With the World Travel & Tourism Council forecasting that travel’s contribution to GDP in the Middle East will rise by 60% in 2013 to $128 billion in 2023, this looks like an exciting space for travel brands. EyeforTravel’s editor Pamela Whitby reports

Some of the key findings from EyeforTravel’s recent Social Media & Mobile in Travel Distribution Report, 2013 shows that mobile – and this includes both phones and tablets - outperforms both the personal computer and laptop in most Middle Eastern countries in the research phase. However, to what extent are these devices being used to drive conversions? Ahead of an EyeforTravel webinar on September 16, which will highlight some key opportunities in this growing market, we consider some emerging trends.

1. Mobile and social is blurring and it’s getting personal

This is certainly the case for Marriott Hotels in Dubai where mobile penetration is high and mobile social channels are, says Aftab Sayed, Senior eCommerce Manager, Dubai Marriott Hotels, a significant chunk of the pie. “Slowly the infiltration of social sites and their integration with other communication channels and businesses is making the mobile platform a truly personal experience that is always with you,” says Sayed,who will be joining us for a webinar on marketing and distributing travel in the Middle East on September 16.

Social media too is playing a strong role in the region, with people spending on average 7.2 hours a day on social media sites, according to EyeforTravel research. Social media became a powerful vehicle for communication during the Arab Spring in places like Egypt and this propensity for people to engage with community issues online, is now influencing travel. In fact, research shows that Middle Eastern consumers have a relatively strong propensity to interact with travel brands via social. Emirates and Qatar Airways have surpassed the million mark on Facebook, says Shashank Nigam, Chief Executive at aviation marketing firm SimpliFlying, who will be joining us for the webinar on September 16. 

2. Mobile bookings: not yet a reality

In the airline space mobile bookings still account for a small share of online bookings, argues Peter Pohlschmidt,
who is Senior Manager Customer Relationship Management at Qatar Airways, speaking in his personal capacity and from his own observations of living in the Gulf. He argues that mobile is used far more in the E-services area (rather than E-sales), which comprises check-in, flight status information. Another big issue is payments – the payment infrastructure to process high-value payments still isn’t good enough and security remains an issue.

3. Social can be used for subliminal messages but to isn’t yet deliver heads on beds

Right now, Dubai Marriott Hotels is looking closely at the performance and adaptation of these platforms and how it can integrate aspects of each area into its businesses. It sees social media as a useful platform to reach customers with subliminal messaging, rather than for delivering conversions. “In our region, the business use case of these channels for large corporations is still under the microscope as to how it can help drive our main bread maker which is putting heads on beds,” he says. For now, Marriott is looking to dip its feet in the water and first test to see what is the tipping point is. “For our Dubai hotels we have Facebook pages for most of our major standalone hotels and do not engage with Twitter except in one instance,” he says.

The same, it seems, is true in the airline space where Pohlschmidt believes the major use case for social media is enable brands to connect with customers in a much less ‘salesy’ way.

4. Watch Saudi Arabia and the other big spenders

The biggest spenders in the Middle East hail from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – which is also where social is most actively used. While Saudi’s seem to be travelling less (there has been a drop of 6.2% in domestic tourist nights and a 14.3% drop in outbound tourism during the same period), they are still spending. Revenues from domestic tourism grew 13.5% while spend by outbound tourists rose by 9.2% to SR60bn.

In fact in an EyeforTravel survey of 856 respondents, 134 people from these countries said they had spent between $1,000 and $5,000 or more on travel arrangements in the year to June 2013. According to Sayed, the big spend, from both leisure and business travellers alike, is expected to be on food and beverages. Tourist destinations – like those springing up in Dubai – are another likely attraction. One interesting use case is how Saudi national carrier NasAir is driving sales in Saudi Arabia using Twitter, says Nigam.

5. Location, location, location and data dilemmas

For Sayed, location-based promotions will be the next big thing in the Middle East region. But again the challenge is that, yes, there are younger travellers who are tech savvy and carry smart phones but they have limited data or no data at all. “This is the biggest hurdle and I envisage a future where at least we have Internet coverage for free in all hotels and these services should be promoted loudly instead of having to ask for it,” says Sayed.

Pohlschmidt agrees that location based services (GPS based, RFID, NFC) are a huge opportunity especially for the airline industry. “The ability to target location specific information and services to customers is a huge opportunity to provide more relevant and timely information (service, product, information) to customers,” he says.

6. But local doesn’t necessarily mean loyal; beware the deal-based customer

For Dubai Marriott Hotels, most customers that engage with its brand on social media are in the same location (those that aren’t tend not to be repeat visitors) and are responsive to information that is shared. Although the firm does put out content – like promotions or sweepstake campaigns – to drive more followers and gain more data, they try to keep this to a minimum. “Already with the number of hotels in our region, expansion plans and social media sites available for these brands it has become a very competitive space. The information going out is training any location-based customers to become deal hunters,” he says.

7. Religious calling

In Saudi Arabia inbound tourism has grown 61.3% over an eight-year period between 2004 and 2011 – and 11 million of those tourists are from other Arab nations. According to EyeforTravel research, inbound travel into Saudi Arabia is strongly motivated by pilgrims and this represents an opportunity for targeting via mobile. During the month of Hajj, travel properties in around Mecca see a 50% increase in tourists. Most inbound tourism made by air was for religious reasons (53.7%) but land travel was to visit friends. Strongest occupancy rates were around religious holidays. For Nigam, it’s really important to cater to local tastes and sensitivities; it is also important to track results.

Sign up for a webinar on September 16 for more insights into how to maximise opportunities in the exciting Middle Eastern travel market from the executives quoted in this article. We will also be sharing research on the region from the EyeforTravel Social Media and Mobile in Travel Distribution Report, 2013