Sentiment about visiting KSA is changing

Source: YouGov website. Statistics on public opinion about KSA.

Recent data from YouGov, based on surveys conducted across 17 international markets*, has revealed that half of all global respondents have seen a change in their perception of KSA as a travel destination over the past twelve months. These respondents are divided, with 15% reporting a more positive view and 15% a more negative one.

Globally however, Eastern countries generally favour tourism to KSA more than Western countries, YouGov said. Among Asians, perceptions of the country as a travel destination have become more positive in the past twelve months. Notably, 42% of Indians, 37% of Indonesians, and 31% of Hong Kong residents reported that their perception of KSA has become more positive, compared to 54% of UAE residents, where the positive sentiment is the strongest. In contrast, many Westerners have not changed their view.

Globally, opinions on travelling to KSA are divided, with nearly half stating they have neither considered visiting in the past nor thought of doing so in the future.

Compared to the past 12 months, respondents worldwide are more likely to travel to KSA for leisure rather than for business. Residents of the UAE expressed the strongest interest in both types of travel, though with a stronger inclination towards leisure. Indians and Indonesians also showed significant interest, primarily for leisure travel.

YouGov data revealed that cultural tourism is expected to be the top factor influencing future visits to KSA, as cited by 19% of global consumers. This appeal is particularly strong among Hong Kong residents (39%), Indians (34%), UAE residents and Mexicans (31% each). Other reasons for travelling to KSA include luxury getaways, religious tourism, and adventure activities (11% each). Indonesians, in particular, are highly motivated to visit for religious purposes (60%), surpassing even UAE residents (45%).

The country's recent investments in sports infrastructure and events appear to have generated interest, with nearly one in ten global consumers (8%) indicating they are likely to visit for sporting events. The highest interest is seen in Hong Kong, where 23% consider it a key attraction.

*YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2,011 for each market. All surveys were conducted online during November 2024. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.

ViaVii to offer help with travelling in Qatar

Visitors travelling to Qatar for tourism and attending mega sporting events will now be able to personalise their travel itineraries through ViaVii, a platform to explore and book travel experiences. 

ViaVii will provide opportunities for visitors to experience cooking traditional Qatari food, enjoy the local arts scene, hear stories of tradition and heritage, spend the night in the desert and partake in heritage walking tours.

Rola Fayyad, ViaVii's Founder and CEO said: "What caught my attention the most was that travellers to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region struggled to find and discover new experiences, or things to do, that allowed them to explore new cultures and meet new people. People these days have become more aware of the real value of travel that goes beyond just sightseeing and attractions; they are looking to be exposed to different cultures, languages and cuisines, all while meeting new and interesting people.

"Our main goal is to connect people in the most meaningful of ways. For that reason, all the experiences available on our platform are designed and hosted by amazing residents of a community who are eager to share their culture and talents with travellers. It's a win/win situation for both the curious travellers and the welcoming hosts. To date, ViaVii offers more than 3,500 ready-to-buy immersive digitally delivered experiences, of which only 20% were active due to COVID-related lockdowns during the last year."

The platform is anticipated to be extremely relevant with the FIFA World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place in Qatar in less than 18 months' time.

"We're so proud to have an opportunity to potentially serve hundreds of thousands of visitors to Qatar over the next couple of years, that are either here for business, on holiday or to attend events such as mega sporting tournaments," Fayyad said. 

"So many travellers today are looking for an empathetic platform, with personalised user-experience and authentic content designed and hosted by amazing locals, ultimately making travel more purposeful. ViaVii provides just that."

Details:

A mobile application will also soon be available for download through the Apple and Google app stores. Currently available in English and Arabic, more languages including Russian, Chinese and Spanish are to be available next year.

A digital itinerary planner will be available later this year for major events held in Qatar.

Source: Qatar Science & Technology Park. A desert safari in Qatar.

Sun, sand and snow in KSA

Source: SCTH. Sun, sand and snow simultaneously in KSA.

"Winter in Saudi means you can experience the sun, the sea and the snow all in one place," says the Visit Saudi website. A new set of tourism packages have been launched by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) in cooperation with six tour operators during the Saudi winter.

