Business Class vs. Economy: How Much Are MENA Travellers Really Spending?

So, there's a new study out from Tumodo, an online business travel platform, and Admitad, a partnership marketing platform, that dives into the latest trends in business travel across the Middle East and North Africa for 2024. They analysed over 500,000 travel purchases from early 2022 to early 2024, and here’s what they found:

Ticket Prices: The average cost for airline tickets within the MENA region has hit US$205, largely due to seasonal inflation. If you're flying from MENA to places like Europe, Asia, or America, economy class tickets average around US$510, while business class fares can go up to US$2084. Business travel mainly involves economy class tickets (88 percent), with business class making up 10 percent and first class just 2 percent. There's also been a 17 percent increase in car rentals for business trips compared to last year, indicating that people are favouring flexible transportation.

Destinations: For business travellers from Dubai, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are top destinations. There's been a notable movement of workers from Pakistan to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, reflecting strong economic ties and business connections in the region.

Booking Trends: The study also looked at how business travel bookings are being made. In early 2024, targeted and contextual ads were responsible for 25 percent of bookings, and content platforms contributed 22 percent. This shows that booking channels are becoming more diverse, and travel companies need to adopt a multi-channel approach to stay competitive.

Overall, business travel spending globally hit US$933 billion in 2022, with the MENA region accounting for about US$23 billion. The trends point towards a future with more digitalisation, personalisation, and flexibility in business travel.