Press Release

Surging Tourism Sector to Amplify GCC Digital Transformation Market Growth

The GCC Digital Transformation Market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 25.7% during the forecast period of 2024-30, cites MarkNtel Advisors in the recent research report. The market growth is attributed to concerted economic diversification efforts, national visions, and modernization strategies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The gradual integration of regional banking and financial institutions with the global markets has been pushing for a greater need for digital transformation across the BFSI industry.

A preference for an open architecture based on interoperability standards and application program interfaces (APIs) that can facilitate both front-end and back-end integration dominates the regional BFSI market. Banks are contending with dynamic market innovations, including competition from FinTech, and are exploring interoperability as a means to advance prioritized IT initiatives.

The roadmaps such as the UAE Digital Government Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030 underscore the crucial role of digital transformation as a key driver for economic diversification, sustainability, and enhanced quality of life. These visionary roadmaps outline comprehensive digital initiatives, fostering increased adoption of technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) across sectors like healthcare and finance in recent years.

Furthermore, there is a growing emphasis on digital technologies for efficient data management and supply chain optimization. This strategic focus aims to enhance global competitiveness by adapting products and services. As a result, innovation and collaborations in the digital transformation sector are on the rise, leading to substantial growth in market size.

Moreover, the tourism sector in Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia is poised for growth in the foreseeable future, driven by government initiatives, promotional campaigns, evolving visa regulations, and substantial investments in luxury hotels and resorts. For instance, in 2023, the Saudi government announced the launch of new instant e-visa options, aiming to streamline travel for visitors from key regions such as the US, the UK, and EU countries. Such favorable measures are anticipated to attract a significant influx of travelers to the region in the coming years. This surge in tourism is expected to catalyze the adoption of various digital technologies within the sector, given the industry's heavy reliance on digital platforms for booking flights, accommodations, tours, and activities. This in turn is expected to boost the growth of the GCC Digital Transformation Market in the coming years.

Segmentation Analysis

Artificial Intelligence Expected to Dominate the GCC Digital Transformation Market

Based on the technology, the market is further bifurcated into, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, internet of things, blockchain, cybersecurity, and others (robotics, extended reality, etc.). Among them, artificial intelligence is holding a significant share in recent times due to the increasing prevalence of internet connectivity and the widespread use of IoT-based smart devices. The expanding digitization across various industry sectors, including telecommunications, retail, construction, and BFSI, is further propelling the use of artificial intelligence to analyze vast amounts of data in recent years.

Moreover, Gulf countries have strategic plans to develop multiple smart cities like NEOM, Masdar, Sultan Haitam City, etc., in the coming years. This initiative is poised to foster increased integration of AI technologies, enhancing efficiency in urban planning, transportation, energy management, and public services within these upcoming smart cities. Therefore, artificial intelligence technology is anticipated to lead the GCC Digital Transformation Market during forecast years.

The UAE is Anticipated to Account for a Prominent Market Share

The UAE is expected to hold a major market share in the forecast period. There are several favorable policies and programs such as; liberalized policy related to the use of digital technologies, implementation guiding programs to encourage the adoption of artificial intelligence and the upgrading of current digital technologies in the various public and private sectors. As several business organizations in the UAE shifting their operations into the cloud infrastructure to streamline the processes and for the improvement in working capability, the country is emerging as one of the biggest cloud services adopters in the world.

Additionally, the UAE announced supportive digital adoption initiatives like "The UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025" and developed eight dimensions for enhancing and integrating digital factors into all government sectors. Such initiatives are anticipated to fuel market expansion in the UAE during 2024-30, as they simulate favorable circumstances for the market expansion.

Competitive Landscape

With strategic initiatives, such as mergers, collaborations, and acquisitions, the leading market companies, including Accenture, Adobe, Broadcom Technical Concepts LLC, Cisco Systems, Inc., Google Inc., Happiest Minds, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, Microsoft Corporation, Salesforce, Inc., SAP SE, and others are looking forward to strengthening their market position.

Key Questions Answered in the Research Report

1. What are the industry’s overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares)?
2. What are the trends influencing the current scenario of the market?
3. What key factors would propel and impede the industry across the region?
4. How has the industry been evolving in terms of geography & service adoption?
5. How has the competition been shaping across various countries?
6. How has the buying behavior, customer inclination, and expectations from product manufacturers been evolving during 2019-30?
7. Who are the key competitors, and what strategic partnerships or ventures are they coming up with to stay afloat during the projected time frame?