THE GCC region continued to experience strong growth in mobile transactions in 2018, according to the 2018 Travel Insights Report jointly released by Cleartrip and Flyin. The market recorded a 110 per cent increase in mobile bookings as they represented one-third of all transactions.
In Dubai, mobile represented 61 per cent of traffic and more than a quarter of bookings were done through this handheld device.Mobile transactions increased by 233 per cent and 214 per cent in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait respectively. Ha’il and Kuwait have emerged as the cheapest getaways from Riyadh and Dubai respectively. Kuwait City and Riyadh had the highest rates of mobile traffic and bookings at 81 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Bahrain, Muscat and Dubai were also among the leading markets for mobile visitors. Islamabad, Lahore and Brussels topped the list of trending international destinations for travellers in the UAE, while domestic travellers in Saudi Arabia favoured Gizan, Abha and Ha’il. The report also indicates that Sunday is the cheapest day for travel, whereas prices increase on Thursday. Furthermore, February was the ideal month for budget travellers with average fares falling 16 per cent.