Travel and tourism investment in Saudi Arabia will continue to rise by almost 10 percent in 2017 while digital consumption is expected to reach high levels of personalization by 2021.
Innovation in travel tech is supporting the industry’s growth by connecting travelers to more travel choices.
Travelport a leading travel commerce platform, participated in the 2017 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held from Monday to Thursday.
The company highlighted how travel tech is allowing airlines and travel agents to meet Middle East travelers’ demands and grow their businesses by providing a more personalized travel experience.
Today’s youngest working segment — the millennial generation — is estimated to become the largest workforce segment by 2030. Travel industry players in the Middle East are leveraging technology to meet the needs of millennials who tend to be higher spenders than their global peers with regards to travel.
In the GCC, millennials account for a quarter of the population and they have grown up surrounded by and adapting to technology. The region’s travel industry is feeling the clout of their spending power already and it is estimated that millennials in Saudi Arabia spend two and a half times the global average on a typical trip. This trend is set to continue.
Almost half of them book travel through mobile devices.
Travel apps have become the millennials’ preferred method of interacting with brands.
In the Middle East, leading airlines such as Etihad have launched successful travel apps, which deliver innovative digital travel solutions for their travelers.
Research indicates low cost carriers have high growth opportunities in the Middle East.
Rabih Saab, Travelport’s president and managing director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, said: “Travel tech is an exciting place to be right now. We are increasingly living in an experiential world. Mobile penetration in the Middle East is astronomical, across the GCC almost 80 percent of the population are mobile subscribers.
“Smart travel brands will continue to look at how mobile can help bridge the gap between generic experiences and ones where the end-traveler feels truly engaged and supported.
Brands will thrive or decline depending on the experiences delivered to travelers and how relevant and personalized these experiences are. Travelport’s technologies and unique travel commerce platform is leading the industry in providing technology solutions to ensure our airline and travel agency partners flourish in this pivotal point in time for our industry,” he added.

Source: Arab News