By Vicky Kapur www.emirates247.com
Africa-based travel booking site Travelstart has launched a localised and Arabic version of its website in the UAE.
Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Travelstart’s Middle East Area Manager, told Emirates 24|7 that Arabic was a natural progression for the travel booking site, with 20 per cent of its call centre customers requesting to talk with an Arabic speaker.
Travelstart was launched in the UAE in late 2014, and the travel portal says it has seen growth more than 400 per cent in 2015 so far. “More than 80 per cent of customers who’ve booked at Travelstart are from the UAE,” said Abbondandolo.
“However, we noticed mainly from the inquiries that came to the customer service department that at least 1 out of 5 customers requested to talk with an Arabic speaker, hence we believed that launching the website in Arabic would have an added value to the local community,” he added.
“Moreover, it was observed that customers felt more safe and were trustworthy when they had someone talking to them in Arabic (the language of their choice), especially if they were new to online credit card transactions.” More info
