Some of the major driving factors are the construction sector's growth in the region, increasing demand for cranes, and developing trends toward automation and telematics.

The GCC construction equipment/machinery rental market, which was valued at $3.77 billion in 2020, is poised for solid growth and is expected to reach $5.48 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6.15% over the next five years, said a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com.

The Covid-19 pandemic hindered the growth of construction machinery/equipment market across GCC region owing to shut down of manufacturing facilities and halt of investments into infrastructure sector.

However, post-pandemic, as economic activities resumed, the market expected to gain momentum during the forecast period, it stated.

Some of the major driving factors are the construction sector's growth in the region, increasing demand for cranes, and developing trends toward automation and telematics.

According to the report, the renting or leasing of construction equipment has been on the rise, owing to an effort to lower the equipment purchase and maintenance expenses.

Apart from the cost, there are also other benefits associated with renting of the construction equipment. Rental companies provide the machinery, along with the required professional machine operators and drivers, thereby ensuring a hassle-free operation, it added.

Moreover, advancement in the rental method of construction machinery such as digital platforms is providing ease to the consumer, which is further also acting as a big factor for the growth of the construction machinery market in GCC countries.

The construction sector is witnessing growth in the GCC countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain, due to the arise in the construction projects related to roads, buildings, hotels, stadiums, and other infrastructure.

In recent years, renting of earth moving equipment, such excavators, motor graders and loaders are on the rise due to growing infrastructural projects related to road and highway networks in countries such as Saudi Arabia, owing to the penetration of more construction contractors in the country due to Saudi Vision 2030.

For instance, in February last year, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the development of main roads in the heart of Riyadh in order to upgrade the city's transportation system.

The project objective is to transform Riyadh to be a major hub in providing sustainable transportation services as well as logistics services in the Middle East, stated the report.

The programme will work on developing junctions between Riyadh's ring roads and main routes. It will develop 400 km of the road network, by adding new roads and upgrading existing junctions.

source: zawya

اتحاد الغرف الخليجية 16اغسطس

أطلق اتحاد غرف دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بالتعاون مع مؤسسة بوابة قطاع الاعمال الإماراتية أول منصة رقمية خليجية للنفط والغاز ومشتقاتهم بهدف دعم التحول الرقمي بقطاع النفط والغاز (www.oilandgas.org) حيث تعد المنصة أول منصة اقليمية بدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي .

وقد بين د. سعود المشاري الأمين العام لاتحاد غرف دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي أن من أهداف الاتحاد التي يسعى لتحقيقها هي التحول الرقمي وتوفير سبل التعاون المشترك عبر اتاحة الفرص الاستثمارية بدول المجلس من خلال عدة منصات اقتصادية من أهمها منصة النفط والغاز وهي المنصة الثانية التي يطلقها الاتحاد ضمن سلسلة منصاته الرقمية لهذا العام.

د. سعود المشاري الأمين العام لاتحاد غرف دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي

مؤكداً بأن منصة النفط والغاز تعتبر محفز أساسي لخلق سوق خليجي مشترك يخدم القطاعين العام والخاص حيث يتم من خلاله خلق شراكات محلية وعالمية وطرح لأبرز واهم الفرص الإستثمارية في مجال النفط والغاز بدول المجلس.

كما أشار د. المشاري إلى أن المنصة ستعرض بيان يومي بأحدث الأخبار والتحليلات التفصيلية في قطاع التنقيب والإنتاج اقليمياً مع تحليل بورصة الاسعار الخام اليومية وستكون هناك تغطية لأهم المؤتمرات والأحداث في ذات القطاع في دول المجلس.

موضحاً د. المشاري (تندرج التصنيفات الرئيسية للمنصة تحت بنود رئيسية وهي النفط، الغاز، الحفر، الاستكشاف، الاحتياطيات، الإنتاج، منظمة أوبك، التكرير والبتروكيماويات، الغاز الطبيعي، التكنولوجيا، الشركات بتصنيفاتها، أخبار النفط بالدول، والإحصاءات المرتبطة) وغيرها.

