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25% of travelers are looking to travel within 15 days of lifting the travel ban
Dubai: Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is gearing up for Saudi’s Arabia resumption of international flights.
According to the Ministry of interior, the travel ban will be lifted on 17 May for specific groups and tourists.
Through our platform, we saw 52% increase in international flight searches and a 59% increase in international hotel searches, following the announcement.
Around 25% of travelers are looking to travel within the 15 days of Saudi resuming flights where the search demand for this period has increased by 80% since the date of the announcement.
Egypt topped the list for the flight search destinations, followed by Philippines, Morocco, Jordan and Turkey. We also saw new vacation destinations emerge for flight searches such as Maldives, Tunisia, Ukraine, Greece, and Sri Lanka.
Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, said: “This is a great step towards reviving the tourism sector in the region. Saudi Arabia constitutes a significant percentage of the tourism sector in the Middle East. The country has been handling the pandemic very well, reinstating confidence for travelers. Many people have been eagerly waiting for this announcement and we expect to continue to see a surge in flight and hotel bookings to and from Saudi Arabia.”
Wego supports Saudi Arabia’s decision on the resumption of flights and explains the categories of travelers allowed to enter and exit the country.
Those who are allowed to travel include citizens who received two doses of coronavirus vaccine or who passed 14 days after taking the first dose of the vaccine as well as people who have recovered from coronavirus, given they have spent less than six months since their infection as confirmed by the data displayed on Tawakkalna App. In addition to the citizens who are under the age of 18 years, provided that they show an insurance policy before traveling approved by the Saudi Central Bank.
Departing travelers need to show a PCR test certificate from an accredited screening center in the Kingdom. Upon return to the country, travelers will have to quarantine for seven days and take a PCR test at the end of the week.
According to our data, resorts are leading the searches for travelers with 58% growth, followed by the apartments and hotels.
Around 68% of travelers searching for flights are solos, 20% families, and 12% are couples.
Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that is handling the pandemic very well. The country is making great efforts in rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination to its residents. It has one of the lowest new cases per capita in the MENA region.
Travelers are feeling more reassured where airports and hotels are reinstating the confidence in travel. With stringent precautionary measures followed and safety measures that meet the high standards, we expect a steady recovery for the tourism sector.
Wego brings the best offerings to its users to help them get the best rates and deals from over hundreds of hotels and flights.
About Wego
Wego provides award-winning travel search websites and top-ranked mobile apps for travellers living in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions. Wego harnesses powerful yet simple to use technology that automates the process of searching and comparing results from hundreds of airline, hotel and online travel agency websites.
Wego presents an unbiased comparison of all travel products and prices offered in the marketplace by merchants, both local and global, and enables shoppers to quickly find the best deal and place to book whether it is from an airline or hotel directly or with a third-party aggregator website.
Wego was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Dubai and Singapore with regional operations in Bangalore Jakarta and Cairo.
© Press Release 2021
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