According to research carried out by Colliers International, on behalf of ATM, as many as 2,8 million UK residents will travel to the GCC in 2024, an additional 500,000 travellers when compared to 2018 arrival figures.

Adding to this, figures from ATM 2019 show the number of delegates, exhibitors and attendees interested in doing business with the UK increased by five percent.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME, ATM, said, “Historically, the UK and the GCC have enjoyed excellent travel and tourism links and this trend is set to continue over the next four years despite the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the bleak pound to dollar exchange rate, in which sterling has declined 18,9 percent since June 19, 2015.”

She added, “However, the UAE is expected to continue to be the preferred GCC destination for UK tourists, welcoming a projected 2,23 million visitors by 2023. Saudi Arabia will follow with 251,000 visitors, while Oman will welcome 165,000, Bahrain 159,000 and Kuwait 5,000.”
UK tourists travelling to the GCC are expected to generate an estimated USD6,3 billion in travel and tourism revenue by 2024, an increase of 34 percent when compared with figures from 2018, according to the research data.

Building on this, total tourism spend in the GCC, reached USD70,2 billion in 2018, with the UK travellers average spend during trips to the region, 27 percent higher than the average spend of any other visitor.