ومن جانبه أكد د. محمد الحسينى المدير التنفيذي لمؤسسة بوابة قطاع الاعمال إن المنصات الإلكترونية بحلول عام 2025 ستمثل تعاملاتها ما يقارب 30 في المائة من إجمالي الإيرادات العالمية لأنها أصبحت علامة فارقة في العديد من الصناعات العالمية وفى تقريب المسافات بين المنتجين والمستهلكين ومع انتشار التغيرات المناخية والكوارث البيئية أصبح ضروريا على صناعه النفط والغاز في دخول ميدان تلك المنصات الجديدة والقوية وأن تبدأ في تغيير السياقات القديمة وتبدء في استخدام ذلك النموذج الحديث من الاعمال الرقمية.

وصرح محمد سيف الجابري الرئيس التنفيذي لمؤسسة بوابة قطاع الأعمال بأن المنصة ستدعم كافة فئات الزائرين والمتابعين للمنصة لتشمل العاملين بشركات النفط والغاز والمستثمرين المهتمين بقطاع النفط والغاز الخليجي من كل دول العالم والشركات الموردة والقائمة على الاعمال بحقول النفط والغاز بالمنطقة والمنتسبين للهيئات الأكاديمية والجامعات الحكومية والخاصة والأجنبية.

حيث تعد منصة النفط والغاز منصة اقليمية مرجعية لقطاع النفط والغاز تعمل على زيادة الحصص السوقية للشركات التي تعمل في قطاع النفط والغاز والتي تمهد الطرق البديلة الإلكترونية لجذب العديد من الاستثمارات الجديدة في المنطقة.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments seeking to diversify their economies and position for growth are rightly focused on the importance of digitization. However, scale and sustainability require serious attention to associated risks. While digitization—both of private sector activities and of government services—has for some time been viewed as central to these efforts, the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the process.

At the same time, governments need to establish effective protections for the digital economy to gain scale and become sustainable.

Digitization is central to transformation programs underway as GCC governments seek to wean their economies from dependence on oil and gas

The case is compelling: digital activity grows faster than other parts of the economy. For example, the United Kingdom’s (UK) analysis estimates that growth in the digital sector in 2018 was nearly six times larger than that of the country’s economy as a whole. Moreover, the digital revolution offers a unique opportunity to leapfrog decades of gradual development and gain a foothold in industries that have long been the preserve of more mature economies.

Take financial services as an example. Several GCC countries have ambitions to rise to the ranks of top global financial centers. In each case, the attraction and promotion of Financial Technology or FinTech is a critical or central component of their sector strategies. In addition to establishing tailored regulations—e.g. digital bank licenses—and dedicated environments—e.g. sandboxes—authorities provide technology infrastructure, support human capital development, orchestrate collaboration, and provide financing, among other measures. For instance, Abu Dhabi is the site of a large annual FinTech Festival. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia recently used the platform provided by its G20 Presidency to host a global TechSprint in cooperation with the Bank for International Settlements.

Governments are investing substantially in a focused and coordinated approach

Saudi Arabia’s National Digital Transformation Unit (NDTU) is one of the fundamental programs to achieve Vision 2030. Its mission is to build a world-class digital infrastructure and enable innovative talent to seize opportunities. To that end, NDTU cooperates with digital transformation partners across public and private sectors to support and accelerate digital transformation.

While it remains to be seen whether global leadership can be realized, the strategic direction is plausible and builds on promising foundations. Though GCC countries lag leading countries in the 2020 Portulans Institute’s Network Readiness Index at the aggregate level (UAE ranks at #30, Qatar at #38, and Saudi Arabia at #41), they rank much higher on information and communications technology (ICT) usage and skills among individuals (UAE ranks #1, Qatar #10, and Saudi Arabia #12) and access to ICT (Qatar ranks at #2, UAE at #10, and Saudi Arabia at #19 ). Notably, Saudi Arabia is the world leader in terms of internet access in schools and #4 in terms of government promotion of investment in emerging technologies.

