Home-sick Middle Eastern Travellers

Passion for home cuisine

DUBAI, UAE 17 March 2014 – Aside from missing their families and home, Middle Eastern business travellers reveal that they are much attached to their home cooking, finds the latest survey by Regus, the global flexible workplace provider. Home cooking (24%) is among the top three things Middle Eastern travellers miss when abroad for work, ranking higher than their local weather or speaking their language in their affections.

When travelling abroad for business respondents globally reported that after family (68%) and their home (38%), they are most likely to be hit by a bout of nostalgia over home cooking (25%), rather than savouring the delights of a foreign cuisine. One in five respondents (17%) also longs to speak in their own language, highlighting that some home-comforts really are irreplaceable in making people feel they belong.

Other findings highlight that:

• In the Middle East, respondents were more likely to miss their home (47%) than the global average of 38%;
• Globally, generation X and Baby Boomers are less likely to be willing to travel for work with family commitments taking their toll;
• Generation X, most likely to have young children, is the most likely to miss their family (73%);
• In the Middle East almost a third (31%) of respondents are less willing than they were ten years ago to separate from their home comforts and travel for business.

Commenting on the results, Kory Thompson, Country Manager UAE at Regus says: “Face-to-face meetings have often been a key part of business as people need to see the expressions and body language of those they are talking to, but workers also find that over the years their priorities change. New technologies that allow workers to hold video conferences are becoming more and more common and employees are rightly starting to demand that these be offered as an alternative to travel.

“Reducing unnecessary travel also helps the bottom line:  it significantly reduces costs and carbon footprint. By introducing a greater degree of video conferencing, businesses can have their cake and eat it too: they can save money and the environment, as well as helping increase employee satisfaction and improve their work:life balance.”