No other economic region is currently booming as much as the Middle East. It’s no wonder that the amount of business travel in the region has also climbed substantially.

Where are you headed? Such a question may sound a little too casual when the subject is a business traveler’s destination. But answers to this question may still be surprising, because in addition to “classic” destinations like North America, the boomtowns of Asia or even European cities, points in the Middle East are far and away at the top of the agenda for business travelers. Alone at AirPlus, the number of bookings to this region by German companies – compared to the previous year – grew by 35%. Even if the overall number of business flights in the first half of 2008 increased by a total of 10% compared to the previous year, the growth of business travel to the Middle East is unique – no other region has seen a climb nearly this high.

The absolute frontrunner among destinations between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf is Qatar. The number of travelers who visited the Emirate in the course of business nearly doubled within one year. Kuwait and Bahrain are also of enormous interest to business travelers. In these cases, visits have climbed by around 70%.

In addition to developments in city construction, the unique growth of economic power and the business opportunities this offers, a further reason for the increase in travel to this area could be the mentality of business partners in Arabic countries. Those who think they can replace business trips with video conferences or rely solely on the quality of their technically convincing products will presumably have next-to-no chance of awakening any interest of potential partners in the Middle East. Speaking with people face-to-face is much more important in Arabic cultures as in Western cultures, for example. Businesspeople cannot normally reach agreements before they develop a trusting relationship with their business partner on location.