The pandemic has accelerated the already prevalent digitization trend

Working from home and virtual meetings have quickly become accepted practices in the region and many professionals have commented on improved meeting discipline and efficiencies. In the meantime, online commerce, entertainment streaming, and social media offerings are all booming.

Indeed, more than eight in ten mobile phone users believe that internet-connected technologies have helped them cope during the pandemic, enabling them to support their children’s education (76 percent), stay in touch with friends and family (74 percent), and even improve their mental health and wellbeing (43 percent).

While it is evident that adoption of technology has significant advantages, there are also important risks

The most frequently discussed categories are related to information security and the abuse of personal data. The Global Risks Report, which Marsh & McLennan publishes in partnership with the World Economic Forum, has listed “Data Theft and Fraud” among the top five most likely risks for multiple years. Governments in some countries have put in place the legal and regulatory infrastructure to deal with these.

Oliver Wyman’s Cyber Risk Literacy and Education Index shows GCC governments mounting an effective policy response to the problem (especially Saudi Arabia at #9, Qatar at #13 in the Government Policy dimension, and the UAE #18 in the aggregate ranking).

However, awareness is growing of a much wider set of issues to guard against. These include but are by no means limited to:

• The Digital divide is the gap between those who have ready access to computers and the internet—as well as associated opportunities—and those that do not. This shows up at different levels of aggregation. For instance, the most digitally advanced countries have been so for many years running, implying that there is a structural disadvantage that is hard to break. At a more local level, the pandemic has highlighted how children without access to technology have missed out on months of formal instruction, creating a gap they may struggle to fill.
• Digital illiteracy, as in the inability to find, evaluate, and compose clear information through writing and other media on various digital platforms. This is correlated with the digital divide but is still separate, as access to technology does not guaranty the ability to use it effectively. It shows up, for instance, when users buy into and act on baseless conspiracy theories like “Pizzagate,” which nearly led to tragedy in 2016.
• Online harms, such as disinformation, the promotion of terrorist and violent content, and trading in illegal goods. The first of these was on full display in recent US presidential elections, with adversaries and domestic forces seeking to tip the scales or even undermine the very credibility of the democratic process and the country’s global leadership.
• Risks related to the inappropriate deployment of artificial intelligence, with a lack of transparency and agency. As SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk puts it: “We’re headed toward a situation where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is vastly smarter than humans and I think that time frame is less than five years from now. But that doesn’t mean that everything goes to hell in five years. It just means that things get unstable or weird.”
• Risk related to monopoly power, as a small number of tech giants—such as Facebook and Amazon—have become the world’s most valuable companies without formal and structured government oversight. In particular, Big Tech players leverage access to large client pools and the convenience of integrated technology to peel off the most attractive parts of the financial services value chain.
  Digitization strategies will only be scalable and sustainable if associated risks are effectively managed

This calls for debate, both at the national and international level, on what solutions are available to public and private sectors to achieve this outcome.

In some countries and organizations, the conversation on how to manage these risks is well underway. For instance, the UK’s Online Harms White Paper—currently under review—sets out a program of action to tackle content or activity that harms individual users, particularly children, or threatens the country’s way of life—either by undermining national security or by undermining shared rights, responsibilities, and opportunities. Meanwhile, the European Commission has issued Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, which address societal and ethical concerns related to artificial intelligence and reflects similar edicts originating in Australia, Singapore, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among others.

