Travel apps on the rise
Travellers across the Middle East are becoming more comfortable with using their mobile phones to plan their holidays, a new report has found. The rise is being mainly driven by travellers looking for last-minute deals and overnight stays.
dubai — Travellers across the Middle East are becoming more comfortable with using their mobile phones to plan their holidays, a new report has found.
The increase in mobile travel booking is being mainly driven by travellers looking for last-minute deals and over-night stays. With mobile platforms making it easier to book a weekend away, searches on smartphones and bespoke travel booking apps have spiked, and account for up to 89 per cent of traffic, for last-minute bookings, according to the findings of Criteo’s Travel Flash Report (Winter 2017/2018). The findings also revealed that at 53 per cent, mobile bookings in the Middle East surpassed all other regions.
Globally, online travel agencies saw 45 per cent of all bookings take place on a smartphone or tablet in the final quarter of 2017. Travel companies with mobile apps saw 60 per cent of their bookings take place on mobile devices, up from 41 per cent during the same period in 2016.
“Shoppers in the Middle East are increasingly booking their travels from apps and smartphones due to the flexibility and accessibility of
Online travel agencies and suppliers need to ensure that convenience doesn’t come at the price of a great user experience
Michele Iozzo, Managing director for the MEA at Criteo
these platforms,” said Michele Iozzo, managing director for the Middle East and Africa at Criteo. “However, with the holiday booking period approaching, online travel agencies and suppliers need to ensure that convenience doesn’t come at the price of a great user experience. Connecting all of those touchpoints across platforms and devices, and providing the shopper with a unique and seamless booking experience is thus key for a successful booking season.”
Criteo’s report also showed that up to 80 per cent of last-minute bookings globally are made on mobile devices.
In addition, it was found that mobile is still growing around the world for online travel agencies as 45 per cent of bookings take place on mobile devices, in comparison to just 16 per cent for suppliers.
The results also showed a shift away from desktops, with 33 per cent of overnight stays searched for on apps. Mobile bookings in Europe at 25 per cent edged ahead of North America at 22 per cent.
Mamoun Hmedan, Wego managing director for the Mena region and India, noted that millennials in particular are very comfortable with making their bookings on online platforms.
“Millennials are extremely techsavvy and they tend to do extensive research and compare deals through [online] platforms before planning their itineraries. So, an intuitive online travel compare app would be the ideal way to unravel new destinations. Millennials are responsive to a more personalised experience, ease of access, minimal fuss and a flexibility in an application which allows them to customize their trips as per their wishes,” he said.