More and more UAE nationals and residents prefer staycations, even during the hottest months. Crunching three-months’ worth of numbers from 22 May-22 August (a key booking period for travellers around the world), Airbnb has identified the growth of staycations and domestic travel from residents within the United Arab Emirates as the number one summer trend.
Following Airbnb’s Arabic website launch earlier this summer, the data indicates growth across the region. Ras Al Khaimah is proving popular with a 66% boost in year-on-year summer visitor numbers to stays on the online platform while there was a 59% growth during the same period for stays in Dubai.
Being able to access the website and app in native Arabic provides added incentive for guests travelling from the MENA region to the UAE with Saudi Arabia visitors topping the list of foreign nationalities booking stays on Airbnb, followed by the US and the UK.
As of 1 January this year in the UAE, 10,000 listings were available on the Airbnb platform and hosts in the UAE welcomed more than 145,000 guests from around the world.