If GCC countries want to play a leading role in shaping the digital economy’s future and make it the foundation of their economic transformations, they need to tackle these risks head on. Saudi Arabia is off to a good start. The Kingdom recently established the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority with the mandate of developing the performance of the public and private sectors through utilizing the application of AI and Big Data. Its strategy includes the inaction of “the most welcoming legislation for Data & AI businesses and talents.” The strategy refers to developing a regulatory framework that will cover “data collection, classification, sharing, open data policy, and freedom of information.” Indeed, interim regulations are already in effect, and the reference to the future development of a regulatory framework indicates that these regulations will be refined in the coming months and years.

As they develop their policies, GCC governments should consider five principles:

1. Industry specific governance with a common philosophy
With digital technology infusing most sectors of the economy, it is not practical to think that all aspects can be regulated by a single authority. A patchwork of sector-specific regulators will pick up many practical issues related to technology. What is important is that there are a common philosophy and set of principles that unite the full framework, as well as a map that shows how the patchwork comes together and allows the government to identify any over or underlaps.

2. Develop standards-based regulations
Tech firms’ innovations and the risks that accompany them are evolving so rapidly that it’s easy for regulators to fall behind. Standards-based regulatory regimes capable of adapting to technological and social change could help a tech regulator get out in front and stay there.

Standards can be reworked for new risks, but changes to regulations and laws require extensive public consultation. With a standards-based approach, a tech regulator can introduce guidelines to encourage sensible innovation or, conversely, swiftly hold tech firms accountable when unforeseen risks arise.

3. Prioritize activity based on risk
Tech firms constantly introduce new apps, software, and hardware, and there is a real chance that an increasingly cash-strapped government will not be able to afford adequate staffing to properly enforce new regulations. A tech regulator would need to use a risk-based approach to target firms and activities that put the most people at risk first and rank the spectrum of potential threats.

The degree of supervisory intrusiveness should be commensurate with the size of the potential risks that companies pose. Big companies will require dedicated in-house supervisory teams, while much smaller teams can oversee primarily automated data-driven reports from startups. This ensures startups are not unfairly disadvantaged due to high costs of regulatory compliance.

4. Innovation-friendly bias
As ever with regulation, governments need to manage a delicate balance between offering businesses the space to experiment and innovate while providing guard rails to support policy objectives and make the sector’s development sustainable. The cost of compliance with well-intended regulation can constitute a significant barrier to new market entry and, thus, stifle innovation—a reality that large incumbents are only too happy to perpetuate. Financial sector regulators have experimented with Sandboxes and TechSprints as ways to encourage innovation and avoid conflict with important policy objectives.

5. Digital by default
Machine executable regulations, integrated data platforms, and reporting application programming interfaces should be part of the standard operating model from day one to reduce the cost of compliance for companies while increasing risk management efficiency. By replacing quarterly reports with technology platforms that permit regulators to pull information related to key risk indicators from companies’ systems directly, regulators will be able to monitor companies more proficiently.

In the GCC, as elsewhere in the world, the digital revolution is well on its way. Indeed, its importance is uniquely heightened by the critical role it plays across sectors to diversify and transform national economies. Not surprisingly, GCC governments are focused on measures that promote digitization on all fronts.
They would do well to recognize that identification and proactive management of associated risks will contribute to ensuring benefits are broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable.

source: atlanticcouncil

GCC MAJOR SOURCE MARKET FOR OUTBOUND MICE TRAVEL SAYS REGIONAL EXPERT MICEMINDS   

WINS ‘BEST INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN AN INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION’ ACCOLADE AT

THE MALT EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The global MICE industry is anticipated to reach over $1.4 billion in the next five years and the Middle East remains at the forefront as one of the fastest-growing tourism generators globally and an important source market for any destination.

According to the team at MiceMinds, the UAE is the second biggest source market for outbound travel from the Middle East, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia. This growth has been buoyed by the growth of the regional airlines as well as the game-changing mindset of companies like MiceMinds who create bespoke incentive travel experiences that are personalized and designed to lead positive business results.

