Growth of the Egyptian online travel market

In its latest “Egypt Online Travel Report 2012” Cairo-based secondary market research firm egyptlastminute.com analyses the Egyptian online travel market. In addition to the total Arab market, the report covers the largest markets middle east with 20 additional countries in Africa.The overall development of the online travel market in Egypt has been very positive. The total number of bookings through online travel agencies increased by almost 25% from 2010 to 2011. Egypt is still expected to account for the largest share in 2013, followed by Tunisia and South Africa. In 2011, the reach of online tour operators was also the highest in Egypt, while the strongest growth was observed in Tunisia. In 2011, www.egyptlastminute.com had the highest number of unique visitors in Europe, followed by Ramses tours.Growing online revenue for travel in largest Egyptian marketsIn Africa, more than half of all consumers avoid traditional travel agents altogether and book their holidays online instead. In line with this trend, more than half of all internet users used online services for travel and accommodation in 2011. As shown in the “Africa Online Travel Report 2012” by egyptlastminute.com in 2011, customers in Germany preferred traditional travel agents for expensive travel arrangements and online booking for cheaper tours. Online revenue has grown considerably in this sector, while offline revenue has decreased. In Egypt, revenue generated with online travel bookings grew as well between January and September 2011, more than the total B2C E-Commerce revenue. Additionally, B2C E-Commerce revenue in the category “Travel and Holiday Accommodation” was higher in 2011 than in the next four categories combined.