Dubai¡¯s Thriving Travel Tech Industry: Powering the Ever-Growing Travel Landscape in the City of Luxury and Business

Dubai, often hailed as a modern marvel, captivates the world with its stunning architecture, lavish hotels, grand shopping festivals, and towering skyscrapers. The desert oasis, nestled in the United Arab Emirates, has established itself as a haven for travellers, attracting millions from around the globe every year. With its thriving travel tech industry, the city is not just a dream destination, but also a hub of innovation, seamlessly blending technology with luxury and business.

Dubai¡¯s allure knows no bounds, as evidenced by the surge in tourist numbers that defied the challenges posed by the pandemic. In the first half of 2023, Dubai welcomed a staggering 8.55 million tourists, surpassing its pre-pandemic figures. The 20% growth compared to the same period in 2019 reflects the city¡¯s resilience and magnetic appeal. As visitors flock to this emirate, it is not just its opulent offerings that attract attention, but also the thriving travel tech industry that powers Dubai¡¯s tourism landscape.

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Indiatimes delved into this vibrant Travel Tech sector by engaging with prominent travel tech companies. Among them is, OnArrival, a ¡®travel-as-a-service¡¯ platform founded by Ankit Sawant and Pawan Shetty in 2022. OnArrival¡¯s unique proposition lies in bringing together 20 ancillary travel services onto one platform through its proprietary Application Programming Interfaces (API). This enables sellers like online travel agencies and other booking avenues to offer a seamless experience to their customers.

Sawant, who is also the CEO of the company, highlighted the importance of catering to high-end travel experiences saying OnArrival¡¯s focus on the discovery of unique experiences enables their enterprise customers to provide tailored offerings, aligning with the luxury-seeking desires of Dubai¡¯s visitors.

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¡°High-end travel experiences are usually more about the physical experience or a combination of physical and technology. At OnArrival, what we enable is the discovery part of these experiences for our enterprise customers, who can then make it available to their customers. However, for India, luxury travel is still a small part of the market, which largely ends up focusing on more westward travel,¡± he said.

¡°Corporate travel is an important component for anyone in the travel business. And Dubai being the gateway to the Middle East, we see a lot of corporate travel moving into UAE. What we have aimed to enable through our approach to corporate travel is to align the purpose of travel with actual business outcomes. This is going to be very crucial for business travel as, post-pandemic, the scrutiny on business trips has increased manifold, and therefore, corporates are looking at these expenses with a hawk eye,¡± he added.

According to Sawant, as the travel landscape becomes increasingly competitive, with travellers seeking personalised and authentic experiences, his company¡¯s tech-driven approach differentiates itself in a market where customisation and uniqueness are highly valued.

OnArrival¡¯s tech innovations align with the Dubai government¡¯s vision for sustainable and responsible tourism. ¡°A couple of interesting things we have been doing include planning day-to-day itineraries in a way that travelers have a lower carbon footprint by using fewer mobility solutions. We also help users not only select modes of transport with the least carbon footprint but also assist them in offsetting the same through projects of their choice,¡± he added.

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Meanwhile, Vinod Kelwani, CEO of Techno Heaven Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., emphasises that their resolute commitment to crafting unforgettable travel experiences has been realised through a pivotal partnership with Rayna Tours. This collaboration has led to a portfolio of state-of-the-art travel technology solutions that resonate with the discerning desires of Dubai¡¯s luxury-seeking visitors.

¡°As architects of innovative travel technology platforms, we have wielded our expertise to orchestrate transformative shifts within premier tour operators, including the illustrious Rayna Tours. Our platform presents a gateway to the extraordinary ¨C offering a frictionless booking experience for exclusive Dubai ventures. With the prowess of Techno Heaven, travelers navigating through Rayna Tours¡¯ platform can effortlessly secure premium sightseeing tours, private transfers, and curated encounters that resonate with Dubai¡¯s status as a paragon of luxury travel,¡± he said.

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The company¡¯s expertise also extends to business travel, a significant aspect of Dubai¡¯s role as a global business hub.

¡±The integration of our travel software ushers in a new era for business travelers, where personalised services reign supreme. This harmony between technology and personalisation facilitates the efficient booking of business trips, encompassing every essential facet ¨C be it tailored hotel accommodations, seamless transfers, or optimally scheduled flights. By eradicating friction points, our technology transforms the very essence of business travel, rendering it a seamless and productive endeavour,¡± he said.

While other major tourist destinations in the world, having more to do with history, Dubai is definitely attracting the tourists towards future. As a home to world's best travel tech companies, the emirate has prepared itself for the travellers well assisted by technology.

So, as you plan your next international trip, how about experiencing a whole new way to see the world.

Dubai is waiting!