An ITL World Company, MiceMinds was lauded for their ‘out of the box’ thinking where they won the ‘Best Incentive program in an International Destination’ award at the MALT Excellence Awards last night. The official award show of the renowned Mice Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress (MALT), the MALT Excellence Awards highlight, honor and celebrate path-breaking achievements of top organizations and individuals, who have demonstrated exemplary initiatives in the field of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events (Mice), Business and Luxury Travel from the GCC.

This particular award recognized this unique organization within the ITL World portfolio that uses incentive trips as a tool to stimulate and motivate employees and partners and reward those who have achieved certain goals in the company.

“When we won the TMC of the Year award last year we didn’t rest on our laurels so to be rewarded for a 2^nd year in a row is a real honor especially for a part of our business that usually goes unrecognized. The core objective of MiceMinds is to help organizations strengthen their team and overall performance through one-of-a-kind travel and event experiences, and this unique accolade underscores our steadfast commitment to excellence in making the MICE industry bigger, better with more customization and innovation across the board,” said Rafeeq Mohammed, CEO of ITL World.

“Awards such as this are a wonderful endorsement of our unique approach to delivering exceptional experiences to our MICE clients and the resolute commitment and expertise of our team,” he added.

Since its official launch in 1998, ITL World has been assisting companies across the globe to make the most of what they spend on business and incentive travel.

source: uaenews247

Total Saudi non-oil exports to GCC reached $1.01bln in October

Non-oil exports from Saudi Arabia to member countries of the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) increased by SAR 133 million ($35.5 million) or 5.2% year-on-year (YoY) during October 2019.

Saudi exports of national origin to GCC countries recorded SAR 2.7 billion ($721 million) last October, compared with SAR 2.57 billion ($686 million) in October 2018, according to a Mubasher survey, based on the data of the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).

Saudi non-oil re-exported goods to GCC member countries decreased by 18.2% to SAR 1.12 billion ($298 million). Accordingly, total non-oil exports reached SAR 3.82 billion in October.

Meanwhile, Saudi imports from GCC countries decreased to SAR 3.9 billion ($1.04 billion), with a trade balance deficit of SAR 83 million ($22.13 million).

source: zawya

Next year, the GCC region will be in focus because of several major global events, including Expo in Dubai, which opens on 20 October 2020 and runs for nearly six months, and the G20 summit in Riyadh on 21-22 November 2020.

In different ways, the two events will showcase the region’s economic development and potential and could contribute to ongoing efforts to attract investments and diversify economies. The GCC’s location in a geopolitically sensitive region means it is often in the news, but these events could allow it to present a different side to key audiences.

Expo will make Dubai the second most-visited global city

The Expo in Dubai will be the first time that the Middle East region has hosted a World Expo, part of a series of exhibitions showcasing national cultures and human progress that began back in 1851 and are now scheduled every five years. Ongoing preparations include the government’s spending on infrastructure for the Expo site itself and private sector investments to expand accommodation capacity. This has been providing a boost to the construction sector, although about 80% of the work has already been completed.

During the event itself, the economic impact will come largely from spending by the influx of visitors. Dubai already hosted 15.9m tourists in 2018, making it the fourth most-visited city globally according to Mastercard’s Destination Cities Index. We forecast that the surge of visitors for Expo should result in it advancing to become the second most-visited city during 2020-21, reaching 23 million visitors in 2021.

This is based on official forecasts for about 11m additional tourists coming for Expo, which we assume are distributed evenly across the six months of the event, and underlying growth trends for the remainder of each year. If numbers exceed expectations, or if tourism growth is slower in Bangkok, which currently is the most-visited, then Dubai might even move into first place.

Long-term impacts

The key challenge for Dubai will be to convert the enthusiasm generated by Expo into longer-term gains. There will be an inevitable lull after the event, as visitor numbers decrease and tens of thousands of temporary expatriate staff hired for the event depart. However, the investment in the Expo site will continue to have an impact as it converts into a mixed-used development anchored by the Dubai Exhibition Centre, which will continue to host major events and is forecast to attract 1.1m foreign visitors a year.

