Business travel budgets in the UAE are predicted to relax this year, according to YouGov Siraj's latest Travel Tracker.
The research tool, which surveyed 261 business and 349 leisure travellers from UAE during April, showed that diminishing business travel budgets appear to be "largely behind us".
Fewer than one in four (24 percent) people who travel for business said their budgets had decreased in the past year.
This compared to 47 percent in April 2009 when budgets were at their lowest as the global credit crisis tightened its grip.
Looking ahead, nearly half (45 percent) of business travellers expected to travel more in the next 12 months.
Three-in-five business travellers (60 percent) said they expected budgets to grow or remain the same over the coming year.
A similar positive trend was seen in the survey for leisure travel, with nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of leisure travellers saying their travel will either stay the same or increase in the next year.
"Travellers feel optimistic that the worst of the recession may be behind us," said Scott Booth, research manager for Travel and Tourism at YouGov Siraj.
"Their optimism is reflected in the expected increase in travel for the coming year."
India remains the most popular business destination from the UAE, the survey said.
Over the next months however, travel to India is expected to lose ground to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the USA, where travel is expected to increase.
India was also the top leisure destination, although a significant decrease in travel to India is expected next year. Fewer people also travelled to Egypt and Jordan compared to previous waves.
