UAE Business: Istanbul tops Mena’s list of preferred destinations – Gulf Digital News

UAE Business: Istanbul tops Mena’s list of preferred destinations – Gulf Digital News

Istanbul has emerged as a leading flight destination in the Mena region even as the global tourism and aviation sectors appear to be making a rapid recovery, according to leading flight-booking website Wingie.

“Despite continued concerns over Omicron, international air travel in the Mena region showed major signs of recovery in this year’s first quarter,” Wingie Commercial Director Orkun Ozkan said. “Istanbul, meanwhile, topped the list of the most preferred destinations among Mena travellers.”

According to first-quarter data compiled by Wingie.ae, most of the flight tickets purchased in Mena were to Istanbul, followed by Khartoum, Manila, Dhaka, Baku, Lucknow, Entebbe and London.

Wingie’s survey also found that, most flights originating from Mena departed from the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Abha. During the first several weeks of the year, numerous flights also departed from Dubai, Kuwait City and Cairo.

“Throughout the period, travellers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman mostly travelled to Istanbul,” Ozkan says. The three most popular air routes were Riyadh-Khartoum, Jeddah-Khartoum and Riyadh-Baku.

Wingie’s survey found that, following Istanbul, the most popular destinations among the same demographic were Khartoum, Manila, Baku and London. “More than 15 million people use Wingie each month to book their flights, so it can provide