Philippines
9. Pakistan
10. Morocco
The Asia Pacific destination leaderboard remains largely unchanged in Q2, according to the report. Four destinations retained their spots: Indonesia #1, Philippines #2, Thailand #3 and Malaysia #4. “This also validates the enduring appeal of the lush tropics to those of us living in drier parts of the world,” it added.
China, ranked #5, is an up-and-coming destination for many global tourism markets. “It will be interesting to see if, over time, China challenges the popularity of the other big South-east Asian destinations among MENA‐based travellers,” Wego points out.
In this quarter only Japan and Singapore have swapped positions, ranking #9 and #10 respectively.
The top 10 as in Pacific destinations:
1. Indonesia
2. Philippines
3. Thailand
4. Malaysia
5. China
6. Maldives
7. South Korea
8. Australia
9. Japan
10. Singapore