Residents in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region preferred to celebrate Eid Al Fitr closer to home this year, confirms data released by trivago, one of the world’s largest hotel search engine.

Sharm El Sheikh ranked first in the list of the top 10 travel destinations Mena residents visited during Eid Al Fitr 2016 – followed consecutively by Dubai, Makkah, Hurghada, Cairo, Madinah, Istanbul, Doha, Beirut and Bahrain.

“Visitors around the world are increasingly looking in their own backyards for attractive travel destinations and the Mena region is no exception. From world-class entertainment and leisure experiences to gastronomic exploration and cultural discovery – the region offers ample inspiration for unique and memorable travels. And, with Eid Al Fitr being a short, mid-year family holiday, it is easy to understand why residents will choose to relax and reset with a quick getaway in a destination that’s only a few flight hours away,” said Mayada Samy, country manager – Middle East and North Africa, trivago.

“According to our data, Egypt, along with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Bahrain and Kuwait ranked among the top 10 countries searched by Mena residents for hotels during Ramadan 2016, which further supports the intra-regional travel trend. Other countries in this list include Turkey, France and the UK,” added Samy.

As Mena residents sought the best staycation deals within the region, trivago took its comprehensive searching and price comparison capability, to a whole new level, with the launch of the Arabic iOS mobile application in June 2016.

“As more and more Arabs across all age groups turn to tech-savvy lifestyles, trivago’s Arabic iOS mobile app offers users the convenience of searching hotel deals in their native language, while giving them access to all the features of our global app that has already surpassed more than 9 million downloads to date. As we look ahead to enhance our efforts in the region, we remain dedicated to empowering our users with complete transparency of the online hotel market, so they can continue to choose from deals that best suit their budgets and travel requirements,” Samy said.

Trivago’s Arabic iOS mobile app brings users all the features offered by the top-rated global app, including the best prices on hotels worldwide as well as last-minute deals and discounts. The app’s enhanced search capabilities allow users to enjoy peace of mind before booking, with easy-to-use filters to find hotels near well-known sights and attractions, search for hotels by date, location and budget and save their results to book later. Users also benefit from trivago’s Rating Index, which creates a combined rating using all the available hotel review scores from websites such as Expedia, Hotels.com, HolidayCheck, ebookers and more. Offering advanced hotel search functionality on-the-go, the GPS-enabled app tracks the user’s current location to display accommodation options within close proximity, along with interactive maps to help users locate the desired hotel with ease. - TradeArabia News Service