Tourism Trends in the Middle East and North Africa
Tourism in the Gulf has increased notably over the last few year, with tourists seeking better travel destinations. Most of the tourists to the Gulf region originate from United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Over 60% of the visitors are repeat business and 20% have visited the Gulf as a "Sun" destination, avoiding Africa and Far East.

Oman has seen a growing number of German tourists during 2007, and it is expected to increase for 2008. DW-world.de reported, August 2007, that "Online travel agency Expedia.de found that many Germans were traveling farther to places including Oman and Vietnam in an anxious search for the sun."

Dubai has also seen a growth of tourists in the Dubai Summer Surprise (DSS) with visitors from India, Germany, Austria, Malta, Albania and Turkey. In an article published by ameinfo.com (July, 2007), for operators "... dealing in inbound tourism, the GCC market has been traditionally strong but in the recent past there has been a noticeable increase in demand for Dubai in the overseas markets as well especially Europe. Summer time welcomes lots of tourists from Germany, Italy, France and Russia as well as from the Far East and Australia which are beginning to open up now. "

Source: Compiled from sources retrieved by ayna.com "Tourism and Business News" search engine results.