Hotels.com Launches Arabic Website For The Middle East

Hotels.comHotels.com, one of the leading hotel accommodation booking sites in the world, has announced the launch of its Arabic website in the Middle East.  The website is available at http://fanadeq.hotels.com and uses IP based country recognition, an Arabic-language interface and local currency pricing and payment methods.

Hotels.com, is part of the Expedia group, and currently operates 52 global sites. Expedia announced in the summer of last year that it would be launching a dedicated travel portal for the Middle East within the following 12 months, and it seems this is the result of that effort.

Covering the key markets in the Middle East, the new website aims to offer competitive, value for money rates at over 100,000 hotels worldwide. As well as the hotel booking function, the site also offers in-depth hotel information including Microsoft mapping capabilities and property facility information. The site also includes destination information and customers reviews all in Arabic.

Nigel Pocklington, Managing Director of Hotels.com commented, “By launching our new website in Arabic, we are committed to unlocking the full potential of the Middle East market. Our goal is to offer our customers an accommodation booking service with extensive choices, great value prices and excellent customer service.”

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) barometer, the Middle East is already the world’s largest driver of travel, tourism and hospitality, with the sector fuelling the region’s current annual tourism growth of 11% per annum.

The Middle East has seen a steady growth in e-commerce over the last few years with an increasing number of consumers using the internet to buy products and services. One of the fastest growing categories for e-commerce across the globe is travel as customers are increasingly choosing the internet to look for the best deals.

Musafir, New Online Travel Portal For The UAE

MusafirUniversal Tourism recently announced the launch of Musafir.com, a new travel website that will allow travelers from the UAE to search for flights to over 3,000 destinations around the world on all leading airlines and book them online in seconds.

Musafir means “traveler” in several regional languages, including Arabic, Farsi, Hindi and Urdu.

The venture was founded in August 2007 by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al Thani, Sachin Gadoya and Albert Dias, with the aim to make booking travel from the UAE just as easy as it has been in the rest of the world for a number of years now.

“We live by three promises to our travelers in everything we do”, said the founders, when asked about what makes Musafir.com different from other travel websites in the region, “great choice, no-nonsense convenience and a premium experience”. The company also offers a Travel Expert service for travelers who would like to customize their trips over the telephone and a Travel Smart guide with tips for travel enthusiasts.

Online travel bookings are expected to account for over 30 percent of the UAE’s outbound leisure travel market by 2012, with e-ticketing and the zero-commission model in particular being credited for the recent impetus.

Musafir screenshot

Musafir plans to offer a number of new services in 2009, including hotel reservations and sightseeing tours, to meet the growing demand. The company is investing AED 3 million in the development of a proprietary trip planning solution over the next two years to make planning holidays from the UAE easier.

Musafir.com