THE online travel industry in Saudi Arabia is developing at a rapid rate with online bookings expected to exceed $1.9 billion in 2014, according to a Travelport co-sponsored research. According to the study – carried out by global travel market research company PhoCusWright – web sales in Saudi Arabia are forecasted to nearly double since 2011, when the online travel sector was valued at $1 billion.
“The online travel industry across the whole of the Middle East is growing at an unprecedented rate, and the significant growth we are witnessing in Saudi Arabia is further testament to this,” said Rabih Saab, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, Travelport.
The study, called “Assessing the Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East”, was carried out in 2012 across 10 Middle East countries involving UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman and looks at online travel trends in the region between 2010 and 2014.
The research also shows the rapid development of Saudi Arabia’s travel industry as a whole, estimating that by 2014 the country’s travel trade will be worth $11.4 billion compared to $9.8 billion in 2011.
To support the continuous development of Saudi Arabia’s online and traditional travel sectors, Travelport has unveiled its key business priorities for 2014. Travelport will launch Travelport Smartpoint 3.0 – its next generation desktop solution for travel agents. In addition, the company will continue the roll-out of Travelport Merchandising Platform, pioneering technology for airline distribution, and its leading edge Travelport Universal API – the industry’s first truly universal API, giving travel agents access to a world of content and functionality through a single API connection.
2014 will see the launch of the next generation Travelport View Trip Mobile – Travelport’s itinerary management tool. The company will also continue to invest in Saudi Arabia’s travel trade and plans to strengthen its team in the kingdom.
Saab adds: “This year, we have continued to grow our footprint across Saudi Arabia and through our solid product and business stagey in 2014, we will continue to develop our regional presence and address the ever evolving needs of our customers.”
The company has also continued to expand its footprint across Africa with the launch of business operations in Somalia. It has appointed Euro Africa Services – an established regional travel operator – as its distributor in the country, making this the latest milestone in its expansion in Africa.