Perk Opens Abu Dhabi Office, Targets Tripling UAE Business Travel Spend by 2028

Perk, the travel and spend management platform formerly known as TravelPerk, has opened a regional office in Abu Dhabi and set an ambitious target to triple business travel spending from customers in the United Arab Emirates by 2028. The company framed the move as a formalisation of its long-term commitment to the Gulf Cooperation Council region and a strategic bet on the UAE’s technology and mobility ambitions.

"The UAE has made AI central to its national strategy, which mirrors what Perk is built for," said Avi Meir, Perk's CEO and co-founder. "The company has had customers in the UAE since 2021 and early market exploration revealed genuine and growing demand. The UAE ranks as Perk's ninth-largest market globally by travel spend, within a business that grew 48% in 2025 and is approaching $400 million in annualized revenue."

The Abu Dhabi office is positioned to tap a projected expansion in regional corporate travel: the UAE business travel market is forecast to reach $94 billion by 2030. Perk emphasised that small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market companies—its core customer base—remain largely underserved by modern travel and spend platforms, leaving room for technology vendors to capture market share.

• New regional hub: Abu Dhabi office opened to serve GCC market.
• Growth target: triple UAE customer travel spend by 2028.
• Market scale: UAE business travel projected at $94 billion by 2030.
• Company metrics: 48% growth in 2025; approaching $400 million annualised revenue.

Alessandro Borgogna, Chief Cluster Planning and Development Officer at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), framed Perk’s decision as aligned with evolving corporate needs. "Perk's decision to build its regional presence in Abu Dhabi reflects where the corporate travel market is heading," Borgogna said. "Companies want better control over travel, expenses, and mobility across multiple markets, creating opportunities for travel and spend management technology platforms that can serve international businesses at scale." He added that "Abu Dhabi offers a business-friendly environment for companies with global ambitions as travel technology becomes an increasingly important part of the emirate's broader mobility and business services ecosystem."

Perk’s timing leans on broader UAE policy targets: the country aims for artificial intelligence to contribute 20% of non-oil gross domestic product by 2031, a national ambition Perk cites as complementary to its AI-enabled approach to travel and expense management. The firm said its customer relationships in the UAE date back to 2021, and that the early presence informed both product-market fit and go-to-market decisions in the Gulf.

Operationally, Perk will look to convert the underserved SME and mid-market segments by offering integrated travel booking, expense reconciliation and mobility controls tailored to regional compliance and multi-market operations. The company’s public figures—48% year-on-year growth in 2025 and nearly $400 million in annualised revenue—suggest momentum that Perk will leverage to expand sales, partnerships and local support functions from Abu Dhabi.

Outlook: Perk’s regional office adds another entrant to Abu Dhabi’s growing tech and mobility cluster and signals intensified competition in corporate travel technology across the Gulf. If Perk achieves its goal of tripling UAE customer travel spend by 2028, it would capture a larger slice of a market forecast to swell toward $94 billion by 2030, particularly if SMEs and mid-market adopters accelerate migration from legacy travel vendors to AI-enabled platforms.