Following record growth last year, travel metasearch Wego is setting up a dedicated full-service operation in Dubai as part of global expansion plans.
Wego launched the world’s first comprehensive Arabic language travel metasearch site last April, http://www.wego.ae to tap into the desire of travellers to compare travel options and book online.
The company says Internet users across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have since adopted the site in huge numbers, already equivalent to the total from the company’s mature European sites – travellers in the Middle East and North Africa now account for one in every seven searches on the site.
Wego’s new regional headquarters is located in the Dubai Internet City, and travel industry veteran and entrepreneur Mohamad Ibrahim Masri has been appointed to lead the team as Managing Director – Middle East and North Africa. He brings 16 years of regional experience to the company, in sales, marketing and management roles with some of the industry’s leading brands, including Singapore Airlinesand Tourism Malaysia. Masri also founded BizGate, the consulting firm that has represented Wego throughout the initial launch phase.
“Essential to the continued expansion and success of Wego in MENA is strong management, along with an established relationship with both the business and travelling communities which is why we’re very excited to have Mohamad join our executive team. We look forward to working in partnership with the Governments and suppliers in the region to broaden access to travel online,” explained CEO and co-founder Ross Veitch (pictured left, with Masri and Craig Hewett, co-founder, right)
“Arab travellers embrace Wego as a means to gain control of their travel plans and enjoy greater value for money. The travel comparison shopping concept has huge appeal among internet users in the region, who are almost universally regular travellers,” commented Masri. “We are working with the flagship carriers, hotel brands and online travel agents across the Middle East, but the priority is going to be further integration and customisation to meet the burgeoning demand right into the longtail.”
Looking ahead, Masri refers to PhoCusWright’s prediction that the online travel sector in the Emirates alone will grow 24 percent in 2013 and 22 percent in 2014 to reach $9.5 billion, of which online travel agents will produce $3.2 billion. Wego is expected to be on an even higher trajectory driven also by direct bookings with its airline partners including Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways, integrated hotel sites and aggregators, such as Booking.com.
Collectively, MENA travellers using Wego today are exploring options at over 3,500 destinations. Their searches include the inventory of 600 full service and low cost airlines, 350,000 hotels and resorts, as well as 400,000 recently integrated vacation rentals.
Wego, which operates over 50 websites in 30 languages, compares over 700 travel sites to present its comprehensive results.
Wego Dubai joins a network of offices across Asia Pacific as the company scales its operations in new premises in Singapore, Bangalore and Jakarta. The company currently employs 75 specialist staff speaking 35 languages.
