Dubai: European expatriates living in the Middle East cannot seem to get enough fun in the sun – choosing Spain as their most popular holiday destination before their annual trip back home.
In a recent study carried out by Preferred Hotels and Resorts, a leading independent hotel brand, the booking behavior of its European customers were examined for the summer of 2016.
Research found that the accessibility of direct flights and flight connections were top factors in determining people’s choices when searching for a secondary break.
Previous booking data collected by the hotel organisation identified the UK, France, Turkey, USA, and Spain as the top five ‘preferred’ destinations for Middle East travelers in 2015.
Saurabh Rai, Executive Vice President, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, said: “Analysing the booking data of our Western iPrefer members residing in the Middle East has shown that there is a growing trend for multi-stop summer holidays, with Spain topping the list of preferred stop-offs in 2016.”
The number of tourists visiting Spain has been on a steady inclination, from 56.2 million in 2011 to 64.9 million in 2014, according to the World Bank.
The World Economic Forum further placed Spain at the top of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index Ranking for 2015, followed by France and Germany. The US, UK and Switzerland were ranked at fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.
“On top of factoring in quality time in their home countries with friends and family, travellers are choosing to make the most of excellent flight links and great deals to add another leg to their trip.”
Dubai-based Emirates, which flies to more than 150 destinations around the world, offers daily routes to Barcelona and Madrid; Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways connects to 10 destinations in Spain; and Qatar Airways, which also now connects to more than 150 destinations worldwide, offers non-stop flies from Doha to key Spanish cities of Barcelona and Madrid.
