Increased investment in KSA's tourism sector seem to have improved favorability of the country to regional travelers , as reported in the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) from Hotels.com. First launched in 2004, the annual Hotel Price Index provides hoteliers, financial analysts, investors and tourism bodies a measure of traveler appetite and the impact of socio-political changes on prices on major destinations across the world. Regional travelers chose to stay in Madinah more frequently in 2016, reportedly boosted by increased numbers of visitors on their way to Makkah. Investment in tourism infrastructure such as the opening of the new Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz (Madinah) International Airport in mid-2015, coupled with a strong growth of tourism for religious goals, saw the two holy Islamic cities of Makkah and Al Madina continue to attract the attention of this region. Makkah held its ranking as the third most frequented city by its neighbors and Madinah inched closer to the top 10 spot. Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar also enjoyed an improved ranking among the top visited cities by regional travelers. This could signify an increasing interest in the Kingdom, both by leisure and business travelers. Among all the cities of Saudi Arabia, the major ones are Makkah ranking 1st, Madinah 2nd, while Riyadh and Jeddah ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively, and Al- Khobar ranked 5th. Even with major global political shifts and currency fluctuations around the world in 2016, travelers fared pretty well with average nightly hotel prices unchanged globally from 2015, as reported in the latest from Hotels.com. On average outbound MENA travelers paid 14% less for hotel stays at their top ten favorite cities including Istanbul, Doha, Paris, Dubai, Makkah and Kuala Lumpur. In 2016, Dubai increased its total number of hotel rooms by 5 percent . Continued investment in hotel room supplies may have meant visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi were able to spend more of their cash on shopping and less on accommodation as the HPI showed a decline in average price paid* between 2015 and 2016. The Kingdom inched closer to the number one rank, with more outbound regional travelers booking hotels in KSA in 2016, than 2015. Outside of GCC, jetting off to neighboring countries like Turkey and Egypt continue to be popular options for outbound MENA travelers. Turkey and Egypt ranked third and fourth, respectively, as the top countries in which MENA travelers booked. "The MENA region has long been a junction point for the world," said Michael Korkia, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA for Hotels.com brand. "This has not changed much in modern times according to our findings, with several destinations intersecting trade networks, pilgrimage routes and experiential tourism opportunities. This might explain why MENA travelers are more likely to visit neighboring destinations before jetting further away." — SG
