Our vast trove of data confirms that during 2017 the top international destinations for travellers from the GCC were Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Amman and Manila. As for 2018, the early trends show that Tbilisi, Baku, Yerevan, Da Nang and Kathmandu will be among the preferred destinations for the region’s tourists.
We are confident that the travel industry will continue to experience a strong growth in 2018, driven by rising demand from millennials, who are seeking out more unique experiences. The overarching theme for next year will remain enriching and personalising the customer experience. Among our priorities for the upcoming year is developing a chat and voice-based booking experience to enable customers to interact with our brand in a more 'natural' way by cutting out the noise. We are also investing significantly in personalisation by leveraging our AI-based data analytics platform and launching new products and features that offer customised experiences to our travellers. Furthermore, we will launch our business in Egypt in 2018 as part of our expansion plans aimed at capitalising the region’s thriving tourism sector.