Mobile having big impact on travel planning in Middle East

In parallel, recent figures from Facebook show 36 million daily mobile users in the Middle East and North Africa. With these figures in mind, it is important for companies to connect with people where they are spending their time - and that is on their mobile device.

Ghassan Teffaha, Amadeus’ Head of Mobile for Western Europe, Middle East & Africa (WEMEA), explains the importance of mobile in this region.

Smartphone penetration fluctuates across the Middle East and North Africa, ranging from more than 70% in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to less than 25% in Egypt. Sector trends indicate that there is yet room for more growth.

Mobile has become a part of everyone’s life. Amadeus’ Ghassan Teffaha explains the main trends that are shaping this sector.

The share of mobile transactions in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman) made up more than a third of online purchases, at 35.9% for Q4 2015, according to Criteo’s Q4 2015 State of Mobile Commerce report. This is more than double the global average. In accordance with this trend, Amadeus is providing the MENA region’s travel industry with specific mobile solutions tailored to meet those markets’ needs.

Mobile is changing the dynamics of searching and planning travel. But what are the factors that are making this sector evolve so quickly and what can technology providers do to help push it further? Amadeus’ Ghassan Teffaha elaborates on this.