Online Booking is the way forward
The topic of online versus traditional booking channels will once again be the key focus at the 2013 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) technology seminar sessions as organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions highlights the dramatic shift .
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Arabian Travel Market 2012 will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 6-9, 2013.
A shift in the attitude of the region’s travellers to new booking channels has seen online bookings grow by almost a third in 2012 to reach just under US$10.4 billion, up 31% on 2011 figures.
According to an October 2012 study from Travelport entitled ‘Assessing the Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East’, this upward trend is predicted to continue with online bookings expected to account for 22% of all travel bookings made in the region within the next two years, with a total value of US$15.8 billion.
“In 2011 alone, there was a 39% rise in online bookings in the region. The Middle East traveller becomes more comfortable with using the Internet as a convenient and credible resource,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
“Now that the website www.wego.ae is live in Arabic, we have noticed a surge in local hotel searches and interest in a much wider mix 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-onyear, and by 106% for Dubai departures. Flight searches to neighbouring Qatar have doubled; with Saudi Arabia registering a 76% increase. Local as well as international hotel searches by UAE residents are also up 121% against 2011 figures, with Wego reporting that Dubai leads the top 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 top ten.
“We have seen a steady increase in online hotel reservations since we opened two years ago, with 2012 year-todate figures showing a 35% revenue increase on 2011,” said Purnima KP, Director of Sales & Marketing, Mövenpick Hotel Deira.