Travel metasearch site Wego recently shared insights into the origin of millions of searches for flights and accommodation to the United Arab Emirates. According to the study, demand from Asia has increased particularly for flights; South Asia accounting for a quarter of the total with growth recorded also across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, matching the numbers from Jordan or Egypt for online flight bookings. Most noticeably searches from Wego China have lifted to the same level of some of the UAE’s neighbours.
“Travel suppliers and intermediaries from the Gulf states should now be building their brands to cater to new online audiences in these markets, especially the burgeoning middle classes demonstrating greater purchasing power and intent,” explained Mohammed Ibrahim Masri, Managing Director for Wego in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The UAE features among the top five international destinations searched with Wego in India. We’ve registered a consistent rise in the transaction volumes for the emirates, in line with airline partnerships between Jet-Etihad Airways and Indigo-Qatar Airways that have increased the routes and their frequency between the two countries,” explained Jackson Fernandez, Country Manager for Wego India.
The metasearch leader in both regions, with millions of users in India has seen 8 in 10 travellers to the emirates from India’s gateways head for Dubai, 12 per cent for Abu Dhabi and 7 per cent to Sharjah.
The recent Emirates and Qantas alliance as well as Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia’s codeshare has helped connect the Pacific and Europe, while boosting major hubs in the UAE, especially for stopover accommodation. The Abu Dhabi based national carrier’s fresh agreement with Air France will bolster this further.
Accommodation choices differ far more widely for the UAE, with Wego’s Asian user communities choosing properties not just on price and the aggregated hotel reviews, but for their popularity with other travellers in-country. More confident in making hotel reservations online as a result, these travellers are now booking every category in the emirates, even holiday rentals and in ever-increasing numbers.
