Leading online travel site explores most popular destinations

Dubai, UAE, 24 April 2015

Expedia.com®, one of the world's largest full service online travel sites1, today released the list of the top 20 most popular outbound destinations from the United Arab Emirates, based on bookings performed on Expedia sites.  The research examines passenger traffic out of the UAE, with Cairo, Egypt taking the lead over other international cities, followed by Amman in Jordan and Beirut in Lebanon.

"Expedia outbound passenger data examining the most popular destinations for UAE residents found that three MENA cities topped the poll. In terms of international destinations, London is ranked in fourth place, illustrating its enduring popularity within the Middle East, ahead of New York in ninth place and Paris ranked at 15," Expedia Director of E-Commerce Eman Barhoumeh said.

Top 20 outbound travel destinations for UAE residents in 2014 based on year over flight bookings include:


1.    Cairo

2.    Amman

3.    Beirut

4.    London

5.    Istanbul

6.    Bangkok

7.    Doha

8.    Manila

9.    New York

10.  Toronto

11.  Manama

12.  Muscat

13.  Jeddah

14.  Colombo

15.  Paris

16.  Male

17.  Riyadh

18.  Mumbai

19.  Kuwait City

20.  Washington DC

"Furthermore, Cairo experienced the most substantial growth with over a 70% increase in bookings in 2014 in comparison to 2013, closely followed by Riyadh. We also witnessed a sizable increase in flights to Colombo with over 55%, followed by Beirut and Kuwait City at 45% and 40% respectively," Barhoumeh explained.

Based on bookings and year-on-year comparisons, Expedia predicts that Cairo, Beirut and Amman will be the top outbound travel destinations for June and July 2015. New York and London are expected to each move up in the ranking to fourth and fifth places, respectively. Other popular destinations included Toronto, Washington DC, Atlanta, Paris and Bangkok.

-Ends-

About Expedia.com
Expedia.com is one of the world's largest full service travel sites*, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of top vacation destinations, cheap tickets, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. With the Expedia® Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.

Expedia, Expedia.com, Expedia Rewards, Find Yours, Vacation Deprivation and the Airplane logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners © 2014 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST # 2029030-50

1Based on a comparison of other full-service online travel agencies, defined as those providing booking and services related to air, hotel, cruise, car and activities to a global customer base. Data based on comScore Media Metrix for Expedia, Inc. Sites, Worldwide, Average Monthly Unique Visitors, Oct '12-Sept '13.

SOURCE: Expedia.com
Web site: http://www.expedia.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/expedia
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/expedia

For further press information please contact:
Beth McIntyre | Houri Elmayan
TOH Public Relations www.tohpr.com
+9714 382 8900
firstname@tohpr.com

© Press Release 2015