The Saudi homegrown travel platform found that Saudi tourists stay an average of seven nights in the British capital
online travel agencies
bd4travel
Dubai’s dnata acquires European AI-tech firm
Dubai air services provider buys majority stake in bd4travel, which provides AI solutions to online travel agencies
Cleartrip
Travel-related debit card transactions spike 536% in Saudi Arabia
Statistics from Cleartrip and Flyin show that despite the enormous growth of debit card transactions, credit cards remain the preferred method of payment for Saudi customers
Abu Dhabi
Booking platform aims to ‘give business back to hotels’ with 0% commission model
Bidroom currently operates worldwide with over 120,000 hotels in cities including Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Cleartrip
Mobile travel bookings spike sharply in the GCC
Oman had the highest rate of mobile booking penetration, with 35 percent of all transactions made on mobile devices
Dubai
Expanding horizons with travel tech: Tajawal.com’s Muhammad Chbib
Lessons from Leaders: By driving his company to generate $500m in net sales in less than three years Tajawal.com’s founder and CEO Muhammad Chbib is at the heart of the online travel booking revolution
Brand View
Al Tayyar strategic online business unit’s Q2 results a record success
Brand View: Thanks to key events such as FIFA World Cup, Eid Al Fitr and the summer travel booking season, the platforms have witnessed a phenomenal growth in the past few months
AliPay
Video: How Dubai managed to attract a growing number of Chinese tourists
President Xi Jinping signed a raft of trade deals with the UAE during his recent visit to the Gulf country. But recent figures show that another sector is booming: the number of Chinese tourists to Dubai have more than doubled in the past four years.
Abu Dhabi
Opinion: Why Middle East online travel bookings are booming
Middle East online travel ecosystem is getting busy, with new operators sprouting up each year. The question that lingers now is: how to do you stay ahead in a busy market?
Entrepreneur of the Week
Arabian Business Entrepreneur of the Week: Koi’s Ghassan Muradweij
With Uber and Careem effectively sewing up the ride-hailing app market, Koi has its sights on a different slice of the action
Aviation
British Airways cancels thousands of return tickets to Dubai
A ‘mistakenly’ introduced sale of British Airways flghts by travel agencies began on June 11 and 12
Koi
Dubai ride-hailing app Koi relaunches as limousine platform
App started as Uber and Careem competitor, but is now tackling a common issue in the travel sector
Cleartrip
Mobile travel bookings soar in Saudi Arabia
Cleartrip statistics show that Riyadh and Jeddah have the highest rates of mobile booking penetration in the region
Dubai hotel
Hotel brands take too much profit and too little pain of market conditions, says Hoftel founder
Hotel brands continue to make healthy fees despite hotel owners losing money, leading them to opt for unbranded operators, according to Simon Allison
Cleartrip
Cleartrip posts strongest quarterly results in its history
The company will launch in Egypt later in 2018
Aviation
Wego Partners with Gulf Air
Online travel marketplace will allow users to book flights on the national carrier
2018 Predictions
2018 Predictions: Muhammad Chbib, head of online business unit, Al Tayyar Group
Retail and hospitality: Al Tayyar Online business unit’s big plans for the future of the online travel industry