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.