Tag Archives: Wego

Wego and Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BETA) launch a campaign to drive tourism to the country. Bahrain saw signs of recovery in the second half of 2021, which was impacted by the opening of King Fahad causeway. Wego and BTEA are working closely to attract more travelers to the country in line with the Government’s strategy for 2026 which aims to bring over 14.1 million tourists. The campaign will shed light on the things to do in the country for all types of travelers including solos, couples, and families as well as the key destinations to explore. It will be promoted on all Wego’s marketing channels and aims to convert searches to bookings. Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, commented: “We continue to partner with tourism boards to promote tourism recovery and attract more travelers to the destinations in the new norm in 2022. We’re proud to collaborate with Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority. This partnership further strengthens our commitment to our customers to offer them the best destinations to visit.” Dr. Nasser Qaedi, the CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, said: “The launch of our partnership with Wego reinstates our drive to increase international footfall into the Kingdom and it comes at the right time as the island is filled with fantastic events and activities for tourists to enjoy.”  

Spain Tourism Office in UAE signed an agreement with Wego, at the Arabian Travel Market. Through this collaboration, Spain Tourism & Wego to promote the ‘You deserve Spain’ campaign providing reassurance for travelers to visit the country again in the new norm. Spain is one of the top searched destinations for MENA travelers. The country is a year-round destination, packed with unique experiences, passionate people, and rich cultural traditions, not to mention its excellent dining scene, wine-making traditions and chic cities and multiple shopping avenues  across the country that is perfect for all types of travelers. Daniel Rosado, Spain Tourism, said: “We are very optimistic and with Wego as our partner, we are aiming to have a great summer and are eagerly waiting to welcome all travelers from GCC.” Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and India of Wego, said: “We are thrilled to offer another stunning destination for our users to visit. Spain is on the MENA’s top travelers’ list with over 316,000 searches in Q1 2022. This partnership is in line with our efforts to provide more choice to our users and boost tourism recovery.” Travelers are invited to experience the heritage and arts and culture of the city, the stunning beaches, the coasts, and authentic food, among many sports adventures that await all the types of travelers.    

Wego and Cleartrip Travel Insights Report delves into traveller sentiments and readiness to travel in a post-COVID world. These findings are brought to you from our independent research and data on MENA travellers’ behavior. Recently, around 4,390 residents from UAE and KSA were asked about their thoughts, and behaviors surrounding travel. The report also highlights the impact of COVID-19 on travel, the trends currently being witnessed and positive signs of recovery. The near-term outlook for travel looks favourable, and people are looking to spend more and travel longer in 2022.   Travel Scenario   After numerous lockdowns, never ending changes in restrictions and the constant updates on flights, airport protocols and hotel capacity changes, a lot of passengers are still eager to travel albeit being a bit more cautious.   Vaccinated travellers   Out of the total survey respondents, 99% said they were vaccinated while only 1% said they weren’t. The increase in the number of vaccinated people has had a positive impact on travel and gives reassurance for people to travel more to the countries that have high vaccination rates.   Forward look and planning a trip   As more restrictions are eased worldwide, and vaccinations rates have increased, people are eager to travel more and make up for the lost time.   According to Wego, in 2022, flights and hotel searches increased by 81% in February and 102% in March. This is testament that people are looking to travel more.   Lower risk destinations that guarantee an easy return have been prioritized. The majority of the respondents have opted for destinations which are perceived to be safe and where COVID19 protocols have been adhered to.     Remote work …

Mamoun Hmedan in his remarks stated how through their 54 million users they had researched on the traveller trends and behaviours over the past 13 months and found that the longer period of vacations by bigger families would take more time to return instead the travellers in the new world of today consist more of millennials, couples etc. the travel period shift from longer  2 to 3 week holidays to shorter holidays; multiple destinations turned to single destinations with a much shorter travel time and fewer days on vacation such as 3 to 4 days and outdoor destinations. The momentum for travel still exists but outcome or trends have changed. “UAE winter campaign was a good example that drove in tourists during the festive season, this approach resonated very well with travellers. I feel that 2021 will end on a better recovery close to 50% of 2019 but potentially we see early 2022 or 2023 to be more akin to 2019 over the research that is currently being passed on. With vaccinations happening we are going to see it happening faster but it all depends on the governments, travellers and bookings. Earlier on in the pandemic, they predicted a totally different picture of how to post covid will be with aircraft and how they will attend to passengers but now things are different. For us in metaspace where we work with everyone in the industry we ensured that provided the customers with the right information. It was necessary to keep our customers informed of all the necessary protocols, procedures, health passports etc – we provided relevant content for them.”

