Google has unveiled data to show how travellers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia travelers use mobile, video and search engines in their travel decisions.
The search giant released its report at the Arabian Travel Market last week.
Web leads when it comes to trip planning
Web plays a key role in the decision making process for both leisure and business travellers in the UAE and in KSA.
Apart from direct advice from friends and family, internet is the number one source for trip planning for more than a third of leisure travellers surveyed (39% UAE, 38% KSA). This number rises for business travellers - in the UAE it jumps to 50%, while in KSA it jumps to 48%.
In Saudi, leisure travellers rely on social networks and search engines as sources of information; while in the UAE, they rely on search engines primarily, before online videos and maps as sources of information.
This mirrors the US where search engines are the leading source for information.
50% use mobile for travel decisions
With smartphone ownership and improved connectivity continuing to grow rapidly in the region, it is no surprise that travellers are using their mobile devices when planning trips.
Among those that use the internet to plan their travel, 48% have used their smartphone in the past year to engage in a travel related activity, rising to 69% for smartphones or tablets specifically.
Travel related activity includes everything from booking a flight or hotel, to writing reviews on travel sites; checking weather or maps for a travel destination, searching destinations, watching or posting travel videos among other online activities.
Saudis lead the way with their mobile usage when it comes to travel - with 50% of travellers accessing the web through smartphones, while it’s 35% in the UAE.
Poor technology hampers tech savvy Gulf travelers
Google says that Middle East travel sector has a great opportunity to engage with mobile using customers, but travel companies are failing to convert these mobile travellers into bookings.
Further, Google says that conversion is very less via mobile devices due to issues with the sites they are accessing.
Across both UAE and KSA, the leading barrier to booking online cited by half of the respondents was that the websites were not mobile-ready:
- Poor user experience
- Pages were hard to navigate through mobile device
- Difficult to read
Another 20% of those surveyed mentioned that the mobile websites didn’t have booking capabilities. This means they either lack commercial capabilities, ability for online payment transactions or other e-commerce enabled services.
Marie De Ducla, head of travel MENA at Google, says:
"Today, especially in the Middle East, travellers are constantly connected to the internet and it is no surprise that mobile is part of their exploring and decision making process.
"The lack of bookings made online through smartphones is surprising, but represents a massive opportunity for the travel industry to improve their online presence, and tap into the UAE and KSA travellers who more and more are using their phones as a digital concierge."
Videos glue Gulf travelers, opportunity for travel brands
Travelers use video as a popular source for the first two stages of planning travel - when “thinking about taking a trip” and “choosing a destination.”
In Saudi, 81% of leisure travellers; 92% of business travellers and 87% of affluent travellers watch online videos.
Among those who watch online videos 85% of them watch at least once a week, while 69% watch several times a week and approximately 80% watch those videos on YouTube.
The video platform is also a place where advertisers and brands will find active audiences trying to reach Saudi travellers.
68% of affluent and 75% of business travellers in KSA said online videos introduced them to a travel brand they were not aware of, and nearly 70% responded that online videos encouraged them to consider the brand that was being advertised.
UAE travellers also rely on online video when making travel decisions. UAE business travellers (84%) watch more online videos than leisure (68%) or affluent travellers (62%). Nearly three-quarters watch online videos once a week and 77% of those are viewed on YouTube.
Additionally, affluent UAE travellers use online videos as their number one source for planning trips (21%) in conjunction with online map sites.
Following videos and maps, affluent travellers use airline websites(18%), travel review sites (13%) and search engines (5%) when making travel decisions.
Trends
- Visiting family is cited as the number one reason for travel across UAE and KSA. They make up 71% of trips for KSA travellers and 55% for UAE travellers
- Last minute booking is extremely high in Saudi for leisure and business travellers; with more than 50% of the respondents saying they book less than two weeks in advance. In the UAE, 35% of respondents say they book less than two weeks in advance.