Online travel agencies are set to play an increasingly important role in the UAE travel market, with online air penetration forecast to rise to 52% by 2030.
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The findings, presented at Arabian Travel Market 2026, point to a travel industry being reshaped by changing booking habits, growing digital adoption and intensifying competition between online platforms.
Online travel moves into the spotlight
According to VIDEC’s GCC & Egypt Travel Market Sizing & OTA Benchmarking Study, 2019–2030, online air penetration in the UAE is expected to increase from 42% in 2025 to 46% in 2026, before reaching 52% by 2030.
The UAE air market, measured by bookings made at the local point of sale, is forecast to reach US$6.5bn by 2030. Growth is expected to be driven primarily by online channels and a recovery in corporate travel.
Virendra Jain, CEO and co-founder of VIDEC, says the UAE market experienced strong growth among Emirati carriers between 2023 and 2025, particularly among low-cost carriers, although the market faced setbacks during 2026.
“Capacity for full-service carriers remains 15–25% below pre-war levels, while low-cost carriers – local as well as the likes of Air India Express, flynas and IndiGo – are recovering faster,” says Jain.
He adds that low-cost carriers are leading the rebound as short-haul, point-to-point travel is among the first segments to recover.
A major market for airlines
The shift towards online bookings comes against the backdrop of a sizeable UAE aviation market.
UAE airports handled approximately 160 million passengers in 2025, with low-cost carriers accounting for 35% of traffic. Passenger volumes for low-cost carriers increased from 31 million in 2019 to 56 million in 2025, an 81% rise.
Network carriers carried 103 million passengers in 2025, compared with 97 million in 2019.
VIDEC estimates the UAE was the region’s largest air market in gross booking value terms in 2025, valued at US$55bn across local and global points of sale.
OTA competition heats up
As more bookings move online, the competition between travel platforms is also becoming more pronounced.
MakeMyTrip retained its position as the leading air OTA in the UAE in 2026, with VIDEC pointing to the South Asian diaspora and higher fares as factors supporting its position.
Trip.com, meanwhile, has grown rapidly since entering the UAE market and is now the second-largest air OTA, according to the research.
The hotel OTA market is also concentrated, with Booking.com and Agoda together accounting for approximately 70% of the market.
What comes next for online travel?
The future of the OTA market was explored at ATM 2026 during The Future of OTAs in 30 Minutes, which brought together senior executives from Wego, MakeMyTrip and Trip.com.
The discussion focused on how changing traveller expectations and new technologies are influencing the online booking journey, as well as the growing importance of localisation, customer experience and payment options.
Danielle Curtis, regional portfolio director – UAE at RX Global, says the research highlights the changing relationship between travellers, OTAs and travel suppliers.
“As online penetration continues to increase, the relationship between travellers, OTAs and travel suppliers is evolving rapidly, creating opportunities for both established platforms and newer market entrants,” she says.
The bigger digital travel shift
The research was presented during the 33rd edition of Arabian Travel Market, held from 14 to 17 September at Dubai World Trade Centre under the theme Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology.
With online air penetration forecast to pass the halfway mark by 2030, the UAE’s travel market is increasingly moving towards digital booking — creating a more competitive landscape for the platforms, airlines and travel businesses competing for the modern traveller.
