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Travelport urges focus on GCC millennials

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Travelport is directing focus on GCC millennials who account for a quarter of the total population. This segment has grown up surrounded by technology and the region’s travel industry is feeling the clout of their spending power already – it is estimated that millennials in the UAE will generate $40,000 average annual gross income by 2019 with almost half of them booking travel through mobile devices. Travel apps have become the millennials’ preferred method of interacting with brands.

Mobile applications are great platforms to create personalised offers. For airlines, the key can be the travel behaviour already known to the airline through past purchases tied to the user’s booking account. In the Middle East, leading airlines such as Etihad have launched successful travel apps, which deliver innovative digital travel solutions for their travellers, improving the travel experience.
 
 
UAE millennials will generate $40,000 average annual gross income by 2019, with almost half of them booking travel through mobile devices

 

Low cost carriers strengthening expansions in the Gulf also provide strong mobile retailing examples. Research indicates low cost carriers have high growth opportunities in the Middle East. With rising business and tourism stemming from the Gulf, carriers such as IndiGo have recently launched new routes in the UAE and have been key adaptors of innovative technology.

Rabih Saab, Travelport’s president and managing director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia comments, “Travel tech is an exciting place to be right now. We are increasingly living in an experiential world. Mobile penetration in the Middle East is astronomical, across the GCC almost 80 per cent of the population are mobile subscribers. Smart travel brands will continue to look at how mobile can help bridge the gap between generic experiences and ones where the end-traveller feels truly engaged and supported. Brands will thrive or decline depending on the experiences delivered to travellers and how relevant and personalised these experiences are. Travelport’s technologies and unique Travel Commerce Platform is leading the industry in providing technology solutions to ensure our airline and travel agency partners flourish in this pivotal point in time for our industry.”  
 

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