Corporate Travel Management in MENA: Your 2025 Guide
Explore how modern travel solutions are transforming corporate travel in MENA, making business trips smarter, faster, and more efficient for companies of all sizes.
From big corporate giants to SMEs, companies are turning to the emerging market of MENA to manage their business travel needs. With its strategic location, business-friendly policies, and breathtaking site views, the region has become a prime destination for both corporate travel and bleisure.
As the regional Governments shift their focus away from oil, they are heavily investing in tourism infrastructure and opening the doors for international visitors. This economic shift is aligned with the evolved preferences of travellers, as they seek authentic and eco-friendly places beyond traditional tourist hotspots.
Saudi Arabia's new tourist policy - aims to attract over 150 million visitors annually every day, offering tremendous benefits to travellers. Meanwhile, the UAE continues to draw global business tourists with its world-class hotels and luxury amenities. Countries like Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco offer unique cultural experiences, while Egypt continues to attract people with its world-famous historic sites.
With the rise of travel-friendly policies, low-cost carriers, and connectivity to other popular destinations, MENA is the perfect choice for business travelers seeking both efficiency and exceptional travel experiences.
Corporate Travel Stats in MENA
Talking about the numbers, the global corporate travel market is estimated to hit a huge $1.8T by 2027. Surprisingly, 46% of which is from MENA, indicating the popularity of this region. Unfortunately, 80% of its corporate travel is unmanaged.
And, that’s a big frustration point for today’s decision-makers, who are already juggling multiple responsibilities - from controlling expenses to making sure the success of business trips while prioritizing employee well-being.
Travel management companies and local agents are no longer coping up with the growing demand, it is safe to say they are outdated for future-ready businesses like yours. You need to capitalize on the digital transformation, and upgrade your tech stack to save money and time.
So, What Corporate Travel Management Is?
To put it simply, corporate travel management is a process of planning and organizing a work trip in line with company policy, while also tracking and reporting expenses. Each step plays a key role to provide a smooth experience to your employees and encourage them to hit the ground running.
Time-consuming booking sites, and costly travel agencies are no longer a practical solution for smart business travelers.
Let’s explore further!
Downside of Using Consumer Booking Sites:
- Need to hop on multiple websites to find the best offers (that’s taxing and time-intensive).
- Back-and-forth communication via emails or phones for company bookings.
- Employees have to pay upfront, and wait for reimbursements.
- Manual expense report and tracking can be hectic and error-prone.
- No real-time support for travel issues.
- Difficult to align with your company policy guidelines.
- Hidden fee, and cancellation charges lead to disappointment.
Shortcomings of Traditional Corporate Travel Agencies
- Doesn’t always have the best deals on flights and hotels.
- High service charges can cost you a good fortune.
- Limited travel inventory.
- Less to zero flexibility to customize your travel arrangements.
- Company policy compliance is hard to find.
- Slow booking processes, unresponsive support and too many steps to communicate, causing delays and inefficiencies.
Modern Corporate Travel Management in MENA
For managing your travel, controlling expenses, and analysing overall spending - automation, ease, and remarkable user-experience is the way to go. Embracing the digital transformation in your travel and expense management will make your team more efficient and happy than ever before.
Choosing The Best Solution For All Your Corporate Travel Needs
Things to look for in your business travel management platform:
Go For An All-In-One Tool
It saves you from the hassle of juggling multiple tools to manage your work travel from start to finish. Whether it is for booking hotels, flights, and controlling and tracking your expenses - unify all your business travel processes.
Align Travel with Your Company Policy
Your travel tool should enable you to align your trips and expenses with the company's travel policy, without you having to manage it manually. With built-in policy controls and automated approvals, you can simplify processes, minimize errors, and save valuable time.
Get Full Inventory Access
Limited inventory means you have fewer options and are missing out on competitive deals. The platform you choose must provide you with a wide variety of choices for hotels, flights, and car rentals. A good inventory gives you more control, better prices, and happier employees.
Simple, User-Friendly Platform
A tool that’s so fun and easy to use, so your employees always stick to it. Not just that! It gives your finance and administrative teams easy access to travel details, making it effortless to track work trips and create expense reports.
24/7 Support That Has Your Back
Business travel can't always go as planned! You are responsible for giving your employees a smooth experience when they are travelling across different time zones. You need a dedicated team that works when you do, and even when you don't. With round-the-clock support, your team wins!
A Customizable Tool - Manage Travel Your Way
One-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in business travel management. Your company requires a tool that perfectly matches its unique needs. From flexible payment options to setting travel policies and approval hierarchies - a personalized tool for your operations.
Transform Your Corporate Travel Experience with WegoPro
As the MENA region is transforming into a global business hub, traditional methods can't keep up with the speed, complexity, and expectations of today’s business travel.
A simple, automated, all-in-one solution is the need of time.
That's where WegoPro can help you - a modern platform to manage, control, and track your business travel and expenses:
- Simplify travel planning.
- Gain full visibility into expenses.
- Deliver a smooth experience to your employees to boost productivity.
Discover how WegoPro can simplify your corporate travel and expense management. Make business trips smarter, faster, and more efficient - without the hassle.