The latest report from Destinia has revealed that 34% of travellers from Saudi Arabia and the UAE book their flights using their smartphones compared with only 12% 
from Germany, 11% from Portugal and 10% from Spain.
Travellers from Saudi (35%) and UAE (32%) also use their smartphones the most when making hotel reservations. With the research being revealed at a panel discussion at Arabnet 2015 in Riyadh with the chief international officer of Destinia, Ricardo Fernández and followed the announcement that Destinia has expanded its presence in the Middle East by planning to open an office in Saudi Arabia by 2016.
The report also indicated that travellers from Saudi are also spending more money than those from Europe, USA or Japan with an average of 1,851 SAR being spent on flights and 2,031 SAR spent on hotels.
Travellers from the Saudi and the UAE also generally book their trips at the last minute whereas the average lead time of mobile reservations has increased from 18 days in 2014 to 22 days in 2015, the lead time for travellers from the Saudi and UAE is 18 days and 9 days respectively when booking a flight.
“Mobile bookings are increasing at an astonishing rate in every travel sector facet and this research demonstrates how innovative and tech savvy travellers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are. We are very excited to expand our presence and open an office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it is a young and rapidly expanding population and currently leads the Middle East economy. This recent research is further evidence that the expansion will be a great opportunity for us to support this growing market ” commented Ricardo Fernández, Chief International Officer at Destinia.
