Arab Travellers: Who really makes the travel decisions in Arab households?
Arab travellers are a sought after demographic. Collecting data from the Insight Out Consumer Travel Report 2018, UNWTO 2019 Travel Report, The State of Social Media MENA 2019 and countless interviews and questionnaires we have conducted over the years, we ask the simple question: who really makes the travel decisions in Arab households?
Who Cares?
The question is an important one and goes to the crux of what it means to be a great representation company. Knowing your customers, their habits, their decision-making processes, and how they finally make purchases, allows you to influence the various stages of the buyer’s journey. This is done by using the correct channels and the most appropriate content for each target customer. Stereotypes are real. They exist, whether we like it or not. Lazy marketing employees use these stereotypes to have us believe that Arab men make all major financial decisions and that their iron will and meek wives make the question asked above a redundant one. Sadly, stereotypes haven’t followed the data whatsoever in this case.
Why Arab Travellers?
Arab GCC travellers are the holy grail of international travellers for those in the know. They spend on average 2 times longer on their holiday, spend approximately 6 times more than the average traveller and have a tendency to repeat visits. To acquire a single Arab family to your destination is equivalent to 6 families from other regions. Acquiring the Arabian traveller is a mission worth undertaking and it starts with the biggest question of them all: Who really makes the travel decisions in Arab households?
So who makes the decisions?
The data is clear, Arab women are the PRIMARY decision-makers when it comes to destinations for GCC Arab households. They obtain information from a range of sources, including online reviews, social media, friends feedback and personal experiences. They collate these views and then use their internal filter to decipher whether the destination is right for them. One of the critical filters includes whether the location is child-friendly, Muslim friendly and whether it has the expected level of service.
So, now you know. So what?
Armed with this information, as a destination you should ask yourself: Are you putting enough resources and budget into attracting Arab travellers? Are you creating campaigns and delivering content that meets the actual decision-makers need at the time of making her decision? Does your representation company have solutions to help you do this? At Gulf Reps we truly understand the Arabian traveller, we have built direct to consumer channels with over 60,000 Arab international travellers for the exclusive use of our clients to promote their destinations. We not only build campaigns to bring Arab travellers to you, but we also have case study after case study that proves the efficacy of our work.
Gulf Reps
Gulf Reps is the leading travel and tourism representation company in the Middle East. With over 60 years of regional and industry experience. Gulf Reps has served clients on six continents delivering transformative results to everyone from hoteliers to tourism boards. Our mix of world-class marketing expertise, PR specialists, unparalleled connections and relationships and eclectic mix of marketing channels makes working with Gulf Reps the only sure way to drive Middle Eastern tourists to your destination.