The United Kingdom is receiving most European summer travel bookings from Saudi Arabia, constituting 18.38% of all bookings to Europe, followed closely by Georgia, with 14.97% share of bookings to the continent, Wego, a leading travel app said.

Revealing top summer European destinations favoured by Saudi travellers this year, data from Wego, one of the largest online travel marketplaces in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), showed that Saudi travellers prioritise comfort, with four-star and five-star hotels constituting a combined 66.66% stake of all European hotel bookings.

This hotel preference remains largely unchanged since last year, it said.

Summer is one of the peak travel periods for Saudi travellers. The lengthy summer break also means more time to explore beyond the backyard and Europe is where families, couples, and solo travellers are keen to be heading this time of the year.

Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer of Wego, said: “Searches for trips to Europe from Saudi Arabia during summer holiday have more than doubled compared to the same travel period during earlier months of 2024.

“As summer travel season is still in full swing, it may be a close race once again between the UK and Georgia for shares of bookings from Saudi Arabia this time around.”

Last summer, the UK and Georgia were tied for the position of the most in-demand summer European destinations from Saudi Arabia on Wego, with about 1% difference in booking numbers.

Saudi travellers angling for seasonal deals may have more reasons to book right now. Summer airfares on Wego to many popular European destinations are currently observed to be lower than last year.

Among the steepest drops are flights to the UK, down by 22.56%, and flights to Azerbaijan, now 31.45% cheaper than last summer.

Wego’s list of most searched European summer destinations from Saudi Arabia this year features a mix of well-known hotspots such as Italy, Germany, and Spain, along with a handful of Eastern European countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Poland, and Austria are among top countries from the region that is receiving a lot of interest.

Some of these Eastern European countries are relatively budget-friendly and offer convenient visa arrangements for Saudi passport holders, which explain their popularity among Saudi travellers. – TradeArabia News Service