The Saudi Winters Experience tours are curated to highlight archeological and historical sites, events, significant landmarks, as well as traditional markets and shopping malls. Packages range from one to seven days in duration, covering a variety of sites and destinations in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Tabouk and nearby areas.

Reservations, transportation, hospitality and tour guide services will be offered at affordable rates.

Details:

Browse Saudi winter packages

Bangkok is the most-visited destination in Asia Pacific

Source: Mastercard. Report cover.

While Bangkok, Thailand remains the most-visited destination in the Asia Pacific region, Singapore continues to lead the Thai capital in total visitor expenditure, according to the latest findings from the Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017*.

Singapore has tracked a 18% leap in visitor spend over 2015 and 2016. One of only five destinations of the top 20 by total expenditure to reach a minimum spend of US$200 per day, Singapore attracted the highest spending visitors at US$254 per day, followed by Beijing, mainland China (US$242), Shanghai, China (US$234), Hong Kong (US$211) and Taipei, Taiwan (US$208).

Half of the top 20 most-visited destinations in Asia Pacific saw more than 10% growth in international overnight arrivals from 2015 to 2016. Destinations that benefitted most from this growth include Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian markets – Seoul, Korea (32.7%), Osaka, Japan (23.8%), Bali, Indonesia (22.5%), Tokyo, Japan (22.2%), Hokkaido, Japan (21.9%), Chiba, Japan (21.5%) and Pattaya, Thailand (20.6%).

This growth provides significant opportunities which governments, tourism bodies, and merchants can benefit from, including greater economic, cultural and infrastructural development.

Overall, overnight arrivals** to the 171 Asia Pacific destinations in 2016 stood at 339.2 million (9.8% CAGR from 2009 to 2016), led by Bangkok which tracked 19.3 million visitors. Singapore (13.1 million) came in second place, followed by Tokyo (12.6 million), Seoul (12.4 million) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (11.3 million). China stands as Asia Pacific’s most avid outbound travel market, having contributed 55 million international overnight visitors to the region last year or 16.2% of the total.

The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by international overnight arrivals:

1. Bangkok – 19.3 million

2. Singapore – 13.1 million

3. Tokyo – 12.6 million

4. Seoul – 12.4 million

5. Kuala Lumpur – 11.3 million

6. Phuket, Thailand – 9.1 million

7. Hong Kong – 8.9 million

8. Pattaya – 8.1 million

9. Osaka – 7.4 million

10. Taipei – 7.4 million

Visitors to Asia Pacific destinations are travelling to the region more, and doing so for longer periods. In 2016, visitors to the region stayed for a total of 1,768.7 million nights, an 8.1% CAGR from 1,023.1 million nights in 2009. Bangkok took the lead with 87.6 million nights, while Sydney came in second place with 87.5 million, followed by Kuala Lumpur at 76.7 million.

In particular, Sydney’s second-place position is especially outstanding compared to its number of overnight arrivals. Taking 20th place in the latter ranking, Sydney’s ratio of average number nights stayed versus number of overnight arrivals is shared by fellow Australian destinations Melbourne and Brisbane on the Index. As many tourists have to travel a distance to reach Australia, they are more likely to stay for longer periods to make their journey worthwhile.

The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by total nights stayed:

1. Bangkok – 87.6 million

2. Sydney – 87.5 million

3. Kuala Lumpur – 76.7 million

4. Tokyo – 74.3 million

5. Melbourne – 62.9 million

6. Bali, Indonesia – 62.4 million

7. Singapore – 60.7 million

8. Seoul – 56.0 million

9. Brisbane – 51.8 million

10. Taipei – 47.8 million

Spurred by Asia Pacific’s burgeoning middle class, overall tourism expenditure in the region jumped from US$141.5 billion in 2009 to US$244.9 billion in 2016, an 8.2% CAGR Moreover, Asia Pacific’s top 20 source markets contributed US$201.5 billion to the region’s tourism revenues in 2016.

