Why digitising corporate travel is no longer optional for GCC enterprises

Mohanad Nada

Head of GCC at Tumodo

As the Gulf region experiences accelerated economic growth and transformation, companies are expanding across borders, engaging in new partnerships, and mobilizing their teams more than ever before. Business travel has become a strategic enabler of this momentum, especially for many enterprises, the way they manage travel remains stuck in the past.

Across the GCC, organisations have embraced digital transformation in finance, operations, and customer service. However, corporate travel is a significant and often under-optimized area of business spend and is frequently still handled through outdated, manual processes. That is rapidly changing. 

Missed savings, missed opportunities

Traditional corporate travel models come with familiar pain points: scattered bookings, inconsistent policy enforcement, expense tracking hassle, and time-consuming approvals. In the absence of centralized systems, finance and procurement leaders often lack visibility into where budgets are going and whether employees are following policy. 

These inefficiencies not only lead to unnecessary costs, but they also limit agility at a time when speed and scalability are critical for success.

Enter the era of smart business travel

Innovative travel management platforms, such as Tumodo, are redefining how GCC enterprises approach corporate travel. Designed to meet the needs of modern, fast-growing organizations, these platforms bring together booking, policy management, approvals, and reporting in a single, digital environment.

Here’s how this transformation benefits corporate decision-makers:

• Control & compliance: Businesses can define travel policies centrally and enforce them automatically, reducing leakage and maverick spend.
• Real-time data: Finance teams gain live visibility into bookings and expenses, enabling proactive budget management and strategic insights.
• Faster, smarter approvals: Customized workflows streamline internal approvals, improving speed without compromising oversight.
• Better employee experience: Business travelers enjoy the ease of self-booking with clear parameters, reducing frustration and administrative burden.

Why now and why it matters

The timing is critical. As the GCC pushes ahead with ambitious national vision including Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s diversification strategy, regional companies are under pressure to modernise operations, improve cost efficiency, and enhance employee satisfaction. Corporate travel sits at the intersection of all three.

Digitising business travel is not merely a tech upgrade, it’s a strategic move that empowers leaders to make data-driven decisions, enforce financial discipline, and support workforce productivity.

A regional outlook

At Tumodo, we’ve seen firsthand how companies in the UAE are already benefiting from digital travel transformation. Now, as we expand into Saudi Arabia and other GCC markets, we are seeing a growing appetite among enterprises for smarter, scalable solutions that align with the region’s future-facing economic agenda. By investing in digital corporate travel solutions today, companies position themselves to compete more effectively, both regionally and globally, tomorrow.