Tag: Middle East

Salman Gul > Insights > Middle East
Airline Marketing in the GCC: The Retail-Airline Opportunity

Airline Marketing in the GCC: The Retail-Airline Opportunity (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
The airline business is being rebuilt around one idea: stop selling seats, start retailing travel. Global airline ancillary revenue hit a record US$157 billion in 2025, now 15.7% of total airline revenue, up from 9.1% in 2016, and reaching as...Read More
Digital marketing for airlines in the GCC and Middle East, hub cover

Digital Marketing for Airlines in the GCC and Middle East: The Complete Guide

Posted on by Salman Gul
GCC & Middle East airline marketing Digital marketing for airlines in the GCC The playbook for Gulf carriers becoming retail airlines: direct booking, ancillary revenue, loyalty, distribution and demand-responsive performance marketing, built on real 2026 data and a decade of...Read More
Social Commerce and WhatsApp Commerce in the Middle East

Social Commerce and WhatsApp Commerce in the Middle East (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
Social commerce in the UAE is growing at 18.5% a year, well above the 11% growth in social ad spend, over 40% of Gen Z and Millennials now discover products on social rather than Google, and WhatsApp reaches 95% of...Read More
Inbound vs Outbound Travel Marketing in the GCC

Inbound vs Outbound Travel Marketing in the GCC (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
The GCC outbound tourism market is worth around $88.5 billion in 2026 and growing at 8.1% a year toward $152 billion by 2033, while the region is simultaneously the fastest-growing inbound destination in the world. These are two entirely different...Read More
Travel Content and Influencer Marketing in the Middle East

Travel Content and Influencer Marketing in the Middle East (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
The UAE influencer marketing industry is approaching $620 million in 2026, more than 92% of UAE brands now use it, and 72% of consumers trust creator recommendations over brand-led ones. For travel, this is not a side channel. It is...Read More
Destination Marketing: How Cities and Regions Attract Visitors

Destination Marketing: How Cities and Regions Attract Visitors (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
72% of destination marketing organisations now prioritise conversion and economic-impact metrics over awareness, and 80% run co-operative campaigns with local businesses. The era of justifying a tourism budget with impressions and reach is closing. Destination marketing in 2026 has shifted...Read More
Digital marketing for tourism and travel in the GCC and Middle East, hub cover

Digital Marketing for Tourism and Travel in the GCC and Middle East: The Complete Guide

Posted on by Salman Gul
GCC & Middle East tourism marketing Digital marketing for tourism and travel in the GCC The playbook for destinations, attractions, tour operators and travel-tech across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider Middle East, built on real 2026 data and...Read More
First-Party Data Strategy for Hospitality Brands in the Middle East

First-Party Data Strategy for Hospitality Brands in the Middle East (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
81% of hotels report a revenue lift after implementing a first-party data strategy, and 78% of leisure travellers now expect a property to remember their preferences from a previous stay. Yet most Middle East hotels still let that data scatter...Read More
Booking Engine Conversion Rate Optimisation for Middle East Hotels

Booking Engine Conversion Rate Optimisation for Middle East Hotels (2026)

Posted on by Salman Gul
A 2026 study of 65 hotel booking journeys across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia found that 72% of hotel websites fail the three-second load benchmark, average mobile load times hit 4.1 seconds, and 44% of hotels hide taxes...Read More