JEDDAH – Online travel bookings in the Middle East is forecast to reach $15.8 billion by 2014 amid dramatic shift in consumer mindset among travelers in the region, Travelport said in a study entitled “Assessing the Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East”, conducted in association with global travel market research company PhoCusWright. “The upward trend is predicted to continue with online bookings expected to account for 22 percent of all travel bookings made in the region within the next two years, with a total value of $15.8 billion,” it said. The research, which covered online travel trends in 10 Middle East countries from 2010 to 2014, also revealed that regional online travel agencies (OTAs) are expected to grow by 18 percent between now and 2014, with gross booking value set to almost double from $3.1 billion to $5.4 billion in the next two years. The UAE has emerged as the most mature market for travel and tourism, owning 47 percent of the total market and 60 percent of the online market in the Middle East, the study said. According to projections by PhoCusWright, the total online travel market in the UAE will grow from $4.8 billion in 2011 to $9.5 billion in 2014, highlighting a breakdown of 31 percent rise in 2012, 24 per cent in 2013 and 22 percent in 2014. Antoine Medawar, vice president, Amadeus Middle East and North Africa, said: “Such staggering figures are indicative of the fast evolving travel landscape in the UAE. The UAE traveler has been identified as the most sophisticated in the Middle East in terms of technology adoption, owing to high mobile, Internet and broadband penetration rates. It is evident, therefore, that technology companies must prioritize providing the industry with the right tools to support the growth of the online travel sector.” Smartphones represent 62 per cent of total mobile phones in the UAE. The report cited that 43 percent of these users browse the Internet for travel-related information and 54 per cent make an online purchase. Gross bookings made by Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are expected to rise from $1.7 billion in 2011 to $3.2 billion in 2014. Gross bookings by traditional airlines would increase from $16.5 billion in 2011 to $26.2 billion in 2014 and low cost carriers (LLCs) to increase from $1.4 billion in 2011 to $2 billion in 2014. — SG
