· Global travel marketplace Skyscanner details the top booked destinations for Saudi travellers taking advantage of the Saudi National Day holiday
· The search, comparison and booking site can also share trending destinations for Saudi travellers in 2022 compared to 2019
· Skyscanner Travel Expert Ayoub El Mamoun shares top tips on how to find the best deals for a last-minute trip
As the Saudi National Day holiday approaches, with public holiday on 22 September, it’s clear that travellers are making the most of the opportunity for a long weekend break away. Bookings from Saudi Arabia for travel between 22 and 25 September soared by 141% in August compared to the previous month.*
In the last week alone, week commencing 5 September, bookings for the Saudi National Day holiday period increased by 40%, revealing the appetite for those last-minute and spontaneous breaks.**
Top trending destinations ahead of Saudi National Day:***
Top trending redirect (booking) country destinations for Saudi travellers for Saudi National Day:
1. Türkiye
2. Egypt
3. India
4. UAE
5. Thailand
Top trending redirect (booking) city destinations for Saudi travellers for Saudi National Day:
1. Istanbul
2. Cairo
3. Bangkok
4. Dubai
5. London
Top emerging destinations for Saudi travellers in 2022:****
1. Thailand + 209%
2. Albania + 125%
3. Portugal +57%
4. Austria +60%
5. Maldives +30%
Skyscanner’s Travel Expert, Ayoub El Mamoun, comments:
“As the Saudi National Day holiday approaches, it’s clear that travellers are keen to make the most of their annual leave with a long weekend break away. In fact, we’ve seen bookings increase for the Saudi National Day holiday period by 141% in August with destinations including Istanbul, Cairo and Bangkok the most popular for Saudi travellers.
“For travellers looking to book a last-minute break away, a Skyscanner ‘Everywhere’ search is one of the easiest ways to get inspired to book a spontaneous break away. Ordered by price, a search to ‘Everywhere’ gives travellers the very cheapest way to get away this autumn and beyond, enabling easy exploration of all the options available across hundreds of destinations. If you know yourpreferred destination, but are flexible on dates, use Skyscanner’s ‘whole month’ tool to see the best value deals at a glance and pick the right deal for you.”
Top tips to find the best travel deals for Saudi National Day and beyond according to Ayoub El Mamoun, Skyscanner’s Travel Expert:
Mix and match to make big savings: “Mix and matching the airlines you choose to fly with can seriously cut costs. Fares don’t have to be booked as returns, look at flying out with one airline and back with another or out of one airport and back into another.”
Flex those dates: “Searching by multiple dates and airports will give you the best chance of a bargain. Flight prices are all based on supply and demand. Because some dates are more popular than others, prices will vary. The ‘whole month’ search tool allows you to see cheap flights at a glance and pick the right deal for you. Consider travelling a day before or a day after your original departure dates, flying on less popular days of the week is always cheaper.”
Wanderlust calling: “If you don’t have a fixed destination in mind, you can search ‘Everywhere’ on Skyscanner – it’s a great way to see what’s available, ordered by price, and can inspire you to go somewhere you’ve never been before.
Live deals (22-25 September) using Skyscanner ‘Everywhere’ search:*****
UAE from SAR 827
Egypt from SAR 881
Jordan from SAR 887
Tükiye from SAR 1,282
Bahrain from SAR 1,413
Switzerland from SAR 1,818
*Based on bookings made in August for economy return travel from Saudi Arabia between 22 and 25 September compared to bookings made in July
** Based on bookings made w/c 5 September for economy return travel from Saudi Arabia between 22 and 25 September compared to bookings made w/c 29 August
*** Bookings made in the last month for economy return travel from Saudi Arabia between 22 and 25 September
****Based on 2019 v 2022 (year-to-date direct comparison) since the beginning of 2022 for travel in 2022 (economy class, return travel from the Saudi Arabia – correct on 13 September and subject to change)
*****Prices correct on Skyscanner on 13 September and subject to change