Riyadh Travel Fair aims to revolutionize tourism in the Middle Eastern region

Tour operators, tourism associations and tourist attractions will showcase their latest products and innovations at the four-day Riyadh Travel Fair (RTF) this year.
Exhibitors at the event — to be held from April 7 to 10 at Riyadh’s Al-Faisaliah Hotel — will present digital innovations such as Virtual Reality (VR) goggles, information on new youth travel destinations, events and festivals.
An array of holiday packages, destinations promotion offers and value-added discounts and bonus will be on offer at the fair.
More than 50 percent of the Middle Eastern population is aged 18 to 34, surrounded by hi-tech gadgets. And for 40 percent of GCC travelers, the social media is the inspiration when planning a trip. Travel queries from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region grew 33 percent last year.
There were over 310 million YouTube video views each day in the region. Travel queries on YouTube grew 22 percent year-on-year by December 2014.
In Saudi Arabia, 81 percent of leisure travelers report having watched an online video to decide their next tourist destination.
Capturing the millennial market has been the motto of tourist destinations and hoteliers for a while, and lifestyle-branded properties are springing up in every corner of the world.
Explaining it, Ferghal Purcell, COO, HMH – Hospitality Management Holding, said: “As young affluent travelers are migrating to new channels for travel planning, hoteliers too are making an effort to step up their game by being visible on multiple channels including meta-search for improved online bookings.
“At HMH we are geared in terms of technology with mobile optimized website and dynamic marketing and pricing strategy.”
Edwin Fuller, president & CEO – Orange County Visitors Association, said: “We see an increase of young middle class visitors from the Middle East. They are spending time exploring destinations not previously visited such as Southern California. The visitors are seeking opportunities to explore and enjoy the destinations of their choice. We are seeing an increase in multiple visits throughout the year and not just in the summer.
“Orange County California is the single most-visited destination in California and the West Coast with over 4 million international guests in 2015.”