Saudi Arabia-based OTA Almosafer, which means “traveler” in Arabic, is making headway in the Middle East. Now head of the company, Muzzammil Ahussain has risen the ranks from COO to EVP to CEO—a role he’s held since January 2023.

In an interview with PhocusWire, Ahussain said Almosafer sets itself apart from global OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia through “local understanding and local knowhow” of Saudi Arabia.

“We are not just an OTA in our consumer business; we’re actually a fully omnichannel business,” he said.

The CEO also discussed the greatest challenges facing the company, which include prioritizing different opportunities within Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, identifying areas to leverage artificial intelligence and human capital development.

Saudi Arabia-based OTA&nbsp;<a href="https://global.almosafer.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Almosafer</a>, which means &ldquo;traveler&rdquo; in Arabic, is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/travel-trends-middle-east-fall-2025" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">making headway in the Middle East</a>. Now head of the company, Muzzammil Ahussain has risen the ranks from COO to EVP to CEO&mdash;a role he&rsquo;s held since January 2023.
In an interview with PhocusWire, Ahussain said Almosafer sets itself apart from global OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia through &ldquo;local understanding and local knowhow&rdquo; of Saudi Arabia.
&ldquo;We are not just an OTA in our consumer business; we&rsquo;re actually a fully omnichannel business,&rdquo; he said.
The CEO also discussed the greatest challenges facing the company, which include prioritizing different opportunities within Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, identifying areas to leverage artificial intelligence and human capital development.

A regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

A regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

In Phocus is a regular dissection of the news, issues and trends in travel and technology, featuring interviews with industry executives and entrepreneurs and hosted by PhocusWire editors.

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In an interview with PhocusWire,  Almosafer CEO Muzzammil Ahussain explains how it sets itself apart from global OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia through “local understanding and local knowhow” of Saudi Arabia.

CEO Spotlight: Muzzammil Ahussain of Almosafer

Connecting the dots of the traveler journey is priority in the ground transportation sector, but tangible examples of connected trip in action are still somewhat “rare.”

Travelers can book a full trip in Sweden, including a train, taxi and a bus, which is working well, but there aren’t many models beyond that, according to SilverRail chief commercial officer Cameron Jones.

During an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Jones said the connected journey is still evolving, as is customer buying behavior.

“There’s this view that a customer might want to book everything in one transaction and one journey and planning experience, but I'm not sure that's the case,” he said.

When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), tech is already helping with aggregating content and pricing, and the next phase will include purchasing.

“It just makes things simple, and I know, for us, that’s all we ever want is to try and make that purchasing experience simple,” said Nicole Kerr, CEO of Mozio.

Connecting the&nbsp;dots of the&nbsp;traveler&nbsp;journey is priority in the ground transportation sector, but tangible examples of connected trip in action are still somewhat &ldquo;rare.&rdquo;
Travelers can book a full trip in Sweden, including a train,&nbsp;taxi&nbsp;and a bus, which is working well, but there&nbsp;aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;many models beyond that, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://silverrailtech.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">SilverRail</a> chief commercial officer Cameron Jones.
During an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Jones said the connected journey is still evolving, as is customer buying behavior.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s&nbsp;this view that a customer might want to book everything in one transaction and one journey and planning experience, but&nbsp;I'm&nbsp;not sure&nbsp;that's&nbsp;the case,&rdquo; he said.
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI),&nbsp;tech is already helping with aggregating content and pricing, and the next phase will include purchasing.
&ldquo;It just makes things simple, and I know, for us, that&rsquo;s all we ever want is to try and make that purchasing experience simple,&rdquo; said Nicole Kerr,&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mozio.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Mozio</a>.

Connecting the dots of the traveler journey is priority in the ground transportation sector, but tangible examples of connected trip in action are still somewhat “rare.”

Addressing current challenges and looming change in ground transportation with SilverRail and Mozio

The “connected trip” has become a bit of a tired buzzword, but the ability to bundle different trip elements is not less coveted in the travel space.

