Travellers from emerging markets, such as the UAE, Brazil and China, are driving demand for personalised experiences which resonate with the local culture but are delivered by trusted global brands, says InterContinental Hotels Group's latest Trends Report.

In fact, 60 per cent of UAE's travellers now expect global brands to be relevant in terms of local tastes, customs and culture, it said.

IHG’s 2014 trends report, which surveyed more than 7,000 international travellers, reveals that:  
• More UAE consumers would rather stay in a global hotel brand than any other market (77pc UAE travellers vs. 55pc on average across markets)
• People in the UAE take more business trips than any other market surveryed (15.3 days per year vs. 10 days per year on average across markets)
• UAE travellers are more likely to travel only for business rather than combining business and lesiure trips (34pc of all trips from UAE vs. 23 pc average across markets)
• People in the UAE travel more internationally than all other countries surveyed (37pc of all trips from the UAE are international, vs. 21pc of all trips on average across markets)

IHG brought together industry experts to define the key trends and issues shaping travel and hospitality in the UAE and globally at an exclusive event at InterContinental Dubai Festival City.

The ‘3D Connected Traveller Series’ expert panel in Dubai explored the reasons behind this emerging trend, focusing on the role that food and beverage play in delivering the ‘3D’ brand experiences (local, personalised, trusted) that travellers want.   

Hosted at Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire at InterContinental Dubai Festival City, the panel of five high profile travel and food industry leaders included three Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, who founded and runs a number of restaurants including Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire; Phil Broad, vice president, food and beverage, Asia, Middle East and Africa, IHG; Andrew Day, group CEO, MMI and Emirates Leisure Retail; and Mohamed and Peyman Al Awadhi, the social entrepreneurs behind Emirati street food business Wild Peeta and travel TV show Peeta Planet.

The panellists shared views on a range of topics such as combining local tastes with global consistency to create restaurant menus that cater to Dubai diners – one of the most cosmopolitan audiences in the world.

Broad said: "UAE travellers have an optimistic opinion about the ability of global hotel brands to deliver a combination of localised and personalised experiences, and hotels in the UAE are leading the way when it comes to delivering quality dining concepts. The acclaimed offering of restaurants at IHG, such as Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, helps ensure it is locally relevant not only in the UAE but also in the other 100 countries and territories that IHG hotels are present in around the world."

Pierre Gagnaire said: “There’s a wonderful aspect of intimacy in hotels; they encourage human interaction and make the world a better place. Paying tribute to local cultures is of upmost importance and something I try to embody in all my restaurants, both through my Executive Chefs and my own technical skills, and by taking local sensitivities into account.”  - TradeArabia News Service