
Wego Travel Pulse “Covid-19 & MENA Traveller Intent” 15 July 2020
by Wego Travel
MENA Key Highlights
- MENA search activity has been flat in July plateauing at approximately a third of the activity in 2019
- Despite muted recovery so far, Bahrain in GCC, North Africa and Turkey provide positive stories
- Recovery curves look very different market to market both in shape and in composition
- The recent resurgence of cases has slowed down the reopening of travel yet as borders open, should provide a boost in searches
- Continuous success in containing the coronavirus is key to further travel recovery

GCC: Travel Interest

GCC: Top Destinations

KSA: Travel Interest

- Total daily searches continue to float between 25%-30% of 2019 levels
- Interest in hotels and domestic flights is at low 40s and continues to exceed international flights
- Interest in international flights has remained stagnant in the low 20s due to travel restrictions
- While lacking luster, there are some reasons for optimism:
- The rate of COVID-19 testing has roughly tripled over the past thirty 30 days
- Despite increased testing, new cases are less than in mid-June
- Test positivity rate has dropped from as high as 20% to nearly 5% indicating situation is getting under control
UAE: Travel Interest

- Recovery has been consistent thanks to the gradual relaxation of lockdown measures and travel restrictions
- At around 40% 2019 levels, UAE is seeing the strongest recovery within the GCC together with Bahrain
- Dubai’s decision to reopen on 7th July impacted inbound tourism and had measured impact on domestic activity
- Consistently around 1%, UAE has by far the best test positivity rate in the region and on par with countries like Netherlands, Belgium and Italy
Kuwait: Travel Interest

- In expectation of the lifting of lockdown measures, early July saw increased activity particularly for domestic hotels
- While interest in travel is still under 30% of 2019 levels, the easing of lockdown measures and the planned resumption of commercial flights in August will play a vital role in the recovery of the travel sector
- COVID test positivity rate has remained stubbornly high indicating recovery might be protracted
Qatar: Travel Interest

- Qatar has continued to gradually recover enjoying some of the highest levels of user activity across the GCC
- Unlike most other carriers, Qatar Airways has kept flight schedules at levels close to those of last year which has helped interest in flights remain relatively strong
- While still not completely under control, the COVID situation has been consistently improving since early June:
- New cases have dropped from almost 2,000/day to nearly 500/day
- Test positivity is down to 12% from a peak of almost 40%
Bahrain: Travel Interest

- Early July saw Bahrain enjoying the strongest recovery among the GCC countries
- With the COVID situation increasingly under control, flights have surged to a daily peak of 80% of 2019 average
- Domestic hotels ( not shown in the table above) have also surged peaking at 85% yet searches for international hotels remain stagnant bringing the overall hotel performance down
Oman: Travel Interest

- Struggling to contain the pandemic Oman has taken a step back in July with both flights and hotels decreasing from already low levels
- Oman is yet to make the improvements in dealing with the pandemic. Test positivity rate has consistently been in the mid-30% range while no other GCC country is above 20%.
- Based on how long other severely-hit countries have taken to control the pandemic, we don’t expect to see an improvement in travel interest before August
North Africa: Travel Interest

North Africa: Top Destinations

Egypt: Travel Interest

- Egypt has been seeing a sustained growth in travel interest and daily volumes now frequently exceed 50% of 2019 levels
- With Egyptair resuming operations in July, the recent growth has been led by international flights which have started to catch up with domestic flights
- The allure for having a unique chance to experience Egypt’s iconic attractions free of the usual influx of international tourists continues to support local tourism to a respectable level
Tunisia: Travel Interest

- The EU cemented Tunisia’s reputation for having successfully dealt with the coronavirus by listing it among the handful of safe countries whose citizens can enter the bloc without restrictions
- The boost of confidence has led to a continued increase in travel interest across both flights and hotels and across many destinations
Morocco: Travel Interest

- Similar to Tunisia, the inclusion of Morocco among the safe countries has boosted confidence and lead to a continued increase in travel interest with domestic flights in particular now consistently exceeding 2019 levels!
- After we reported a surge in interest in distant major cities like Agadir, Fes and Tangier, July saw Morocco’s two major cities- Casablanca and Marrakesh experiencing a strong surge in demand as well
- While worrying, the recent increase in new COVID-19 cases is largely a result of increased testing. At about 2%, test positivity rate continues to be well within Europe’s acceptable range
Algeria: Travel Interest

- While Algeria has been worse hit by the pandemic than both neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia, the country nevertheless made the EU list of safe countries
- In contrast to both Morocco and Tunisia, Algeria doesn’t report testing data and the positive EU decision has failed to translate into a surge of travel interest and activity has largely remained subdued
Turkey: Travel Interest

Turkey: Top Destinations

Turkey: Travel Interest

- After the major outbreak of cases in April, Turkey has successfully managed to contain the spread of the virus in May and gradually re-opened in June
- Turkey’s proactive and extensive testing program inside the country as well as the launch testing centers in airports has boosted confidence in both domestic and inbound tourism
- Similar to Egypt, a lot of Turkish people have been eager to experience their country free of tourists while tapping on some great deals
Levant: Travel Interest

Levant: Top Destinations

Lebanon: Travel Interest

- Flight interest surged to over 80% of 2019 levels boosted by the resumption of flights, the large Lebanese diaspora and the economic fears about the upcoming months
- Difficult economic conditions are likely taming interest in hotels as they remain subdued in contrast to flights
- Trends in Lebanon are the exact opposite of these in neighbouring Jordan
Jordan: Travel Interest

- The continued growth in hotel interest continued in July surpassing 60% of 2019 level
- At less than 30%, flights continue to be largely mute as limited number of international flights are in operation. Yet, all Jordan airports are expected to reopen before the end of July, so a surge of flight activity is possible
- Royal Jordanian resumed domestic flights in late June and interest in domestic flights has continuously been above 2019 levels