- New analysis finds that airport lounges stay extraordinarily widespread within the area
- Loyalty rewards are thought of the highest cost card journey profit
- There’s a correlation between journey advantages and elevated use of cost playing cards
The journey ecosystem is already making a comeback after a disruptive occasion that has impacted each business. Travellers are once more taking to the skies for enterprise, leisure, and even bleisure. UNWTO World Tourism Barometer exhibits a 182% year-on-year rise in worldwide tourism for the primary quarter of 2022, with locations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million worldwide arrivals in comparison with 41 million within the first quarter of 2021.
Collinson, a world chief in traveller experiences, just lately carried out a examine of practically 2,000 frequent travellers within the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revealing some attention-grabbing insights. The evaluation discovered that the area’s restoration was already strong in 2021, indicating a shiny future.
Extra exactly, UAE travellers have taken a mean of 4 return journeys in 2021, representing a 67% restoration from their pre-pandemic common of six. In KSA, travellers averaged eight return journeys in a typical pre-pandemic yr (2019) and took a mean of 5 return journeys in 2021, representing a 63% restoration.
Airport lounge recognition is astounding
In response to Collinson’s analysis, the utilization of airport lounges is exceptionally excessive within the area. As a sign, 98% of respondents in KSA and 95% in UAE have accessed airport lounges up to now.
Moreover, Precedence Go, the unique and market-leading airport lounge and journey experiences programme, owned and operated by Collinson, has a robust repute in each the UAE and the KSA. On this view, 76% of UAE and 66% of KSA respondents are conscious of Precedence Go. The analysis noticed the identical outcomes for LoungeKey – a Collinson proposition designed particularly for cost playing cards, enabling banks to offer their prospects with a seamless airport expertise globally.
The survey additionally examined how travellers within the UAE and KSA understand journey rewards and advantages, in addition to how worthwhile airport lounge advantages are when provided by their card suppliers. Apparently, 80% of KSA and 76% of UAE travellers stated they’d use a card extra usually if it provided journey rewards or advantages.
The three hottest journey advantages amongst respondents within the UAE are loyalty rewards (62%), airport lounge entry (58%), and frequent flyer rewards (56%). The findings within the KSA are remarkably related, with loyalty rewards (58%), frequent flyer rewards (57%), and airport lounge entry (55%)
Entry to an airport lounge within the case of a flight delay, in addition to private identification fraud safety, are additionally inside the high 5 advantages out there to cardholders. Collinson’s options may also help deal with each. As airport delays and disruptions might be exhausting and irritating, SmartDelay turns flight delay stress into ‘lounge relaxation’. Collinson’s identification safety answer, ID Sentry, gives travellers full help with defending their identities always, anyplace on the planet, and on all units.
Buyer retention by elevated journey experiences
Whereas journey advantages may also help retain prospects, analysis reveals that greater than a 3rd of respondents in each the UAE and the KSA would gladly swap to a brand new card supplier for a extra premium, digitally enabled, and flawless journey experiences.
Collinson continues to push the boundaries of premium journey experiences by introducing new modern options to the market, tailor-made to the extra demanding travellers of the brand new period. The CarTrawler providing is a type of companies that provides worth for Precedence Go prospects significantly those that recognize the consolation and comfort of a seamless end-to-end journey expertise.
Priyanka Lakhani, Senior Vice-President at Collinson, acknowledged: “As a major variety of cardholders are open to utilizing extra services from their on a regular basis card supplier, now’s the time to capitalise on this chance and double down on proactively increasing and offering extra complete options. Providing journey advantages on a credit score or cost card not solely enhances the cardholder expertise but in addition drives transaction income, as nearly three out of 4 prospects (78% within the KSA and 74% within the UAE) would use them for travel-related spending.”