UAE residents spend US$ 10.

8 billion on outbound travel in 2009

Dubai, April 25, 2010 — Outbound travel in the UAE generated US$10.8 billion (Dh39.5
billion) from 5.06 million trips and 76.7 million nights in 2009 according to the annual travel
research undertaken by Dubai-based research and consulting firm, Market Vision. This
translates to a $2,127 (Dh7, 806) spend per trip or US$140 (Dh514) spend per night in
overseas destinations by the UAE's residents for business, leisure and other purposes.

2009 was a challenging year for world tourism, as it faced the impact of the global economic
crisis and the outbreak of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. As per the United Nations World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourist arrivals were estimated to have
declined worldwide by 4 per cent in 2009 to 880 million from 920 million in 2008, and
international tourist receipts were estimated to have declined by 6 per cent over the previous
year.

“In the UAE, the situation was further aggravated by the downturn in the construction and
real estate sector that led to job losses, salary cuts and overall downward consumer sentiment
in the economy. This negatively impacted outbound travel, especially in the first half of the
year when much uncertainty prevailed with respect to business outlook as well as job
security,” said Kumud Sengupta, Partner and Director of Market Vision, while releasing the
third edition of its report, Travel Habits and Behaviour of the UAE Outbound Traveller in
Dubai this week. The report provides the latest outbound travel trends from the UAE and
provides detailed insights into the evolution in travel habits & behaviour of the UAE
travellers since 2005.

She further revealed that, “total outbound trip volume in 2009 declined by 5.4 per cent from
an estimated 5.35 million trips in 2008, travel nights declined from 81.5 million to 76.7
million, while total travel expenditure in 2009 declined by 18.9 per cent from a total spend of
over US$ 13 billion in 2008”.

Change %
UAE Outbound Tourism 2008 2009
2009/2008
International Tourist Departures (1000) 5,350 5,063 -5.4%
International Tourist Nights (million) 81.45 76.66 -5.9%
Outbound Travel Expenditure (US$ million) 13,288 10,771 -18.9%
Source: Market Vision estimates; 2008 Outbound Travel Expenditure as per UNWTO

Given that over 80 per cent of the estimated 5 million UAE population is constituted of
expatriates, the outbound travel sector is fairly resilient in that most expatriates do tend to
travel to their home countries on vacation at least once in two years. As per Market Vision
research, about two-thirds of UAE residents usually travel abroad at least once a year, and this
figure has remained fairly consistent over the past several years, with the exception of last
year (2009) when a marginally lower proportion - about 62 per cent - of the UAE population
travelled overseas,

1
A breakdown of the 5.06 million trips undertaken abroad in 2009 shows that leisure and
visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segments represent 69 per cent, business 24 per cent and
other trips (health, religious and other personal trips) about 7 per cent of all outbound trips
from the UAE.

UAE Outbound Trips 2009

Total Trips: 5.06 million

Business ,
24% Leisure,
33%

Other -
Religious,
Health,
Personal,
7%

VFR, 36%

Source: Market Vision Research

Based on ongoing research among UAE residents, Market Vision’s report also provides
insights into the changing travel habits and preferences of UAE travellers with respect to
leisure tourism, tracking the evolution in behaviour patterns since 2005. It notes that the past
five years have seen significant changes in the UAE travellers’ frequency of travel, incidence
of short haul trips, seasonality of trips, booking methods, use of internet etc. As an example,
the incidence of taking short trips, defined as holidays or breaks of 1-3 nights duration, away
from home, has increased by 12 per cent over the past five years among UAE residents.
Further, among those who take short trips, the frequency of taking such trips has also seen
steady increase over the years.

Nu m be r o f S h o rt T rip s p e r Ye ar
Un d e rtak e S h o r t T r ip s (1-3 (A m o ng th o s e w h o tak e s h o r t tr ip s )
n ig h ts )
19% 16%
26%

25% 35%
60% 57% 27%
69%

56% 49% 47%

40% 43%
31%

2005 2007 2010 2005 2007 2010

Y es No One Tw o Three or more

Source: Market Vision Research

Similarly, the role of the internet in influencing travel choices has significantly strengthened
as a far larger proportion of the UAE residents use it for travel planning and research
compared to five years ago.

2
 Role of Internet in travel planning & decision making

2005 2007 2010

Use of Internet as information source for travel planning & research 43% 56% 64%
Internet is key influencer in travel decision making 14% 19% 22%
Source: Market Vision Research

Role of Internet in Travel Planning & Decision Making

70% 64%
56%
60%

50% 43%

40%

30% 22%
19%
20% 14%

10%

0%
2005 2007 2010

Use of Internet as information source for travel planning & research

Internet is key influencer in travel decision making

“The implications of these and other such trends are important considerations for strategic
planning efforts by travel marketers looking to attract UAE travellers,” added Sengupta.

The full report is available for subscription from www.market-vision.com

Established in 1997, Market Vision is an independent research and consultancy services

company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It provides its services across a diverse range
of industry sectors, with specialization in the tourism and hospitality sector. It conducts
studies on inbound & outbound travel and on tourism trends on behalf of tourist authorities &
commissions and travel & tourism organizations from around the world. Its clients include the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation, European Travel Commission, Tourism
Development & Investment Company (Abu Dhabi), Agence France-Muséums, Maison de la
France, Tourism Board of Spain and Club Mahindra Holidays (India).

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