Ubiquitous consumer access to the internet and mobile technology has revolutionized the travel and tourism industry worldwide, changing the way consumers plan and book trips, and residents of GCC countries are a significant part of this revolution.
A Price Waterhouse Cooper report, ‘Global megatrends and their impact on the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry’, highlights that travelers in the GCC now do the majority of their holiday research and booking on smartphones and tablets. Smartphone usage for the GCC markets is among the highest in the world, at 78 percent in the UAE and 77 percent in Saudi Arabia. Due to the ubiquity of high-speed mobile internet, travelers can easily access mobile applications to book flights and hotels online and compare online reviews.
Wego, a travel search website and mobile application for travelers living in the Middle East, was among the first to enter the MENA region by launching fully localized services to meet the needs of a new generation of travelers wanting to shop for and book flights and hotels on their smartphones. “The response from GCC countries to Wego’s fully Arabized websites and mobile apps has been overwhelming. Wego has grown rapidly to become the most popular and trusted travel search service in the region with over 10 million monthly visits,” said Mamoun Hmedan, Wego Managing Director of MENA and India.
Online travel in MENA is a massive industry and is growing at a rapid pace accelerated by a shift in consumer behavior from offline to online travel shopping. Mr Hmedan explained, “MENA’s travelers were quick to embrace online travel shopping but the transition from desktop to a mobile-first market happened even faster, and today Wego sees over 70 percent of searches in the Middle East taking place on a mobile device.”
