Residents of the Gulf states spent $27 billion on travel last year, breaking the world record for staying in first-class hotels and splashing out on average twice as much as Europeans, reported the Gulf News on Saturday, citing a report.
The report was released by the Berlin-based IPK International.
It said that Saudi Arabia clocked up the most trips with 4.8 million, and the UAE was second with 1.6 million. Kuwait followed with 1.3 million, Bahrain with 400,000, and the others totaled 700,000.
A massive 199 million nights were spent abroad by GCC residents, and on average, they spent $135 a night.
“This was almost double the European level of $88. On average, GCC residents spent $1,814 on a trip compared to the average European's $836,” the report said, cited by the paper.
The Middle East was the most popular destination for GCC residents, making up 3.2 million of the 8.8 million trips. The second most frequented destination was South Asia with 2.2 million followed by North Africa, 1.2 million.
The report added that GCC residents set a world record having 70 percent of travelers stay in first-class hotels. The average stay was almost 20 days. Many people took holidays from May to October, but August was the most popular, the report added – Albawaba.com
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