During an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference last month, Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder of Nezasa, and Andrew Boch, CEO of Mobi.AI, discussed the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.

While some think of the connected trip as being “top-down,” Boch highlighted Mobi.AI’s context-aware approach to artificial intelligence (AI).

“We think that, when you’re changing your flight, that should be aware of what your hotel plans were, and it should be aware of what the purpose of your trip was. Like when you’re staying at a hotel, the hotel should know why you’re there,” Boch said.

“That sort of context should be preserved throughout the travel experience, and fundamentally, all the downstream suppliers need some method of both understanding that context, ingesting that context and then, hopefully, acting on that context.”

The pair also commented on generational differences in data sharing, AI’s impact, agentic opportunity and more.

The&nbsp;&ldquo;connected trip&rdquo;&nbsp;has become a bit of a&nbsp;tired&nbsp;buzzword, but the ability to bundle different trip elements is not less coveted in the travel space.
During an&nbsp;interview&nbsp;in&nbsp;the PhocusWire studio&nbsp;at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswrightconference.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">The&nbsp;Phocuswright&nbsp;Conference</a>&nbsp;last month,&nbsp;Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://nezasa.com/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Nezasa</a>, and Andrew Boch, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://mobi.ai/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="5cadecf187056a000ef37147">Mobi.AI</a>, discussed the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.
While some think of the connected trip as being &ldquo;top-down,&rdquo;&nbsp;Boch&nbsp;highlighted&nbsp;Mobi.AI&rsquo;s&nbsp;context-aware approach to artificial intelligence (AI).
&ldquo;We think that, when&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;changing your flight, that should be aware of what your hotel plans were, and it should be aware of what the purpose of your trip was. Like when&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;staying at a hotel, the hotel should know why&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;there,&rdquo;&nbsp;Boch&nbsp;said.
&ldquo;That sort of context should be preserved throughout the travel experience, and fundamentally, all the downstream suppliers need some method of both understanding that context, ingesting that context and then, hopefully, acting on that context.&rdquo;
The pair also commented on generational&nbsp;differences&nbsp;in data sharing,&nbsp;AI&rsquo;s impact, agentic&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;and more.

The CEOs of Nezasa and Mobi.ai discuss the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain.

Evolution in trip planning and personalization with Nezasa and Mobi.ai

While artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting travel marketing, the best use cases are still being determined.

AI-supported digital travel marketing can work—as long as it still has a human touch, according to Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships for Expedia Group.

In October, Expedia Group released research that examined what content is driving traveler choice. The company showed participants a mix of non-AI-enhanced, AI-enhanced and fully AI content.

“A good percentage of the travelers really didn't mind, and actually, I don't want to say they preferred [it], but they did not mind the AI-enhanced content as long as it did have some human touch in it as well,” Torres said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference.

As responses were positive, Expedia Group determined that content creation could benefit from some level of AI implementation.

While artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/phocuswright-new-agents-trend-series-travel-marketing-ai-search">travel marketing</a>, the best use cases are still being determined.
AI-supported digital travel marketing can work&mdash;as long as it still has a human touch, according to Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships for&nbsp;<a href="https://expediagroup.com/">Expedia Group</a>.
In October, Expedia Group&nbsp;<a href="https://partner.expediagroup.com/en-us/resources/blog/crack-code-on-travel-content-science-of-wanderlust">released research</a>&nbsp;that examined what content is driving traveler choice. The company showed participants a mix of non-AI-enhanced, AI-enhanced and fully AI content.
&ldquo;A good percentage of the travelers really didn't mind, and actually, I don't want to say they preferred [it], but they did not mind the AI-enhanced content as long as it did have some human touch in it as well,&rdquo; Torres said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phocuswrightconference.com/">The Phocuswright Conference</a>.
As responses were positive, Expedia Group determined that content creation could benefit from some level of AI implementation.

Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships at Expedia Group, discusses AI, social-led travel discovery and more in an interview with PhocusWire executive editor Linda Fox.

CEO Spotlight: Muzzammil Ahussain of Almosafer

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