The hope is that many of the newcomers who attend Expo will like what they see and become regular visitors to Dubai. Its central hub location on intercontinental transit routes, and the very high satisfaction results found in the Dubai International Visitors Survey, support that outcome. Dubai’s economic model also harnesses tourists as investors, particularly in real estate, and most Expo visitors are expected to be relatively affluent and in turn, potential investors who might be attracted by the current cyclical downturn in real estate prices, resulting from significant new supply.

Saudi Arabia will help frame the G20 agenda

When the annual G20 meeting arrives in Riyadh in November 2020, it will be the first time the Middle East has hosted such a large gathering of global leaders. While Expo focuses on global culture and technology, the G20 is the leading forum for global economic policy. Its membership includes countries accounting for 90% of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of global population. It was founded in 1999 in an effort to expand the G7 club of large developed economies to include broader representation by adding 12 other large economies and the European Union. Saudi Arabia has an important role as the only Arab state and the only OPEC member in the group. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, the G20 has taken over the baton from the G7 as the most important annual gathering.

In hosting the 15th G20 summit, Saudi Arabia will be able to frame some of the topics discussed by the world leaders and work to mediate agreements, and its secretariat is currently preparing an agenda. This will also be shaped by whatever key economic and political events are underway at the time, which are difficult to predict. However, we can expect that trade and climate change, both issues on which Saudi Arabia has an important perspective, will continue to be prominent. The summit will also happen two weeks after the US presidential election, the result of which could have a significant impact on the G20 discussions. In any case, Donald Trump, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, will represent the US at the G20, as the US presidential inauguration won’t take place until January 2021.

The summit will highlight Vision 2030 developments

The summit could also be happening at a time when OPEC and its partners (including G20 member Russia) may be debating whether to extend oil production cuts into 2021. In June, the Russian president and the Saudi crown prince met on the sidelines of this year’s G20 in Japan, agreeing to continue oil cooperation, and a few days later the OPEC+ group formally agreed to extend cuts to March 2020. Many oil sector analysts expect that they will be extended for a further nine month period to end-2020, depending on trends in the global economy and oil market, in which case a decision to end the cuts, after four years, or continue in some form into 2021 could be pending when the G20 meets in Riyadh.

Aside from the core discussion, the summit will also provide a spotlight on Saudi Arabia itself. It comes as the Kingdom nears the end of its National Transformation Program, the first medium-term plan to set quantitative and ambitious goals for economic reform and diversification, as part of the broader Vision 2030. Significantly, it will also be happening around the time that Saudi officials have indicated the Aramco IPO is likely to take place and also when the first phase of NEOM city should be complete. Two key elements of the Kingdom’s broader diversification strategy. The attention resulting from the G20 could be harnessed to attract interest in both portfolio and direct investment in Saudi, which will be vital if it is to achieve its objectives.

source: pwc

With the high smartphone penetration rates and large young population, the GCC region continued to experience strong growth in mobile transactions in 2018, according to the 2018 Travel Insights Report jointly released today by Cleartrip and Flyin. The market recorded a 110% increase in mobile bookings as they represented one-third of all transactions.

The 2018 Travel Insights Report provides a comprehensive overview of the online travel sector in the GCC, as well as highlights significant shifts in the market dynamics and consumer behavior.

The market saw variations in average airfares as well as travelers' preferences in destinations, trip duration, and payment methods. Key findings of the report covering the January-December period include the sustained expansion of the industry, the rising trend of mobile traffic in major cities, and the growing popularity of travel coupons among travelers.