The mass of tourists from Northeast Asia have helped to boost these earnings. Key findings from the Index revealed China (17.7%) and South Korea (8.8%) as the largest contributors to tourism expenditure in Asia Pacific. In fact, these two markets were also top source markets for Singapore (China visitors were the No. 1 tourist segment), Bangkok (China  No. 1) and Tokyo (Korea No. 1, China No. 2), the region’s leading destinations by visitor expenditure. As renowned global shopping and dining locales, they are popular amongst affluent Chinese and South Korean tourists seeking new shopping or culinary experiences.

The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by expenditure:

1. Singapore – US$15.4 billion

2. Bangkok – US$12.7 billion

3. Tokyo – US$11.1 billion

4. Taipei – US$9.9 billion

5. Seoul – US$9.4 billion

6. Bali – US$8.7 billion

7. Phuket – US$8.3 billion

8. Kuala Lumpur – US$7.3 billion

9. Sydney – US$6.8 billion

10. Hong Kong– US$6.6 billion

Interested?

Download the Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017 report

*The Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index is an offshoot of Mastercard’s annual Global Destination Cities Index. In recent years, Asia Pacific cities have increasingly dominated the fastest growing and most visited destinations in the world. According to the 2016 Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, five of the ten most visited cities in the world were in Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific Destinations Index takes a more in-depth, focused look at these tourism trends, ranking 171 destinations, including island resorts as well as towns and cities across the region, in terms of the total number of international overnight arrivals; cross-border spending; and the total number of nights spent at each destination. These 171 destinations are drawn from 22 countries across Asia Pacific and represent 90% of all international overnight arrivals within the region.

Public data is used in deriving the international overnight visitor arrivals and their cross-border spending in each of the destinations, using custom-made algorithms. This Index and the accompanying reports are not based on Mastercard volumes or transactional data.

*Overnight visitors stay at least one night in the destination country.

Tokyo Skytree introduces fast-track tickets

Source: Tokyo Skytree website. The tower has a unique colour called Skytree white, which represents harmony with the surrounding scenery, its name and the design concept of city scenery that transcends time. The colour is based on 藍白 (aijiro), the lightest shade of Japanese traditional indigo blue.

The 634m-high Tokyo Skytree, recognised by the Guinness World Records Company in 2011 as the tallest free-standing broadcasting tower in the world, has introduced the Fast Skytree Ticket for international visitors.

Tokyo Skytree has introduced the Fast Skytree Ticket, an express ticket which grants admission with a shorter wait compared to using the regular tickets. The tickets are sold exclusively at a separate ticket counter at the 4th floor West Entrance, Tokyo Skytree.

Eligible visitors include international guests who present their ID to the ticket counter. International guests residing in Japan, and Japanese visitors accompanying a group with international guests are also eligible.

Interested?

Opening hours are 8am to 9pm
※ TEMBO DECK (floor 350) will close at 10pm
※ TEMBO GALLERIA (floor 450) will allow entries till 9:20pm.
※ Ticket sales are subject to change due to weather condition and other reasons.

Admission with Fast Skytree costs 3,000 yen for those 12 years old and over, and 1,500 yen for those aged four to 11 for a visit to floor 350. A combo Fast Skytree ticket allowing admission to floors 350 and 450 will cost 4,000 for those 12 years old and over, and 2,000 yen for those aged four to 11. Children under three years old are admitted free.

In contrast, same-day tickets for the TEMBO DECK (floor 350) cost 2,060 yen for visitors 18 years old and over; 1,540 yen for those 12 to 17 years old; 930 yen if aged six to 11; and 620 yen for children aged four to five. 
Same-day tickets for the TEMBO GALLERIA (floor 450) cost 1,030, 820, 510 and 310 yen respectively.

Bahrain joins Cruise Arabia Alliance

Bahrain has become the latest country to confirm its commitment to the Cruise Arabia Alliance, which now has membership from the UAE emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, as well as Qatar and Oman. The alliance encourages its members to share best practices and ensure a region-wide level of service and standards offered to both the cruise lines and their passengers.

The announcement was made at the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum, which was held in Doha, Qatar and hosted by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). The announcement was made in conjunction with Bahrain announcing it would be complementing the 2015/2016 cruise season with 68,000 passengers and 32 calls from major cruise lines.

