Riyadh among top destinations for UAE business travellers: report

Riyadh among top destinations for UAE business travellers: report

Riyadh, London, New York, San Francisco and Mumbai are key destinations for UAE corporate travellers - with conferences and trade shows accounting for a significant volume of business trips in addition to other meetings, a report said.

Companies/ organisations do not plan to limit their business travel as they realise the value of face-to-face interaction and to ensure longevity of business relationships, according to findings from Musafir.com, a leading online travel agency.

On average SMEs in the UAE spent an approx. AED250,000 ($68,050) annually (2019) on business travel. Musafir.com estimates travel demand to grow in 2022, bouncing back to 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

The findings reveal that businesses are taking a conservative approach by increasing the frequency of travel and limiting the stay per trip to an average 1 - 3 days - should there be any unforeseen circumstances.

Data also highlights that the UAE and KSA are seeing a rise in corporate travellers from India, France, USA, Egypt, Pakistan, Germany, UK, Russia and China.

In addition, requests for clean and hygienic 4 / 5 star- hotels that provide PCR testing services have soared.

“International tourism will recover as we see coordinated responses among countries, safety and hygiene protocols put in place, etc. that will help