Study shows top spenders in travel and tourism

Study shows top spenders in travel and tourism

Pan Arab spend on travel and tourism has remained on an upward trajectory, with only airlines showing a drop.

May 24, 2011 3:40 by shafeer

Ad spend on travel and tourism reached nearly $0.6 billion as the sector maintained positive growth with an eight
per cent increase in 2010.

Restaurants, contributing a 42 per cent share of spend, posted a healthy growth of 17 per cent, while spend on airlines, however, dropped by 18 per cent. Spend on resorts rose by 37 per cent while hotels reversed its downslide of 2009 with a 10 per cent growth in spend during 2010. Travel services also reversed its downslide with a healthy growth of 30 per cent in 2010.

Pan Arab media, which refers to media titles with significant reach in two or more markets, grew by 14 per cent to occupy 38 per cent of the total regional spend.

The top spending market, the UAE, kept its spot with an eight per cent increase. Kuwait is the second top spender, but posted a modest decline of four per cent in 2010, versus a 71 per cent surge in 2009. The decline, therefore, can be perceived as a healthy correction. Saudi Arabia, in third position, posted the biggest increase at 26 per cent.

Other market variations include: Egypt (+5 per cent), Qatar (-1 per cent), Jordan (+6 per cent), Lebanon (-6 per cent), Oman (+14 per cent) and Bahrain (+11 per cent).

Among major monitored media types, spending on TV surged by 13 per cent and now occupies 45 per cent of
total spend. Spend on newspaper was flat at three per cent and saw its share drop to 33 per cent in 2010, from 35 per cent in 2009. The ad spend in magazines gained 15 per cent as the medium shares 13 per cent of the total measured spend.

The top five airline spenders are Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Egypt Air.

McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut are the top spenders in the fast-food section while Crowne Plaza, Sheraton and InterContinental appear as top spenders in hotels in 2010.

The ad spend in 2011 is likely to be affected by the political upheavals in the region, particularly in Egypt. As Egypt emerges from the current unrest, a huge potential lies in the market that advertisers are likely to exploit.

Spend is calculated on the media rate cards and does not account for incentives and discounts that advertisers may avail from media owners.

- Shaharyar Umar, analyst, Pan Arab Research Centre, UAE

This article is originally published in Gulf Marketing Review May 2011.