Travel in the Middle East is evolving rapidly, with shifts in technology and consumer behaviour transforming both the industry and how people explore the region and beyond.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing how holidays are planned and sold, while ski trips, cruises and experiences are gaining popularity among Middle Eastern travellers, according to the new Group Chief Executive Officer of global aviation and travel services company dnata.
Nabil Sultan Al Murr, who took over the role in June 2026, told Euronews Travel that these changing preferences are pushing companies to adapt more quickly, while technology is influencing everything from inspiration and booking to the airport experience.
Part of the Emirates Group, Dubai-based dnata operates across several divisions in aviation and tourism, including ground handling, cargo, travel services, catering and retail.
Overseeing its businesses across 162 cities in 37 countries, Sultan says the company has been assessing opportunities in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Europe. But it is technology and changing traveller behaviour that could have some of the biggest impacts on how people plan and experience their holidays.
How could AI change the travel experience?
AI has quickly become one of the biggest talking points in tourism, with travellers increasingly using tools to research destinations and plan their next trip. Sultan believes new technologies also have the potential to improve the passenger experience by allowing travel companies to process information and get relevant offers in front of customers much more quickly.
“I honestly think that AI and technology will bring in huge advantages in terms of improving the whole passenger experience and being able to put out the best offers and products,” he told Euronews at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
One example is the thousands of hotel contracts handled by dnata. Sultan says information from these contracts was previously processed manually, meaning getting deals into the system could take months.
“Now with AI we’ve adapted the whole thing and of course everything happens in almost real time,” he said. “That just shows the importance of how AI actually brings in that agility and speed and improvement in the whole work process.”
Ski holidays and winter travel grow in popularity
Technology isn’t the only thing changing. Where – and how – people want to holiday is evolving too. One of the most noticeable shifts dnata is seeing in the UAE is growing demand for winter travel. “People going out for skiing, which was never the trend almost four to five years ago, is becoming such a huge trend,” Sultan says.
Responding to that interest, dnata has launched a winter programme featuring around 10 ski destinations. The company is also looking beyond conventional ski holidays towards other winter experiences. Sultan gives the example of Finland and seeing the Northern Lights as the types of trips attracting interest.
“These are all new kinds of features and experiences that we’re trying to bring to the traveller and actually meet their emerging demand that we continue to see,” he said.
How cruises, Gen Z and food will drive the next era
Sultan expects traveller preferences to continue changing quickly over the next five years. Cruising is one area already gaining momentum in the Middle East and Gulf, he says, despite historically being a less established form of holiday in the region.
“I think the tourism and travel industry has been so dynamic and has been changing so rapidly and we’ve been seeing that,” Sultan said. “I think the key thing, of course, is to keep up with all of these changes and continue to introduce new elements in the whole entire experience.
“We see cruising now is becoming a huge trend. And you know that was never the case in this part of the world.”
The next major shift could come from younger travellers and how the industry adapts to their preferences. “Five years from now there’s probably going to be a whole new trend, especially with the Generation Z, who probably look at different sorts of priorities in their travel experience,” he said.
Sultan points to food tourism as one example of how those priorities could change. “Food and healthy food is becoming a real trend,” he said. “So how do we bring that element into travel? It is a revolution and we’re staying very close to the customer to really understand how we position our product offering.”