CLEARTRIP, a leading mobile and online travel company in the Middle East, has officially launched an Arabic-language website to support its GCC market expansion efforts and provide users in the region with localized browsing and booking capability. The new website includes content and promotions relevant for Arabic-speaking audiences, and comes with a host of useful features, tools and functionality designed to allow travelers to easily make and manage reservations. Users are also able to avail exciting offers and benefits when booking on the Cleartrip website or its mobile application. Cleartrip is experiencing increased traffic on its website from mobile devices, with traffic driven by smartphones and tablets growing 30% during the first week of Ramadan, and the launch of a dedicated website in Arabic language is expected to further accelerate bookings. Innovations in payments security, along with the launch of new government initiatives in Saudi Arabia and the proliferation of e-commerce startups, are driving increased consumer trust in online payments. This in turn is further expanding the market opportunity for Cleartrip. Currently, debit cards account for an even larger share of the total bookings at 24% in Saudi Arabia, with bookings paid for by credit cards making up the remaining 76%. The increase in bookings made using debit cards is seen as a sign of surging consumer confidence in online payments. "As the Saudi Arabian traveler becomes more discerning and tech-savvy and as the travel booking landscape shifts toward a more digital focus, the demand for local language information and booking capability is on the rise," said Stuart Crighton, Founder & CEO of Cleartrip. "Cleartrip has emerged as a travel platform of choice for consumers across much of the Arabic-speaking world. We have grown by over 45% year-on-year and Arabic speakers represent our fastest growing segment, their numbers increasing by triple digits. Bringing a dedicated Arabic website into our product mix will strengthen our value proposition among digital-first Arab customers and ensure our service offerings match the needs of this sizeable and growing audience." "At Cleartrip, we are committed to making travel simple and hassle-free by offering a powerful, technology-driven booking platform that is easy to navigate and rich in content. The launch of the Arabic website is yet another important step toward achieving our goal of providing users in the GCC region with a seamless browsing and booking experience that evolves along with their needs," Crighton added. Saudi Arabia's online travel market is estimated to be worth around $4billion and is growing 20% year on year, with online travel agents (OTAs) holding 44% of this market. The rising use of mobile technology is supporting the online travel trend. Saudi Arabia leads the Middle East in terms of smartphone ownership as well as the number of internet users, and this large, young and tech-savvy population is leading the Kingdom's travel industry toward a digital future. The Middle East's online travel market is forecast to almost double in value in the two-year period between 2016 and 2018, rising from $18 billion to $35 billion by 2018. According to a joint study conducted by Travelport and Phocuswright, online travel bookings, which accounted for 25% of all bookings in the Middle East in 2016, will rise to 36% by the end of 2017.
