1. Arabian Travel Market
May 8th, 2013

2. $34B
(2/3 of MENA market)
$6B
Online
75% AIRLINES
82% UAE
$34B
UAE/KSA
Travel
Market

3. 78% brand queries KSA
79% Arabic queries in KSA
20% of queries from mobile devices
76% English queries in UAE
96% brand queries in UAE
13% of the queries from mobile devices

4. User Behaviour
71% Travel in family in KSA, versus 55%
in the UAE
More than 50% booked less than 2
weeks before in KSA versus 35% in UAE

5. Internet is #1 source to plan trip for about :
40%
leisure travelers
KSA/UAE
50%
business travelers
KSA

6. Search engine #1 Source to plan trip for leisure travelers
in the UAE, Maps #1 for Business travelers

7. Social networks #1 Source to plan trip for leisure travelers in
the KSA, Airline website for business travelers

8. Source: Google Travel Study, Google and Ipsos MediaCT. April 2013.
(Q13) Did you end up booking a trip on any of the online sources you used to help you plan your trip?
Base: Leisure Travelers only (n= 600/557), Business Travelers only (n=300/293, Affluent Travelers only (n= 100/99)
Around one in four ended up
booking online in KSA
% who ended up booking a trip online
Leisure Traveler Business Traveler Affluent Traveler

9. 50% of travelers access the
web through their smartphones
27% of travelers access the
web through tablets
69% have engaged in travel
related activities
8% have booked on smartphone
35% of travelers access the
web through their smartphones
9% of travelers access the web
through tablets
37% have engaged in travel
related activities

10. 50%
Poor user
experience
20%
no booking
capabilities

11. 80%+ watch online videos
70% several times a week
80% on YouTube
About 70% discovered
a travel brand and started
to consider it

12. 84% of business travelers watch online videos
60% several times a week
77% on YouTube
For Affluent traveler Online videos together with Maps is the
first source to plan travel

13. Google Confidential and Proprietary 13Google Confidential and Proprietary 13
Key Findings : user behaviour study UAE, KSA
1
Travelers in context
Visiting families key driver for travel. Business travelers looking for value and convenience.
Significant differences between Locals in UAE versus Expats and their travel habits.
2
Internet and Search
If we exclude “friends and family”, Internet is the #1 source used when planning a trip for
39% of leisure travelers in the UAE and 38% in Saudi. In KSA, it’s even higher for business
travelers as 48% usually use internet to plan their trip. And when online, search engines are
either #1 source of leisure trip planning (in the UAE) or #2 in KSA.
3
Mobile
Travelers who plan travel on internet increasingly turn to mobile devices to plan and book
travel: 82% of the 40% who access internet through their mobile have used their mobile
for a travel related activity. Big missed opportunities for travel businesses as barriers to book
more on mobile are poor user experience and no booking capabilities.
4
Online Video
80%+ Travelers watch online videos, which are particularly impactful in driving brand
consideration : in average, 80% said it introduced them to a travel brand they were not aware of
and 85% that it encourages them to consider the brand advertised.
5
Barriers to online booking
Poor user experience, need of reassurance and trust are the main barriers to online
booking.
ISPOS Study commissioned by Google, May 2013

14. Google Confidential and Proprietary 14Google Confidential and Proprietary 14
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