In the Gulf region, tourism is going through a major digital transformation — and WhatsApp Channels are quietly becoming a new communication frontier for destination marketing.
Three leading organizations have already made the move:
They are currently the only official tourism boards in the GCC with their own verified WhatsApp Channels.
👉 And the results are encouraging:
- Visit Saudi already counts 10,000+ followers,
- Visit Dubai and Visit Qatar both exceed 20,000 followers.
That’s a solid start — but there’s still plenty of untapped potential.
From presence to performance: what’s next for these channels?
Launching a WhatsApp Channel is one thing. Turning it into an engaging conversational experience is another.
Right now, most of these channels share inspirational content — event announcements, destination videos, or visual campaigns.
But WhatsApp offers a far richer, more interactive toolbox:
🎯 Using the native codes of the platform
- Polls, quizzes, and mini-games to boost participation,
- Voice notes to add a personal and authentic tone,
- Short, interactive formats with emojis, stickers, or local storytelling.
đź’¬ Driving engagement and community
- Encouraging reactions, shares, and replies,
- Featuring authentic stories from travelers or influencers.
🌍 Segmenting by language or audience
Creating dedicated channels per language or target community (Arabic, English, French, Chinese…) would dramatically improve visibility and cultural relevance.
The next step: connecting Channels to WhatsApp Business
The natural evolution would be to bridge the gap between the public Channel and WhatsApp Business messaging — turning followers into travelers.
Imagine:
“Dreaming of exploring AlUla? Message us directly on WhatsApp to build your personalized itinerary.”
That’s conversational marketing at its best — simple, human, and frictionless.
Strategy, convergence, and tools — what we do at Messaging Me
At Messaging Me, we help brands and tourism organizations — across the GCC and Europe — design and deploy high-performing conversational strategies.
Our expertise:
- Turning WhatsApp Channels into powerful brand and engagement tools,
- Integrating messaging into a global marketing and conversion funnel,
- Leveraging our SaaS product, Channels Me, to automate and scale these efforts.
Whether you’re in tourism or any other industry, WhatsApp is no longer just a chat app — it’s a strategic marketing channel.
👉 Let’s connect to explore how to make it work for your brand.
They are currently the only official tourism boards in the GCC with their own verified WhatsApp Channels.
 And the results are encouraging:
-
- Visit Saudi already counts 10,000+ followers,
-
- Visit Dubai and Visit Qatar both exceed 20,000 followers.
That’s a solid start — but there’s still plenty of untapped potential.
From presence to performance: what’s next for these channels?
Launching a WhatsApp Channel is one thing. Turning it into an engaging conversational experience is another.
Right now, most of these channels share inspirational content — event announcements, destination videos, or visual campaigns.
But WhatsApp offers a far richer, more interactive toolbox:
 Using the native codes of the platform
-
- Polls, quizzes, and mini-games to boost participation,
-
- Voice notes to add a personal and authentic tone,
-
- Short, interactive formats with emojis, stickers, or local storytelling.
 Driving engagement and community
-
- Encouraging reactions, shares, and replies,
-
- Featuring authentic stories from travelers or influencers.
 Segmenting by language or audience
Creating dedicated channels per language or target community (Arabic, English, French, Chinese…) would dramatically improve visibility and cultural relevance.
The next step: connecting Channels to WhatsApp Business
The natural evolution would be to bridge the gap between the public Channel and WhatsApp Business messaging — turning followers into travelers.
Imagine:
“Dreaming of exploring AlUla? Message us directly on WhatsApp to build your personalized itinerary.”
That’s conversational marketing at its best — simple, human, and frictionless.
Strategy, convergence, and tools — what we do at Messaging Me
At Messaging Me, we help brands and tourism organizations — across the GCC and Europe — design and deploy high-performing conversational strategies.
Our expertise:
-
- Turning WhatsApp Channels into powerful brand and engagement tools,
-
- Integrating messaging into a global marketing and conversion funnel,
-
- Leveraging our SaaS product, Channels Me, to automate and scale these efforts.
Whether you’re in tourism or any other industry, WhatsApp is no longer just a chat app — it’s a strategic marketing channel.
 Let’s connect to explore how to make it work for your brand.