Almosafer Launches Real-time Safety & Regulation Advisory Platform Across Omni-channel Offering To Boost Confidence In Travel Post Pandemic

As part of its ongoing efforts to restore confidence in travel and boost tourism in Saudi Arabia post the Pandemic, Almosafer the Kingdom’s leading omni-channel travel brand, is undergoing extensive efforts and training to provide customers with an enhanced travel advisory offering which allows them to stay informed about the latest safety guidelines and plan their domestic and outbound trips without any constraints (once international travel resumes). To serve this purpose, Almosafer has launched a dedicated safety guidelines platform that will feed into the travel booking funnel providing up-to-date information about the guidelines of the country of departure and the requirements at the destination country. 

The move comes in response to the findings of Almosafer’s dedicated survey around post COVID-19 travel for Saudi Arabia, which found that 60% of Saudi travellers want to know the social distancing and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) rules applicable in-destination before making any travel decisions, while clarity on safety measures taken by hotels and airlines was considered critical for 55% travellers to help in building confidence and come to a decision. The survey also found that travellers from Saudi Arabia specifically require an all-encompassing view of the destination they will choose,with over 55% stating that information about potential quarantine periods and the availability of tourist attractions, dining options etc. is crucial in making an informed travel decision.

Almosafer is allocating significant resources to aggregate and maintain data from over 100 sources, the safety guidelines content is vetted and updated on a daily basis to guarantee accuracy and offer customers access to real-time developments on travel guidelines from across the globe. Gearing up towards post pandemic international travel, the platform has been specifically designed to support international travellers in their decision making, once borders open for outbound travel in Saudi Arabia.

Ronnie Varghese, Senior Director Digital at Almosafer said: "Through our customer research it became evident that what used to be a very straightforward decision making and booking process has now become an experience that can lead to confusion and anxiety. With our advisory platform, we aim to provide levels of information our customers deem important and trustworthy in making a travel decision. Sourcing and providing this information is quite challenging as data comes from fragmented and disparate sources with varying degrees of accuracy, clarity, recency, authority and language availability. Solving the problem required significant effort to build an operational and technical infrastructure that made information accessible through various touch-points, both digital and physical. An effort undoubtedly worth it to bring confidence to our loyal customers at a time of great uncertainty. The next phases of this effort will be to automate much of this process to make the solution more scalable for more destinations and additional data points."

Furthermore, Almosafer has partnered with Altibbi, the largest Arabic health platform globally, to offer travellers round-the-clock access to certified doctors and free medical advice throughout their travel journey. As of August 17th, 2020 Almosafer customers will receive an Altibbi code with their international flight or hotel booking and will be able to use it through the downloadable Altibbi mobile App to avail one month of complimentary virtual medical consultation services from the time they use the code. Based on customers’ settings they will be assigned to doctors from their home country. 

Almosafer’s travel advisory would not be complete without its dedicated team of experienced travel advisors, who are undergoing further training on safety procedures, government guidelines, restrictions and destination level developments. This step will unify Almosafer’s travel safety advisory across its omni-channel platforms and offer customers consistent support including sound travel recommendations, destinations safety updates, airline operations and precautionary measures to take into consideration when travelling.

Fahad Alobailan, VP of Retail at Almosafer said: “As travel opens up in phases, staying up to date with the latest requirements and procedures has never been more important, and we have an obligation to assure our customers that their safety and wellbeing comes first. Through Almosafer’s dedicated safety guidelines, we will be able to offer customers the information and guidelines they need to plan their trips. These guidelines will be utilized across the booking funnel online and used by our travel advisors across  various touch points and channels including our call centres, email, WhatsApp, social platforms and in-store across 22 cities and various airports”.

“Almosafer has also partnered with Altibbi, making it the first travel agency in KSA and Kuwait to offer this added level of assurance for travellers. Once the international flight or hotel booking is finalised, customers will receive an Altibbi code which they can use through the dedicated mobile app and benefit from one month of complementary medical advisory that will give them access to general practitioners from their home country, who will consult them virtually and discuss any potential symptoms, treatments or specialist referrals related to COVID-19 or otherwise” Alobailan added.  

Almosafer’s safety guidelines will cover everything from eligibility and entry guidelines & restrictions, to

personal health & safety (PPE and more), availability of key tourist attractions, general hotel guidelines and restrictions, and airport requirements with dedicated content made available for customers from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Almosafer’s two main markets of operation.