The QTA also stated that Qatar is expecting a three-fold increase in passengers next season. Thirty cruise ships will be bringing up to 50,000 passengers to Doha between October 2016 and April 2017 - up from the eight calls scheduled this season.

Hassan Al Ibrahim, QTA’s Chief Tourism Development Officer, said: “Qatar places huge importance on the cruise industry, both to diversify the tourism sector and Qatar’s overall economy. There are long-term plans to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, all of which will enable us to tap into the potential of cruise tourism by developing Qatar’s ports.

“We are building our infrastructure and human capital; we have a new destination brand that consolidates the industry’s efforts to attract more visitors; and, we are diversifying and enhancing the products and services across the entire industry.

“For our part, QTA is working with partners across the public and private sectors, to plan, regulate, develop and promote the tourism sector, with the aim of achieving growth that is both exponential and sustainable.”

He added: “QTA is committed to providing at least 6,000 rooms on cruise ships for the 2022 FIFA World Cup competition - in the redeveloped Doha Port – reinforcing cruise tourism as one of our most exciting and enduring legacies.”

The Forum confirmed that the Arabian Gulf is now the third most popular winter cruising destination with one million cruise passenger visits expected in GCC countries during the 2015 to 2016 season.

Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, organisers of the Forum, said: “Over the two days of the Forum, we have repeatedly heard from tourism and ports authorities across the region that the cruise industry has been identified as a crucial area for growth in the coming years and that many see this sector as an engine for sustainable development of their economies, and as an important pillar that supports efforts to limit dependence on natural energy resources as a driver of GDP.”

To achieve this, Hayman highlighted the significance of the Cruise Arabia alliance which is committed to its members working together with the common goal of growing cruise tourism and tackling the challenges faced, whilst taking advantage of the opportunities that will arise in the coming years.

Amongst the challenges discussed is the importance of each destination to create shore excursions that are diverse and offer unique onshore opportunities for cruise line passengers. The question of obtaining visas was also flagged as a challenge but was felt that each destination was developing wider flexibility and this had been well addressed since the last Forum in 2015. Security was also highlighted as a potential challenge as perceptions of passengers unfamiliar with the region had been influenced by international media coverage. However, it was felt that passengers who have visited the Arabian Gulf for themselves understand that it is a safe area with tight security, and can be ambassadors in promoting the region. 

TripAdvisor makes it easier to record key moments in a travel experience

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site*, has launched a Travel Timeline feature for its mobile app to help users log and share travel experiences. Once activated, the feature automatically creates a timeline of the places travellers have visited and the photos they’ve taken at each location, which can be viewed in chronological order or as a route on a map. 

“Travel Timeline is a useful and valuable tool for chronicling travel experiences and conveniently capturing moments to remember,” said Adam Medros, SVP, global product, TripAdvisor. “TripAdvisor not only helps travelers plan and book their trips, but with Travel Timeline we help our community document and share them too.”

To activate Travel Timeline, users log on to the TripAdvisor mobile app and opt-in to the feature. Once the feature is activated, it will keep a log of the points of interest that the user has visited in a running timeline, and travellers can easily rate and review hotels, restaurants, or attractions they visited. The feature uses the phone’s GPS and motion sensors to predict when the user is visiting a location or if they are just passing by. Activities are logged without an Internet connection. The timeline is private to the user on their TripAdvisor app, but travellers can edit their timeline and easily share it with family and friends. Users may turn Travel Timeline off at any time.

Interested?

Travel Timeline will be available through the free TripAdvisor mobile app, only on iOS, in 28 languages worldwide.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, July 2015. TripAdvisor manages and operates websites under 23 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 350 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 290 million reviews and opinions covering 5.3 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 47 countries worldwide.

**Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique users, Q3 2015

Yummy Japan introduces Japanese food and culture through YouTube videos

Source: Yummy Japan website.

Yummy Japan has launched a new portal for visitors regarding all things Japan to meet demand for information about Japanese culture and food.

