The STA Podcast ft Ross Veitch

“We’re probably driving more people to Saudi Arabia than any other online travel partner,” says Wego CEO

In this episode of The Saudi Tourism Authority Podcast, produced by Connecting Travel, Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder of Wego tells Sarah Hedley Hymers the company is “probably driving more people into Saudi Arabia than any other online travel partner.”

Launched in 2005, and dual-headquartered in Dubai and Singapore, Wego harnesses technology to simplify the process of searching, comparing and booking flights and hotels across hundreds of airlines, hotels and online travel agencies.

To date, 75 million people worldwide have downloaded the Wego app, and it’s among the most popular travel apps in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

“It’s neck-and-neck between Wego and Booking.com for the most downloaded, most-used app in the Middle East,” shares Veitch.

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Partnering with the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) for more than a decade, Wego contributes to the country’s tourism marketing strategy – and is currently seeing most success with event-led campaigns.

“There’s a lot of event-centric travel going on in Saudi – some leisure, some more business-focused – and it’s one of the easiest areas to stimulate demand,” says Veitch. 

“We’re also seeing a lot of people who are curious about Saudi or want to get off the beaten track. Increasingly too, we are seeing people book trips for Umrah, who are then taking the opportunity to extend their stay in Saudi and take excursions.

“Five years ago, many people wouldn’t have considered visiting Saudi, but now they’re seeing the marketing and they’re intrigued.”

Find out more about Wego’s mission and growth in MENA, and how the online travel company is working with the STA to drive tourism to Saudi Arabia, by tuning into the STA Podcast on your preferred platform.

Watch on YouTube:

For more information, visit  company.wego.com