Sameer Bagul, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Cleartrip Middle East, said: “We are excited to launch the fourth edition of the Travel Insights Report on the region’s online travel sector. Offering an exclusive and deeper understanding of the underlying trends in the market and consumer behavior, our report has established itself as one of the most respected and trusted sources for insights into the industry. The actionable data we provide will help travellers to plan and book their trips efficiently and enable businesses to develop solutions that cater to the evolving needs and expectations of customers. We will continue to explore new ways to further enhance our comprehensive survey and look forward to releasing our H1 2019 Travel Insights Report.”

“With advancements in mobile technology making travel more accessible to the region’s growing population, the online travel industry is headed for a new phase of growth. As reflected in our study, travelers' preferences are constantly changing, and therefore, it has become imperative for online travel agents to make investments into newer technologies such as machine learning and utilizing block chain capabilities to drive bespoke personalization and superior user experience. When we launched our mobile Progressive Web App (PWA) in 2018 our conversion rates increased by 67% as we continue to help consumers seamlessly make their travel bookings,” Mr. Bagul added.

Changing payment method preferences

Even though credit card still remains the dominant payment method in the online travel market, debit card transactions are on the rise. In the Kingdom, which has seen a spike in the adoption and usage of debit card after its central bank, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), enabled the country’s made cardholders for online shopping last year, travel bookings using debit cards surged 280% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to account for 45% of all bookings. In the UAE credit card transactions dipped to 72% from 81% in the previous year and debit cards usage increased from 19% to 28%.

Growing mobile penetration

Owing to the rising popularity of digital wallets and mobile apps, mobile transactions are quickly gaining traction among travelers. In Saudi Arabia, which had the highest rate of Mobile Booking Penetration (MBP) in the region, mobile bookings accounted for 38% with a massive rise of 233% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of transactions made on mobile devices increased by 56% in the UAE, whereas Oman recorded the second highest MBP in the region at 34%. Among mobile bookings in the Kingdom iOS share was higher at 71% compared to Android devices share of 29%. The company expects this number to grow in 2019 as ApplePay™ was launched in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Mobile has become a popular channel for travel planning and booking in major cities in the region. Kuwait City and Riyadh had the highest rates of mobile traffic and bookings at 81% and 40% respectively. Bahrain, Muscat and Dubai were also among the leading markets for mobile visitors in the 2018 Travel Insights Report.

Trending destinations

Reflecting their growing appetite for novel experiences, the region’s discerning travellers made trips to a wide variety of destinations within the GCC and overseas. Islamabad, Lahore and Brussels topped the list of trending international destinations for travellers in the UAE, while domestic travellers in Saudi Arabia favoured Gizan, Abha and Ha’il. Meanwhile, Istanbul remained among the leading family travel destinations during both summer and winter seasons.

Airfares in a flux

As crude oil prices continued to fluctuate in 2018, the region’s leading markets saw significant changes in airfare pricing. Average ticket prices were 10% and 6% higher in Bahrain and Kuwait respectively, while Saudi Arabia experienced an overall price decline of 7% due to growth of low-cost carriers such as flyadeal. As some of the large airlines reduced capacity from Kuwait, it recorded the highest average fare per person at USD 281, while Oman had the lowest in the region at USD 192.

Some routes originating from the region have seen fluctuations in airfares last year. While Jeddah-Dubai recorded the highest increase at 25%, the Jeddah-Cairo route witnessed the greatest decline in airfares at 19%. In addition, micro-trips have taken off as a new trend in the region’s travel industry. Ha’il and Kuwait appeared to be the cheapest getaways from Riyadh and Dubai respectively last year.

The report also indicates that Sunday is the cheapest day for travel, whereas prices increase on Thursday. Furthermore, February is the ideal month for budget travellers with average fares falling 16%.

Sustained market growth

With lower airfares, increased connectivity and fewer travel barriers, the GCC continues to witness an increase in the number of travellers. In 2018, the industry posted a robust Y-o-Y growth of 7%, while Saudi Arabia emerged as the fastest growing market with a solid 10% expansion.

Source: menaherald