Yummy Japan is a multi-channel network* (MCN), and hosts some 50 foreign YouTubers and over 1,000 videos which are searchable by keyword categories such as creator, place names and food. The videos are connected to Google Maps, allowing users to get directions to the venue. Users can create an account on Yummy Japan, save a list of favourites as well as create blog posts.

*MCNs affiliate with more than one YouTube channels. This is what YouTube has to say about MCNs

Etihad, TCA Abu Dhabi and Miral join hands to promote Abu Dhabi as a destination of choice

Etihad Airways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), and also with Miral Asset Management (Miral), which oversees the development and management of a range of hospitality, sports, entertainment, retail and leisure destinations on Yas Island. The two MOUs will cement stronger ties between the three parties, and promote the global appeal of Abu Dhabi as a year-round tourist, business and cultural destination.

The exclusive partnership will see the three parties drive the growth of inbound destination and stopover tourism to Abu Dhabi by joining forces on various strategic activities including co-branded marketing and communication, market intelligence and data exchange, loyalty and affinity programmes, and business and leisure events within the Emirate and around the world.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Today we sign our joint commitment to make Abu Dhabi the best destination brand in the world. This unique and important partnership between the national airline, TCA Abu Dhabi and Miral will boost Abu Dhabi’s image exponentially. As the national airline, we continue to foster mutually beneficial relationships with the leading drivers of growth and progress in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.”

Etihad Airways will coordinate more closely with TCA Abu Dhabi across a range of disciplines and targeted B2B and B2C programmes, and will continue to grow the established and successful Essential Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Now and Access Abu Dhabi trade and consumer programmes.

Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi, said: “2016 will see many more guests coming to our warm and welcoming home, and enjoying all the exciting vacation and business opportunities it has to offer.”

Miral and Etihad Airways will enter into a close destination-driven relationship in which Hala Abu Dhabi, the airline’s destination management subsidiary, will be providing a wide range of tourism, marketing and distribution services, including product development, global distribution and digital capabilities.

Mohamed Al Zaabi, Chief Executive Officer of Miral, said: “Abu Dhabi is a world-leader in state-of-the-art leisure, business and sporting facilities, and nowhere is this more evident than on Yas Island. Together, we will increase in-market trade cooperation, international branding exercises, media and loyalty programmes, as well as education and PR strategies."

Previous collaborative work between Etihad Airways and TCA Abu Dhabi has yielded highly successful global campaigns such as the Travellers Welcome campaign and the Abu Dhabi golf and MICE programmes.

White paper on managing talent in the China hospitality industry offers solutions

The Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management (CSHTM) and its Institute for Hospitality & Tourism Education & Research (IHTER) have released a white paper on talent in the Chinese hospitality industry which may be of interest to HR managers handling Chinese resources as well as to those in the hospitality industry. 

Managing Growing Pains of China’s Relentless Hotel Development Pipeline provides the hospitality industry with ideas on what can be done to address the severe shortage of qualified and skilled talent in China for hotels entering the market, including professional coaching, conflict resolution and career ladder strategies at the workplace.

Authored by Simone Champagnie, executive director at IHTER; Danqing Liu, Associate professor at CSHTM’s Marriott Tianjin China Program; and Christine Toguchi, MD at MacroVision Network and the Project consultant for IHTER, the paper explores the insight, ideas and pertinent questions arising from the intellectual exchange that took place at the Visionary Leaders Forum in Shanghai last June. 

Click here to download the white paper in English and Mandarin.

TripAdvisor names world landmarks in Travelers' Choice awards

TripAdvisor, the travel site, has announced the winners of its Travelers’ Choice awards for Attractions. In the second year of the awards for these categories, 929 winners were identified, including the top 25 in the world. Four of the top ten landmarks in the world are in Asia or the Middle East, while one of the top ten parks is in Australia.

Top 10 World Landmarks

2. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

3. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

6. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

7. Bayon Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Top 10 World Parks

6. Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia

“TripAdvisor travelers have helped identify some of the best attractions around the globe,” said Barbara Messing, CMO, TripAdvisor. “These award-winning landmarks and parks are an ideal starting point for taking in the world’s must-see sights.”

Travelers’ Choice awards honour top travel spots worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travelers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for landmark and park attractions worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

View the full list of winners here.