Kanoo Travel

What Kanoo Travel does

Kanoo Travel is the travel division of the Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group (YBA Kanoo), a Bahraini family-owned conglomerate founded in 1890. The company is a GCC-rooted online and offline travel agency that has operated for over 80 years and holds the distinction of being the first IATA-accredited travel company in the Gulf region. Kanoo Travel operates a B2C and B2B booking platform covering flights, hotels, holiday packages, tours, Umrah, and ground transfers, supported by physical offices in the UAE (Dubai), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Riyadh), Bahrain (Manama), Oman (Muscat), and Egypt (Cairo), together with a 24/7 multilingual call center that was the first of its kind in the Gulf when launched in 2003. Access to over 500 global destinations is branded on the platform.

The business serves three primary customer segments: corporate and government clients requiring policy-driven travel management, 24/7 global support, and expense management; leisure travelers seeking packaged and tailored holidays across international destinations; and specialized verticals including marine/offshore crew rotations, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, events), and regional staycations. The core technology is an online booking platform (apps.kanootravel.com) powered by Holidayme, integrated with payment processing security, IATA inventory connections, and destination management partners such as Altour/SOTC for outbound tours, Umrahme for religious travel, and Desert Adventures for regional experiences. Pricing is unit-based with packages ranging from SAR 1,199 per person for weekend getaways to SAR 8,999 for higher-end European holidays, denominated primarily in Saudi Riyals and targeted at GCC consumers and corporates.

Revenue is generated through transaction-based commissions from airlines, hotels, tour operators, and other travel service providers, supplemented by professional services fees for corporate travel management contracts and packaged tour markups. The company is privately held with 251-500 employees (according to the firmographic record), no external institutional investors disclosed in the source data, and is operated under the legal entities Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Company WLL (Bahrain parent) and Kanoo Travel LLC (UAE operating entity). Kanoo Travel has been recognized as "Middle East's Leading Business Travel Agency" by an industry body, holds ISO certification, and maintains an active operating status with live booking services and consumer-facing content.

Name

Kanoo Travel

Legal name

Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Company WLL

Website

https://kanootravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Kanoo Travel is a Bahraini-rooted GCC travel agency and online booking platform, subsidiary of YBA Kanoo Group, serving corporate/government clients, leisure travelers, marine/offshore operators, and MICE segments across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Egypt with flights, hotels, packages, tours, and Umrah services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

VIP, Executive & Roadshow Travel Services (THAKAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious & Sacred Sites Tours (THAJAAAF), Culture, Heritage & Arts Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAK)

Keywords

• Corporate travel management
• Leisure holiday packages
• Flight and hotel booking
• Umrah pilgrimage services
• MICE event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Manama

HQ country

Bahrain

HQ region

Middle East

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Travel Booking Commissions: Earns commissions from airlines, hotels, tour operators, and other travel service providers on bookings made through the platform
2. Package Pricing: Total package prices for bundled services including flights, hotels, transfers, and tours sold to customers
3. Corporate Travel Management Services: Comprehensive travel management services for corporate and government clients including policy-driven solutions and expense management

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kanoo Travel is a Middle East travel management company that sells and books flights, hotels, holiday packages, tours, transfers, and Umrah pilgrimages directly to consumers through its online platform and apps, and to corporate and government clients through a dedicated travel management service with 24/7 support. Specialized offerings include marine/offshore crew travel and MICE event management, with the platform powered by Holidayme technology and accessible via a 24/7 multilingual call center and physical offices in the Gulf region.

Product overview

Kanoo Travel operates as a comprehensive online travel platform offering a unified booking system with multiple interconnected services. The core offering includes Flights, Hotels, Packages (bundled holidays), Tours (including SOTC-branded group tours), Umrah, and Transfers. Supporting services include Business Travel (corporate travel management), Meetings and Events (MICE), Marine and Offshore Travel, and Holiday Travel. The platform also features Hotel Staycation bookings for regional short stays and a 24/7 Call Center for customer support. A membership program provides exclusive deals across 500+ destinations. All services are accessible through the apps.kanootravel.com booking platform and are powered by holidayme technology infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flights

Quantifiable outcome

• First 24-hour call center in Gulf for emergency travel services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HolidaymecoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology and platform partner powering the Kanoo Travel booking infrastructure. Holidayme logo appears as powered-by partner on the main website.
• UmrahmecoreTechnology or IntegrationSpecialized partner for Umrah travel services integrated into the Kanoo Travel platform.
• AltourcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic partner for outbound travel services and tour packages, prominently featured on the SOTC section of the website.
• Desert AdventurescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional destination management partner specializing in Middle East and African adventure travel experiences.
• G-TravelminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel partner for booking and distribution services.
• GayominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel distribution partner.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Holidayme: UAE-based travel technology platform that powers Kanoo Travel's booking infrastructure (visible as the 'powered by' partner). Closely related ecosystem participant through the technology supply relationship and similar regional travel offerings.

Direct peers

• SOTC Travel: India-headquartered tour operator with strong outbound tour presence; explicitly featured as Kanoo Travel's strategic partner for outbound tour packages. Highly comparable for tour packages, group tours, and outbound leisure bookings.
• Rehlat: Middle East digital travel booking platform operating across the GCC, focused on flights, hotels, and packages for value-conscious travelers. Comparable to Kanoo Travel's B2C booking segments and overlaps geographically in Saudi, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
• Tajawal: UAE-based online travel agency offering flights, hotels, and holiday packages to Middle East travelers. Comparable to Kanoo Travel's online leisure package and flight booking products.
• dnata Travel: UAE-headquartered TMC and part of the Emirates Group ecosystem, providing corporate travel management, leisure, MICE, and marine crew travel globally. Comparable across Kanoo Travel's corporate, leisure, and marine segments and similar multi-channel model.
• Musafir: UAE-based full-service travel agency offering flights, hotels, holiday packages, and corporate travel with offices across the GCC. Directly competes with Kanoo Travel in both leisure and corporate segments across overlapping UAE and GCC markets.
• Almosafer: Saudi Arabia's largest travel company (a subsidiary of Seera Group), offering flights, hotels, packages, and corporate travel across the GCC and wider MENA. Most directly comparable to Kanoo Travel given its full-service TMC/OTA model, GCC footprint, and similar corporate + leisure dual segment focus.

Broad incumbents

• Trip.com Group: Asia-headquartered global OTA operating across flights, hotels, and packages with growing Middle East presence. Overlaps with Kanoo Travel's package and flight offerings, particularly for Asia and Europe-bound Gulf travelers.
• Booking.com: Global OTA dominating hotel and flight inventory across all markets Kanoo Travel serves. Competes for consumer mind share and direct bookings for any destination Kanoo Travel packages, though not focused on the GCC TMC/enterprise relationship layer.
• Expedia: Global OTA with broad leisure and corporate travel offerings (Expedia TAAP, Egencia legacy). Overlaps with Kanoo Travel's online self-serve booking and competes for unmanaged corporate travel demand across all GCC markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/kanoo_travel/?hl=en
• Xx.com/KanooTravel247
• Facebookfacebook.com/kanootravelgcc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kanoo Travel