Dubai, UAE — Evolving traveler preferences are redefining the global tourism landscape — one prompted by a
desire for genuine connection with the locals and authentic experiences. Today’s visitors want to live
like locals, uncover hidden gems, and truly immerse themselves in the culture and pulse of a
destination, this is a key trend identified by a leading industry expert. This shift is no longer just a trend
but a defining engine in tourism — and it’s a key trend identified by Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of
Almosafer, Saudi Arabia’s leading travel company (part of Seera Group).
Speaking to Trends MENA during the Arabian Travel Market 2025 (ATM) — the region’s premier travel
and tourism event — Ahussain highlighted the evolving behaviors of travelers, the rapid rise of travel
tech, and how Almosafer is leveraging AI to personalize and enhance every touchpoint of the journey.
ATM Travel Tech has grown by over 26% this year, with more than 100 travel technology companies
showcasing their latest innovations, reflecting the sector’s increasing integration with technology. One
of the trailblazers at the show was Almosafer. At ATM they revealed the latest consumer travel trends
for Saudi travelers in the first quarter of 2025, highlighting steady and healthy growth in demand for
travel across both domestic and international markets.
Based on data from Almosafer’s consumer travel channels between January 1 and March 31, 2025, the
report compares year-on-year performance across flights and stays, uncovering insights into destination
preferences, booking behaviors, accommodation choices, and traveler segments.
According toa press release from the group, the findings reveal that travel demand among Saudi
consumers continues to grow across all markets.
“Popular destinations amongst Saudi travelers within the region included Dubai, Doha, Cairo and Manama, while Istanbul, London, Paris, and Phuket remained top choices for long-haul travel. At the same time, more Saudi travelers are venturing into
newer destinations like Bangkok, Amman, Milan, Moscow, Madrid, and Prague. Domestically, demand
continues to center around key cities like Makkah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Al Khobar, and Madinah, while
interest is growing in trending destinations such as Taif, AlUla, and the Red Sea, signaling a broader
appetite for both urban escapes and culturally rich or nature-based experiences closer to home,” the
announcement read.
Excerpts from the interview with Ahussain:
There is a lot of talk now about the impact of the tariff environment is affecting the travel industry in
different regions. What is your take on that for the Middle East?
The Middle East in general has always been very stable, especially the Gulf. The Gulf countries have
always been a stable destination and a source of international travel. Citizens of the Gulf, especially
Saudis, love to travel. We are not seeing any significant or anything noticeable in terms of a slowdown.
We’re seeing strong demand for the summer. We know globally there are challenges where traveling to
the US is less from Europe, vice versa. But from a Saudi traveler or a GCC traveler, we’re not seeing any
impact yet, and we don’t see anything alarming as of now.
In which regions do you see the greatest potential for growth?
We’re seeing a lot of growth into Asia. Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are growing
heavily from this region as connectivity improves. Europe remains strong, but even in Europe, they’re
exploring more. Before, it was much more London only. London is still top, but a lot more interest
towards Spain and Italy.
What key trends do you see as a result of today’s traveler changing preferences?
In terms of trends, there’s different parts of the journey. During the searching phase or the inspiration
phase, a lot of content and a lot of awareness is about destinations. That will continue. During the
booking phase, a lot of AI and technology is to recommend the right hotels and the right destinations.
The main trend we are noticing is that people want to really immerse themselves in the destination.
Before it was, I’m going to a place, okay, I want to shop and see a restaurant. Now they want to live like
a local. They want to see the real sites. They don’t want to just do the touristy stuff. The tourist stuff will
continue, but they’re really spending more time in the destination. So for us, for example, family travel,
the length of the family travel is up 23% year on year. So we’re seeing a lot of people spending more
time in the destination.
When you look at the destination, it’s all about the community, as well. So, we’re seeing a lot more
people searching for special events, activities and one-off unique experiences. That’s something that
continues to grow. And what’s important here is to digitize this and make it as easy as possible to
seamlessly book it.
And what are your biggest takeaways from ATM and what is next for Almosafer?
What I would say about ATM is every year it continues to grow and continues to impress. But what I
think, what I’ve personally noticed this year, previously you would always meet for global travel
companies, the regional heads. Now you’re meeting the global heads. So that shows that there’s
focused attention from the global hotel chains, the global technology providers about the region. It’s not
just a regional office anymore. This is a global event. And that’s just kudos to ATM in Dubai and also to
the region for attracting so much attention to the event.
How is AI reshaping and redefining the travel and tourism space?
AI has so many opportunities. Probably we don’t even know all of them now. I highly doubt anyone can
say they know what AI is going to do. We see it in many places. We see it in pricing, we see it in
promotion, in marketing, in operational efficiency. But most importantly, we don’t see AI as a
replacement to anything. It’s making everything better. It makes the travel agent more productive. It
makes the hotel recommendations better. That’s the way we’re trying to embed AI into our
organization.
