According to the “Assessing the Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East” report released by global travel market research firm PhoCusWright and sponsored by Amadeus, a technology partner and transaction processor, the UAE has emerged as the most mature market for travel and tourism, accounting for 47 percent of the total market and 60 percent of the online market in the Middle East.
The same source points out that smartphones represent 62 percent of total mobile phones in the UAE. Results also shows that 43 percent of users browse the internet for travel-related information and 54 percent make an online purchase.
The survey anticipates gross bookings by traditional airlines to increase from USD 16.5 billion in 2011 to USD 26.2 billion in 2014 and low cost carriers (LLCs) to increase from USD 1.4 billion in 2011 to USD 2 billion in 2014. Furthermore, bookings made in the lodging segment have been estimated to grow from USD 6.1 billion in 2011 to USD 7.5 billion in 2014, while the UAE car rental space is expected to see an increase from USD 76 million bookings in 2011 to USD 84.4 million in 2014.
The economic downturn followed by the Arab Spring has been cited as the driving force behind the growth of tourism to the UAE. In 2010, the UAEs expenditure on international and domestic tourism was approximately USD 12 billion and the nation recorded 9.2 million inbound and 4 million outbound tourists. It is projected that almost USD 234 billion will be invested in the construction industry for tourism-related projects through 2018.
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