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Hi everyone! To start with, please, introduce yourselves!
Serkan Özbay: Hello, I am Serkan Özbay from Turkey. Since January 2019 I have been working at RateHawk, I am currently the regional director for the Middle East.
Mohamed Belal: Hi, my name is Mohamed Belal, I am the country manager for the UAE. I have lived in the UAE for the past 15 years and I have more than 17 years of experience within travel and tourism industry (B2B and B2C).
Great! So let’s talk about RateHawk, we operate on many markets all over the world, however Arabian market is new to us. Why is it so important to be represented here?
Serkan: Lately Middle East has become one of the fastest growing markets in relation to inbound and outbound travel with the highest investments in technology and infrastructure compared to the other regions of the world. The investments are not only by locals; they are global and diverse. It is fantastic to see the energy and activity here; RateHawk is eager to invest in this region and be a part of the change.
Mohamed: Agreed, Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets and the fastest recovering region as international tourist numbers climbed to 83% of pre-pandemic numbers according to UNWTO 2022 numbers. The region welcomed large events such as Expo 2020 Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as well as a highly attended Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, based on the same source.
Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets according to UNWTO 2022 numbers with the highest investments in technology and infrastructure compared to the other regions of the world.
Each market has its special features. What are the characteristics of the Arabian market?
Serkan: Firstly, I should mention that Middle East is home to all three major Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism); it is also home to different cultures, languages, ancient civilizations and empires that is a great world heritage that makes it one of the top most interesting regions in the world. Mysterious oriental culture, spicy food and architectural structures make it a wonderful place of interest. All these features are more than enough to understand the business potential as a destination.
Another important issue to consider is the business understanding of the Middle East market. It is dynamic, fast, and ready to develop with a lot of highly educated local businessmen looking for extraordinary ideas and approaches and being ready to invest.
Mohamed: I can add that the Middle East has been an attractive region for tourists to visit for hundreds of years. The combination of rich history, incredible food, and varied culture naturally attracts those looking for adventure. Whether you’re interested in visiting Egypt, exploring the sights of Jordan, or taking a shopping tour around the United Arab Emirates, there are plenty of things to see, do, and experience during a holiday in the Middle East.
Our Egyptian hawks at the event organized by Dubai Government Tourism.
How are those Arabian destinations developing in terms of attracting tourism a nowadays? For example, it’s said that Saudi Arabia is becoming more and more interesting. Are there any other trends?
Serkan: In the last 25 years the world has witnessed an incredibly positive change and improvement in the UAE making Dubai one of the top destinations in the world. This hasn’t happened by chance, it was a very well planned, organized and built destination beyond imagination that serves as a very important example to the world.
Mohamed: Absolutely, today, the region is welcoming approximately 90 million international arrivals per year, which equates to 6% of the world’s total arrivals. Spanning across more than 15 countries, the region’s natural, heritage, cultural, and religious tourism assets appeal to virtually all tourists. The multiple-entry tourist visa system currently adopted by the UAE, which is valid for five years, is one of the main factors that will support the tourism sector in the coming period.
The UAE is welcoming approximately 90 million international arrivals per year, which equates to 6% of the world’s total arrivals.
Serkan: And now it looks like we are going to witness one of the utmost astonishing projects of the world The Line NEOM being built in Saudi Arabia. The whole country is seeing a large construction binge with thousands of hotels, shopping malls, giant outdoor public parks being built at the same time.
Mohamed: Oh yes, NEOM is a planned contemporary city with total area of 26,500 km²! Saudi 2023 vision includes a plan to raise the contribution of the tourism sector to the domestic product to more than 10%.
Serkan Özbay and the Middle East RateHawk team meeting.
Where do travel professionals live today, what are the most significant services, tools for them now?
Mohamed: Every day we are experiencing a new milestone in travel technology, most if not all services and tools have now become automated not to mention the AI and its massive impact on customer decisions. RateHawk is part of this revolution, and we are equipped with the latest technology to serve our customers and partners.
Serkan: I can say that in recent years there haven’t been many attractive developments relating to the online travel tools until we have brought several innovative ideas to life. Visit us at ATM and discover them!
RateHawk is equipped with the latest technology to serve customers and partners. We are proudly building the biggest support team our industry has ever seen.
In your opinion, what does RateHawk have to do to conquer the local audience?
Serkan: RateHawk has a lot to offer, especially in terms of communication and collaboration. There are millions of hotels, ten thousand destinations with a variety of pricing options that many companies offer but we need to admit that the biggest issue in our industry is still the service quality.
While we are strongly competitive in terms of pricing and product, we are proudly building the biggest support team our industry has ever seen and it is brilliant to witness that.
Mohamed: I would also highlight the advantage of being locally relevant (have a local presence and localize our communication to match local markets). Improve support level, increase partner engagement and be the preferred stop shop for all partners. Increase the brand awareness, specially within emerging markets.
Felix Shpilman, CEO of Emerging Travel Group, Serkan Özbay and our Turkish team attended Uzakrota Awards 2022 ceremony and got the World’s leading travel technology provider award!
If it’s possible, could you share or teaser some plans for developing the region in 2023, what can we expect from RateHawk here?
Serkan: To the beautiful people and great travel professionals of the Middle East, with all my respect, “We are coming for you!”. To serve and collaborate better and do it forever! We have established our UAE legal entity, built great commercial teams, KSA, Egypt, Kuwait & Turkey, and plan to establish more legal entities in the Middle East soon.
Why do you advise visiting ATM, and what are your expectations?
Serkan: ATM is the biggest and the most successful travel trade show held in the Middle East where we get to see our friends, partners and meet new people every year.
We will meet soon anywhere, anytime for sure but why not today, come and see us, let’s get to know each other and meet our fantastic team who will open doors to new possibilities for you.
And finally, as ATM takes place in Dubai, could you share your personal favorite places (besides popular tourist attractions) to visit for those who have some free time?
Serkan: Jumeirah beach is fantastic, Amazing Burj Khalifa, IMG Worlds of Adventure “Marvel” are some beautiful places to visit.
Mohamed: I’ll definitely recommend Old Dubai; it is a unique destination.
Thanks to our special guests, and we can’t wait to meet you offline at ATM in May! Our stand number is TT1376. Come to have a chat, share experience and discuss expectations of how our industry will develop!