Wego has signed deal with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Middle East to reimagine travel in Singapore and invite travellers from the GCC to visit the country once the borders are fully open. As countries are reopening their borders and aim to vaccinate the population in the fight against coronavirus, people are gearing up to travel again. Singapore has also started their vaccination drive by rolling out the vaccines amongst healthcare workers, followed by elderly and now to all residents. Singapore has enough vaccines for its 5.7 million population. Wego and Singapore Tourism Board Middle East are working closely to raise awareness about reimaging the future of travel in Singapore through fresh and innovative experiences that will ignite travelers’ passions. The new initiative ‘SingapoReimagine’, prompts audience in the Middle East to reimagine how travel will be like through Singapore’s reimagined offerings, which will be available across Wego’s diverse targeted marketing channels. The country provides its visitors a safe and seamless travel experience through its initiative SG Clean Quality mark, which requires tourism establishments to adhere to stringent levels of hygiene and sanitization as well as Safe Management Measures (SMMs). The city has been reporting low cases over the past few months. A recent Brand Health Study, conducted by STB’s appointed market research company Ipsos, revealed that confidence in travelling overseas for leisure and business has been steadily increasing, with 76% of leisure travelers and 90% of BTMICE travelers indicating they are likely to travel in the next 12 months, if possible. Singapore is a city known for its great food, authentic culture, all around family friendly atmosphere and world-class attractions which have always been attributes that attract GCC tourists to the …

Wego partners with the German National Tourist Office, Gulf countries (GNTO) to invite travellers to discover the destination of Germany and virtually explore its amazing attractions and hidden gems. Until it is safe to travel again, Wego brings the world to you in the comfort of your home. With the message ‘dream now – visit later’, this joint partnership with ‘Wego’ introduces the global campaign ‘#DiscoverGermanyFromHome’ to tomorrow’s travellers in the GCC by providing them with inspiring and informative content, virtual experiences in its 16 federal states, Spotify playlists, an interactive map, quizzes, recipes and much more to keep their interest in the destination alive until travel is resumed. Speaking of the partnership, Yamina Sofo, Director Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office, Gulf countries (GNTO) commented, “The Gulf region is among the Top 20 of the most important source markets to Germany and the third largest source market outside Europe. Our partnership with Wego is a great opportunity to highlight that Germany ticks all boxes of the GCC travellers aiming for wellness and recreation, nature and sightseeing or simply for entertainment and shopping, while enjoying high quality services, great value for money, luxury accommodation and facilities.” Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, said, “We are bringing the world to our users until it is safe to travel again and we’re thrilled to partner with GNTO to promote one of the most beautiful European countries. Germany entices tourists with its rich and vibrant nature and culture; it’s a must-see destination for everyone.”

Wego today announced signing a retailing agreement with ATPCO. Wego will integrate Routehappy Rich Content to enhance flight shopping displays across its meta-search site in 22 languages including – English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic. Through this partnership, Wego will provide Middle East travellers with a richer flight shopping experience in their local language. Wego will integrate all three of ATPCO Routehappy Rich Content types: Amenities, Universal Ticket Attributes (UTAs), and Universal Product Attributes (UPAs) into its shopping display, Amenities: provide at-a-glance information about flight features; UTAs (Universal Ticket Attributes) provide travellers with easy-to-understand benefits and restrictions such as cancellation, refund policies and boarding priority by fare; UPAs (Universal Product Attributes) provide relevant media, captions, and descriptions that define the airline’s products and services by aircraft type, cabin, time of day, etc.; Routehappy Rich Content has been steadily growing in both EMEA and APAC regions with coverage of more than 90 per cent total flight schedule (Available Seat Kilometres) for airlines in EMEA and more than 89 per cent in APAC for both for Amenities and UTAs. Wego will begin its Routehappy Rich Content integration with Amenities and UTAs, which are anticipated to go live in Q1 2020, followed by UPAs later in the year. Wego is urging more MENA carriers to partner with ATPCO in the creation and distribution of rich content so Wego can consume their Amenities, UTA, and UPA content and get it in front of more passengers.

Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), announced its partnership with Oman Ministry of Tourism, to promote Oman as the destination of choice for GCC travellers and drive more visitors to the country. The partnership will facilitate activities in the GCC region to promote tourism to Oman with the spotlight on the trending destinations in Oman, including Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, Khasab and Duqm. Through this collaboration, Oman Ministry of Tourism will generate brand and destination awareness positioning Oman as a friendly, beautiful, cultural and one of the top historic destinations in the region. Wego will also present an informative guide of the accessible places in Oman during the summer period and highlight some of the hidden gems to explore.  From sightseeing to the historical forts and castles, diving and snorkeling, the mesmerising beaches in Musandam and the beauty of Salalah, Oman ensures to have activities for families, couples, adventurers and explorers. Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, said, “We are delighted to partner with Oman Ministry of Tourism, to showcase what Oman offers from a wide array of activities, adventure and wonderful experiences to discover all year round. We’ve been witnessing an increase in the number of searches in Q1 2019 compared to 2018 from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and India. We will be working closely with Oman Ministry of Tourism through this campaign to expand the searches from GCC market.” Salim Bin Adey Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion, Ministry of Tourism, said, “Our latest partnership with Wego is the result of our efforts to connect with a platform that is capable of effectively promoting Oman’s tourism …

Wego and Airbnb have announced a partnership to include properties listed on Airbnb in Wego search results in a move to offer Wego users more accommodation choices. With the addition of listings on Airbnb, travellers using the Wego metasearch apps and websites will have easier access to a wide range of local homes and other unique types of accommodation in destinations worldwide. Wego users simply have to enter their destination city and dates of travel, and to follow the recommended filters to search for a wide array of Airbnb vacation rentals. This announcement comes at a time when MENA based travellers and inbound visitors to the MENA region, have demonstrated an appetite for innovative travel experiences and cost-effective holiday options. As the leading travel metasearch player across the MENA region, Wego helps users to quickly compare the widest possible range of accommodation options available in the marketplace, including hotels, serviced apartments, homes and villas and to compare rates across local and global travel agencies, hotel direct websites and other merchants. Anna Trushkina, Director, Hotels at Wego, commented, “We are excited to be entering into this partnership with Airbnb which will significantly expand the supply of alternative accommodation on Wego and which is perfectly matched with types of demand we see from Saudi Arabia and the other GCC markets. Analysis of search and booking data from across the 60 countries worldwide that Wego operates, shows that users from GCC countries have the longest length of stay, highest spend per night and most frequent instance of multiple room bookings to accommodate family groups. We also know that many families from the GCC place a premium on privacy when travelling.”

Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) has partnered with Wego to integrate the travel app into Huawei smartphones. The new Huawei devices in the Middle East will come pre-installed with the Wego app, which will help simplify travel shopping experiences for Huawei device users. “The world of travel and hospitality has entered a new era of m-commerce, as more than 60% of travellers rely entirely on smartphone applications when making their travel plans. Pre-installing the Wego app into smartphones is part of our continuous efforts to enable these travellers to get the best deals and options when shopping for their holiday,” said Mamoun Hmedan, Wego Managing Director for MENA and India. “Huawei was an obvious choice for us to partner with; given the company’s global pedigree, strong resonance with the customers, and immense R&D capabilities.” Starting May this year, all Huawei smartphones EMUI 5 and above bundled with the Wego app will be made available across stores in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan. “We are excited for this partnership as Wego has been a market leader, bringing seamless travel services to the MENA region. Now Huawei device users can access Wego through one click as Wego would be available on all Huawei device EMUI 5 and above,” said Managing Director, Huawei Consumer Cloud Services. Huawei mobile services ecosystem has been simplifying device users’ daily life through technology by providing device user best in class travel services.