Dubai" Residents in the Middle East are in the mood to travel and are up for exploring their own neighbourhood in particular, a survey revealed.
Eyad Al Kourdi, MasterCard Worldwide vice-president and country manager UAE, said: "Personal travel is an important priority for many consumers in the Middle East, as the MasterCard survey revealed that spending on travel is set to rebound.
"This rebound coincides with the busy summer travel season and the upcoming Eid holiday period," Al Kourdi said.
According to the MasterCard survey, a total of 36 per cent of Middle East residents, up from last year's 24 per cent, are planning to pack their bags for a trip in the coming months.
Dubai's Alpha Holidays, Tours and Travel said travel bookings had bounced back compared to 2009, the company said.
General manager Fabian Fernandes told Gulf News: "Of course, for sure, travel has increased for business and leisure".
MasterCard said its survey asked 10,503 people in the Middle East about their travel plans, and found that residents in Kuwait were presently the most enthusiastic travellers.
A total of 71 per cent of those surveyed said they were planning trips abroad, while 51 per cent of people surveyed in the UAE said they were thinking of going somewhere, but they weren't sure where. Ranking the Middle East residents most likely to travel, next on the list after Kuwaitis were Qatari residents, with 34 per cent making travel plans; Saudi Arabia (30 per cent); and Egypt (20 per cent).
Lebanese, however, preferred to stay home, the survey indicated. Only eight per cent said they had travel plans. The country could also expect plenty of visitors from the UAE too, as 15 per cent of those surveyed by MasterCard said they were heading to Lebanon.
The most popular travel destination among UAE residents however was Egypt for 32 per cent of those surveyed. Another 13 per cent of UAE residents said they planned to visit the UK.
Top of the list
Beirut and Egypt also topped the list of popular destinations at Alpha Tours. "In the Middle East top destinations also include Qatar and Jordan," Fernandes said.
"Regional travel comprises 30 per cent of all trips booked compared to international," he added.
MasterCard's survey revealed Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE were the most popular destinations for the 57 per cent of travellers expecting to stay within the region.
African survey respondents specified Saudi Arabia, coming in just behind France, and followed by Canada and Turkey, as the most popular travel destination. MasterCard said it was important to note that a higher number of respondents came from Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria.
Travelling by air also rated highly on the list of priorities for 90 per cent of Middle East survey respondents.
The findings were also in line with Air Arabia's recent announcement that passenger numbers between Sharjah and other destinations in the Gulf Cooperation Countries had increased by 16.8 per cent, compared to the same time in 2009.
Robert O'Hanlon, partner in charge of the tourism, hotel and leisure industry at Deloitte in the Middle East, explained why the Middle East was booming as a destination.
"With world class infrastructure and facilities and an excellent geographic location, the Middle East is expected to emerge as one of the world's most competitive landscapes offering value tourism and conference experiences to a worldwide customer base," he said in an article in the consultancy's second edition of its magazine, the Middle East Point of View.
