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For the love of staycations

The staycation segment in the UAE has logged in record numbers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and will continue to be a key contributor to the recovery of the country’s hospitality and tourism sectors, experts said at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2021) exhibition in Dubai.

They highlighted how many residents had taken the time to rediscover the beauty of the UAE and its hidden gems by booking short retreats for themselves and their families while several international travel corridors remained closed.

“We were blown away by the level of staycations in our hotels,” said Mark Kirby, Head of Hospitality, Emaar Hospitality Group. “I think, it really started when we initially began to reopen our hotels last year after the initial lockdown; we knew that international travel was closed and we knew that we had to be hotels with very exciting and attractive value added opportunities. So, we started working with our ecosystem within Emaar to identify the very best of what we have and offer that as a staycation package.”

He added that, for Emaar Hospitality Group, the staycation market was something that took a while to become used to. “We are not traditionally seen as staycation hotels – usually hotels close to the beach or resorts in the Northern Emirates are seen as staycation destinations – but, our staycation business this year, year to date, is 44 per cent of our business, which is incredible. So, for us, it has been a learning curve, but we are really seeing people loving staying in hotels in the center of Dubai.”

On the other hand, Raki Phillips, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said that hotels in Ras Al Khaimah are synonymous with staycations.

“When you look at us as a destination, we are very focused on nature, and we benefitted significantly from the domestic market,” he said. “In 2019, the domestic market was 30 per cent of our business, while international stood at 70 per cent. During 2020, that flipped around and there were times when we had nothing but visitors from the domestic market. For the full year, we ended up with 60 per cent of our business being domestic and 40 per cent being international.”

“Considering all the restrictions, we literally doubled our domestic segment and it did phenomenally well for us,” he added. “I think a lot of people discovered Ras Al Khaimah in 2020 as a tourist destination.”

However, he revealed that the UAE, as a country, relies on international travel and that he hopes that restrictions are lifted, along with long quarantine measure that have proven to be “one of the biggest hindrances to international travel” at the moment.

Rotana president and CEO, Guy Hutchinson, also noted that domestic travel and the staycation segments have really held their own during the pandemic. However, he believes that this was the case mainly because residents found themselves with a lack of international travel options due to the global lockdowns. “People will be seeking out international travel because they want to see family and friends again. They have been putting off making holiday plans and reconnecting with people that are in different locations. The only thing holding them back were harsh quarantine requirements and a lack of available flights. This pent-up demand will be clear as international travel continues to reopen.”

He also said that 2021 was always going to be about recovery, especially given the overall quality of the operating environment of the UAE’s tourism sector and the level of the country’s vaccine drive.

“This year is all about the curve of recovery and how we can maintain and even accelerate that curve,” he said. “We are still focusing on getting closer, by Q4 of this year, in many areas to where we were pre-pandemic. If you look at the segments that are driving business, we are pretty certain that leisure travel will be the fastest to recover fully; the rebound should be instantaneous once international travel restrictions are eased. This will be followed by international travel and finally business travel by the first quarter of 2022. The last quarter of 2022 will see the MICE segment back on track.”

rohma@khaleejtimes.com