Global travel marketplace Skyscanner reflects on a year of being part of travellers’ exploration of the world, and shares a synopsis up of how UAE residents travelled in 2023.

Top spots for UAE travellers in 2023

Manila

Manila claims its spot as the most popular destination in 2023. The capital city of the Philippines, Manila, offers a blend of rich history, cultural attractions, and modern amenities. From its historical landmarks like the walled city of Intramuros, to it delicious street food options and lively nightlife and shopping scenes, UAE travellers cherished exploring the vibrant city that never rests.

Cairo 

Cairo was the second most popular destination for UAE travellers this year. Renowned for the Giza Pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the Sphinx, the city seamlessly blends ancient wonders with a vibrant modern atmosphere. 

Cheapest Flights, Hotels and Car Hire of 2023

Ankara

This year, more and more UAE travellers opted for alternative, budget-friendly destinations that still deliver on culture and cuisine. According to Skyscanner’s data, the capital city of Turkiye, Ankara, was one of the cheapest flight destinations with return flights costing just AED 491 ($133) on average in 2023.

Showcasing historical and cultural treasures with panoramic views of the city, Ankara is renowned for its bustling markets, scrumptious Turkish cuisine, and nightlife.

As revealed in the infographic, Skyscanner has also identified the cheapest destination to book per month for UAE travellers throughout 2023, as well as the cheapest three-star hotel stay and city to hire a car in 2023:

• After analysing prices across thousands of destinations globally, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India is revealed as the cheapest city for a three-star hotel stay, for those travelling from the UAE, costing approximately AED 92.
• Bucharest comes out on top as the city with the cheapest car hire offering, with UAE travellers paying only AED 69 per day on average. Bucharest is an excellent starting point to embark on a Romanian road trip, complete with medieval villages, ancient castles and the Carpathian Mountains. 

Skyscanner’s trends expert, Ayoub El Mamoun, said: “Looking back on the year of travel shows how the UAE has embraced the freedoms of international travel despite the pinch on purse strings. We see how this traveller behaviour correlates with the emerging trends for 2024.

“Our latest Travel Trends 2024 report highlights how value will remain a key consideration, but not at the expense of cultural exploration, travellers are simply being savvier with how they travel.

“Next year will see UAE travellers planning trips to budget-friendly cities that offer delightful cuisines, landmark attractions and good weather, with Osaka, Japan coming out as the top trending destination for 2024.

“2024 will also see UAE travellers heading abroad to see their favourite artists play, with 38% of fans saying they would travel to short-haul destinations to hear their favourite tracks live, while 19% would commit to long-haul travel.”

Skyscanner said it has helped more than 100 million users every month from across the globe find their perfect flight, hotel stay and car rental in 2023 and have continued to innovate and evolve the site and app to make planning and booking their next trip as simple (and budget friendly) as possible.

Chief Product Officer, Piero Sierra shares a glimpse into what Skyscanner launched and what we’re experimenting with globally – all to help make our travellers’ bucket lists a reality: 

• We’re testing a ‘Dream & discover with AI’ tool in selected markets to see how AI can help travellers discover new places, unforgettable experiences and travel inspiration – all by asking one simple question: What kind of trip is on your mind? 
• We’ve also recently started experimenting with how we can show train alternatives to help travellers find and decide on the best transport option for them.
• In 2023, we implemented a plethora of accessibility improvements to our colour palette and vastly optimized our screen reader experience on the site and in our app. We also built strong foundations this year with all new Skyscanner staff experiencing an Empathy Lab, extensive training undertaken, and best practices plugged in throughout the product development process
• Since its launch in 2022, we've seen the number of global travellers selecting low emissions car hire rentals more than triple. What’s more, in June we took an important step in our journey to reaching net zero by publishing our Climate Action Plan.
• Last year, we launched Skyscanner’s ChatGPT plug-in and also powered a bunch of new travel pals including Jacks Flight Club, Beautiful Destinations, Guide Geek, FareFirst, Petit Fute, Curly Tales and The Travel Mum to name a few – you'll even find us on Samsung smart fridges and freezers! 

Simple Holiday Planning and Booking Solutions

• We’re evolving our Everywhere search. In October, we tested allowing travellers to narrow down their search, whatever their trip’s vibe – whether that’s great beaches, an exciting food scene, or anything in between. More to come on this one in 2024!
• Launched on our mobile site first, travellers can now save their searched flights to come back to – just tap the heart! What’s more, we’ll send a Price Alert if that fare goes up or down.
• As of August, Skyscanner now supports 32 languages including 2023’s additions which includes Hindi in addition to many others.
• For flexible travellers, we’ve started to experiment with how to show alternative options in the results page i.e. our latest test shows if a direct flight is available on an alternative day.
• From Expedia and TripAdvisor reviews now showing in hotels results to easier to digest airline and online travel agent emoji ratings on our mobile site, we’ve continually evolved our traveller ratings and reviews in 2023 to help travellers choose the best providers. 

Helping travellers bag the best price for their next trip

• Historically one of our most popular money-saving tools, Cheapest Month is back – making it easier to see the cheapest price per month and also the absolute cheapest month of the year to visit a destination when searching for 'flexible dates'
• Using traffic light colour-coding we also made it easier to spot the cheapest flight price within the search panel on our site
• Throughout the year we’ve continued to build an extensive library of FAQs on a selection of destinations that give travellers insights ie the cheapest time to fly, the average cost of a four-star hotel or car rental in a specific destination – just search ‘Skyscanner flights to...’ for example. – TradeArabia News Service