Growth in online travel planning and booking across the region will underpin the Travel Tech Theatre focus at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) .
Research firm Phocuswright reports that the Middle East’s online travel market is forecast to almost double in value within the next two years, rising from $18 billion to $35 billion by 2018.According to research released by Euromonitor International, in 2014, 60 per cent of airline reservations and ticketing was made online by Dubai based travellers alone, driven largely by a younger tech-smart generation for whom online and mobile technology is the preferred booking channel.Looking at it regionally, 46 per cent of airline tickets in the UAE are booked online, followed by Kuwait (34 per cent), Saudi Arabia (23 per cent), Lebanon (18 per cent) and Egypt (12 per cent).Around 50 per cent of the UAE population relies on the Internet as the first port of call when planning or purchasing travel-related products, and the rising use of mobile technology is also supporting online trends, with 50 per cent of travellers from the UAE and 35 per cent from Saudi Arabia leading the region in using their smartphones to make travel arrangements.By the end of 2017, according to a joint study conducted by Travelport and Phocuswright, online travel bookings, which currently account for 25 per cent of all bookings in the Middle East, will rise to 36 per cent.A key area of annual growth, the travel technology area of the exhibition floor was launched as The Travel Tech Show at the ATM in 2015. With this renewed focus it grew 38 per cent in 2015 and for 2016 will cover over 1,500 sq m – a 68 per cent increase on 2014 figures. Confirmed speakers include Ahmad Absi, client partner at Twitter presenting case studies; Ali Hashmi from Google talking about digital transformation; Stewart Smith of Sojern, on mid-market travel and market diversification; and senior executives representing Amadeus and Clicktripz will analyse the latest travel tech trends.