Saudi Arabia, Egypt Remain Top Mena Travel Destinations for 2024: Report
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the top two travel destinations for the Middle East this year, a new report by travel marketplace Wego found.
According to Wego’s analysis of flight searches and bookings made on their platform in the first four months of 2024, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have maintained their top spots as the first and second most sought-after destinations respectively, as they have for most of the past decade.
“Egypt stands out as a favored choice among travelers seeking unique cultural experiences and diverse attractions,” said Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer at Wego.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have held these top positions consistently since Wego began tracking trends in 2014, highlighting their enduring popularity among Middle Eastern travelers.
Top travel destinations for Gulf, wider Middle East
Rounding out the top three is India, another long-standing favourite for Gulf residents seeking work or business opportunities. Pakistan saw the largest jump within the top 10, climbing two spots to fourth place as air connectivity and flight prices with the Gulf countries improved.
Within the broader Middle East region, the top destination remained largely unchanged with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE occupying the first three places. Pakistan overtook Kuwait and Turkey to take the fourth spot, and rising two spots each were Qatar and Oman which ranked eighth and ninth respectively.
Top European travel destinations
Western European destinations continued to fare strongly, with the United Kingdom holding steady as the top choice for Middle Eastern travelers for the tenth consecutive year.
Italy saw a significant surge, leaping from fourth to second place – cracking the top three for the first time. Wego attributed Italy’s jump in part to new direct flights and investments announced between Italy and Saudi Arabia in late 2023.
Some Eastern European countries saw a decrease in popularity according to Wego’s 2024 data. Azerbaijan fell one spot to third place, while Georgia dropped two spots to sixth. Bosnia and Herzegovina also lost a place, landing at tenth just above the Netherlands at 11.
In the past few years following the COVID-19 pandemic, destinations like Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina had risen in the rankings benefitting from their geographical proximity to the Middle East and less stringent travel policies at the time. Georgia even surpassed the UK as the top destination in 2022. However, in 2024, larger Western European markets regained momentum.
Despite losing positions among European destinations, all three Eastern European countries still climbed in the overall global rankings, demonstrating European destinations overall were more favoured than non-European options.
Most popular Asia Pacific travel destinations
The top seven countries maintained their previous year’s positions, with Vietnam being the sole country in the top ten to move up one spot overtaking South Korea.
Thailand and Indonesia retained their first and second-place rankings from last year. Thailand has continued to widen its lead as the number one destination in the region, while Indonesia barely clung to second place, edging past the Philippines by a narrow margin. For three consecutive years now, Thailand has taken the top spot, displacing previous leader Indonesia which is now struggling to avoid falling to third place.
When examining travel trends between 2023 and 2024, there was a general continuation of closer regional destinations becoming more prevalent choices compared to more distant locations, Wego said.
Countries further away from the Gulf region such as Morocco, Indonesia, and the US lost the most spots in the rankings year-over-year. Last year saw Malaysia, the Philippines, and the USA drop out of the global top ten, and this pattern held in 2024 as well, while nearer nations like Kuwait, Pakistan, and Jordan that broke into the top ten last year maintained their popularity for MENA travelers. Qatar notably broke into the top ten rankings for the first time in 2024, taking the place of Morocco which slid down two spots to number twelve.
