ATM 2013 technology seminar series to spotlight increasing shift far from traditional channels with internet bookings expected to grow by another $5.4 billion accounting for 22% of all travel bookings within two years.
The topic of online versus traditional booking channels will again be a key focus on the 2013 Arabian Travel Market technology seminar sessions as organiser, Reed Travel Exhibitions, highlights the dramatic shift in consumer mindset during the last yr as travellers go surfing to technology for convenient airline and hotel bookings.
A shift within the attitude of the region’s travellers to new booking channels has seen online bookings grow by almost a 3rd in 2012 to arrive slightly below US$10.4 billion, up 31% on 2011 figures.
According to an October 2012 study from Travelport entitled ‘Assessing the web Travel Opportunity: The center East’, conducted in association with global travel market research company PhoCusWright, this upward trend is anticipated to continue with online bookings expected to account for 22% of all travel bookings made within the region inside the next two years, with a complete value of US$15.8 billion.
The research, which covered online travel trends in 10 Middle East countries from 2010 to 2014, also revealed that regional online travel agencies (OTAs) are expected to grow by 18% between now and 2014, with gross booking value set to just about double from US$3.1 billion to US$5.4 billion within the next two years.
“In 2011 alone, there has been a 39% rise in online bookings inside the region, and we’re seeing a transparent shift from dependence on traditional booking channels to online services because the Middle East traveller becomes more well-off with using the web as a convenient and credible resource,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
“Mirroring this sharp rise inside the online travel marketplace, floor space in our Technology and Online Wholesalers section for next years show is already 78% sold” added Walsh.
Travelport’s research document confirms the findings of a mid-year report issued by travel comparison site wego.ae, which profiled 50,000 website users. Just like the early adoption of travel sites in Asia, Wego found that UAE travellers are taking control in their own itineraries as they look for best deals and added value.
“The breakneck pace of technological development is leading the travel industry towards a totally virtual business environment. The ‘human face’ of the business should be successfully transplanted into the web domain by bringing both personality and functionality into play if companies are to keep up their commercial success moving forward,” said Walsh.
Growing confidence in ecommerce sites and the security of web-based transactions could also be prompting a rise in interest in online travel searches, says Wego, which also saw a considerable rise in traffic and transactions following the launch of its parallel Arabic-English platforms earlier this year.
“Now that wego.ae is live in Arabic, now we have noticed a surge in local hotel searches and interest in a wider mixture of international flights and accommodation to over 600 destinations,” said Ross Veitch, Wego CEO and Co-Founder.
According to Veitch, searches by local users for flights from Abu Dhabi have increased by 120% year-on-year, and by 106% for Dubai departures. Flight searches to neighbouring Qatar have doubled; with Saudi Arabia registering a 76% increase. Local in addition to international hotel searches by UAE residents also are up 121% against 2011 figures, with Wego reporting that Dubai leads the pinnacle 20 most searched destinations (as at April 2012), with 20.2% of total share, followed by Abu Dhabi in third place at 7.7% and Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah also making the pinnacle ten.
Hotel operators within the region also are vying with OTAs to drive online bookings because the market becomes increasingly competitive. “We have seen a gentle increase in online hotel reservations since we opened two years ago, with 2012 year-to-date figures showing a 35% revenue increase on 2011; and we now have a dedicated revenue and e-distribution manager as portion of the team,” said Purnima KP, Director of Sales & Marketing, Mövenpick Hotel Deira.
The 2013 Arabian Travel Market technology seminar series will once more welcome leading regional and international digital experts specialising within the travel sector, who will reveal the newest digital trends, share information on technological advancements and invite session attendees to share their very own experiences and insight.
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