EFT Travel Distribution Middle East 2008The online travel retail business in the Middle East region is projected to grow by 25% annually over the next five years. It is expected to touch US$250 million-mark by 2011.

Published: 17 Jun 2008

EFT Travel Distribution Middle East 2008

The online travel retail business in the Middle East region is projected to grow by 25% annually over the next five years. It is expected to touch US$250 million-mark by 2011.

According to Euromonitor International, the spread of online travel distribution will begin with flights, followed by hotels and packages thereafter.

"Internet travel retail is expected to grow from 2.3% in 2007 to 3.8% by 2011," said Euromonitor International's Travel & Tourism Research Manager (EMEA) Clement Wong, a speaker during the inaugural session of EyeforTravel's first Travel Distribution Middle East conference being held in Dubai.

Specifically on travel distribution in the region, Wong said direct suppliers dominate with almost 90% of Internet transactions.

On future of travel distribution in the Middle East, especially in the context of traditional vis-à-vis emerging online channels, Wong said although Internet retail will experience high growth rates, most of travel retail will still be done offline in the next five years, and online travel driven predominantly by the expatriate community.

The region is expected to receive 60 million inbound tourists between 2006 and 2011, with Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia tipped to lead in terms of the number of tourists.

"For the region to be successful, it needs to first develop the regional market, as similarly done in the European and Asian tourism markets, and then develop tourism-related infrastructure for the international market. With a common language and similar cultures bringing together different Middle Eastern countries, more has to be done than investment in physical infrastructure to build regional tourism.

Investment in the development of cultural infrastructure has to occur to help drive return visits from regional tourists," Wong told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta.

The arrivals in the Middle East region totalled over 25 million in 2007, up from 14 million in 2001. This growth has been boosted by strong business travel and increased intra-regional travel due to visa restrictions to Europe and the US. Also, the rise of LCCs in the region has had a positive effect on tourism flows, pointed out Wong, adding that UAE is the top inbound destination, followed by Bahrain and Jordan.

"Increased competition from foreign players entering market has resulted in increased in product variety and professionalism," said Wong.

Wong also referred to the concept of "Halal Tourism", defined as tourism activities permissible under Islamic Law in terms of behaviour, dress, conduct and diet.

"Religious tourists also come in big groups from Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan. There is also a growing Muslim population in Europe, in particular, Spain, Norway and Germany – what's more, these European Muslims tend to be devout, and also inclined to holiday-taking, making them the perfect consumer group to target with holidays which are in keeping with religious beliefs and values. To accomplish this, the infrastructure for Halal tourism would need to offer European Muslims appropriate guides and translations of Arabic texts at religious sites," he said.

Ritesh Gupta

EyeforTravel.com