Online travel market in Saudi Arabia is growing at a rapid pace and internet bookings are expected to exceed $1.9 billion in 2014, according to a study.

The Kingdom's travel industry as a whole will be worth $11.4 billion in 2014, compared to $9.8 billion in 2011, the study carried out by global travel market research company PhoCusWright said.

Travelport co-sponsored the study titled “Assessing the Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East”.

“The online travel industry across the whole of the Middle East is growing at an unprecedented rate, and the significant growth we are witnessing in Saudi Arabia is further testament to this,” said Rabih Saab, President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Travelport (photo).

“At Travelport we work closely with travel agents and airlines to help them meet these demands by offering broader content through faster distribution and sharing our expertise so they can firmly establish themselves in this rapidly evolving industry sector,” he added.

Meanwhile, next year Travelport will introduce a range of new technology solutions. It will shortly launch Smartpoint 3.0 - its next generation desktop solution for travel agents.

In addition, the company will continue the roll-out of Travelport Merchandising Platform, pioneering technology for airline distribution, and its leading edge Travelport Universal API – the industry’s first truly universal API, giving travel agents access to a world of content and functionality through a single API connection.

Travelport will launch in 2014 the next generation Travelport View Trip Mobile, its itinerary management tool.

In 2014, Travelport will continue to grow its team in Saudi Arabia, with a specific focus on remote regions. Since the start of 2013, Travelport has already recruited five new key account sales executives, while adding more senior level support to its leadership team.