Leading online travel site reveals top source markets and inbound flights to the UAE

Dubai, UAE, 16 April 2015 - Expedia.com®, one of the world's largest full service online travel sites1, today released results of data analysis examining travel growth to the United Arab Emirates.  The research examines the increase of airline passenger traffic and the most popular flight origins, with London taking the lead over other key international hubs.

An interactive and comprehensive online site, Expedia.com helps millions of travelers around the world easily plan and book travel, whether for business or leisure.  Also conveniently available as a mobile app, Expedia offers a wide selection of vacation destinations, cheap tickets, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. Expedia.com offers customers the best rates available online for all types of travel. 

Expedia Senior Editor Eman Barhoumeh, said: "Expedia witnessed a notable rise of flights booked on Expedia.com to the UAE in recent years. In particular, Dubai has firmly established itself as both a key tourist destination and leading hub for business travel, as demonstrated by recent year-on-year growth of nearly 25% for travel to that destination. Additionally, Abu Dhabi International Airport witnessed record breaking figures during Q1 2015 (Abu Dhabi Airport) and we are looking forward to its expansion, which is due to provide a new capacity of 40 million passengers per year. There is also increasing consumer interest in Sharjah, so will be keeping a keen eye on passenger trends in the months ahead."  

She continues: "The UAE has traditionally been a favorite destination with British business people as well as holidaymakers seeking guaranteed sunshine. Travelers from the UK continue to make up the largest share of inbound travelers, but we are now seeing emerging development in flight bookings and searches from further afield such as Canada and the United States, as the UAE becomes an increasingly popular destination."

UAE OVERVIEW

Flight bookings on Expedia to the UAE have experienced a strong upsurge increasing just over 25% from 2013 to 2014. The most popular flight origin is London, with almost five times as many tickets sold compared with Manchester, ranking second.

Top origins of flight bookings to the UAE from 2013 to 2014 include:

1. London

2. Manchester

3. Manama

4. Paris

5. Milan

6. Kuwait City

7. Doha

8. Riyadh

9. Cairo

10. New York City

ABU DHABI

Flight bookings on Expedia into the capital city of Abu Dhabi have risen by approximately 50% from 2013 to 2014. Bookings to Abu Dhabi are expected to continue this growth trend  as Expedia has recently seen a more than 10% increase in demand for that destination. This corresponds to the recent news from Abu Dhabi International Airport on the record breaking growth of passenger traffic of 20%, reaching 20 million passengers last year, and similar traffic predicted by authorities for this year.  Top flight origins into the capital are London and Manama.  

Top 10 flight origins for guests travelling to Abu Dhabi:

1. London

2. Manama

3. Manchester

4. Cairo

5. Doha

6. Milan

7. Kuwait City

8. Riyadh

9. Frankfurt

10. New York

DUBAI

Flight bookings to Dubai International Airport have steadily expanded on the site, with a recent increase of almost 25% in year-over-year. London and Manchester top the charts as leading flight origin destinations into Dubai.

Top 10 flight origins for guests travelling to Dubai:

1. London

2. Manchester

3. Paris

4. Kuwait City

5. Milan

6. Manama

7. Amsterdam

8. Riyadh

9. Beirut

10. Doha 

The data analysis also revealed that flight bookings made from Canada have experienced the strongest development from 2013 to 2014, increasing 35%.  Additionally, flights booked to Dubai from the UK have strengthened by 27% over the same two year period, and Saudi Arabia and France by 24%.

OTHER EMIRATES

Finally, flight bookings to the surrounding Emirates have also recently increased over the past year, with a 17% boost in searches for Sharjah Airport.

About Expedia.com
Expedia.com is one of the world's largest full service travel sites*, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of top vacation destinations, cheap tickets, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. With the Expedia® Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.

Expedia, Expedia.com, Expedia Rewards, Find Yours, Vacation Deprivation and the Airplane logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners © 2014 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST # 2029030-50

1Based on a comparison of other full-service online travel agencies, defined as those providing booking and services related to air, hotel, cruise, car and activities to a global customer base. Data based on comScore Media Metrix for Expedia, Inc. Sites, Worldwide, Average Monthly Unique Visitors, Oct '12-Sept '13.

SOURCE: Expedia.com

Web site: http://www.expedia.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/expedia

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/expedia

For further press information please contact:
Beth McIntyre | Houri Elmayan
TOH Public Relations www.tohpr.com
+9714 382 8900
firstname@tohpr.com

© Press Release 2015