Wego reveals top 10 destinations...

While Pakistan has climbed the ranking, Turkey has fallen

Users of online booking platform Wego search for tens of millions of trips each quarter and its flight and hotel reservation data is analysed to determine destination rankings.

After taking pole position from Egypt last July, Saudi Arabia has remained the top international destination for travellers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for six consecutive months, according to Wego.

Egypt and India take second and third place respectively. Both countries are major source markets for expat workforces for the Gulf region and therefore have consistently held the top spots for international air travel bookings. Going as far back as 2014, Egypt has consistently been in either first or second place, and India has taken third place since 2016.

In the latter half of the top 10, Pakistan has been gaining traction, scoring the largest gain of two places.

After becoming a popular destination in Q2 and Q3 of 2023, when bargain hunters took advantage of favourable exchange rates and affordable holidays in Turkey, the destination has been gradually been sliding back down the ranking as the country's currency situation stabilised.

The top 10 destinations for Middle East Travellers in Q4 2023