180 Saudi travel agents joined global travel distributor GTA in Riyadh this week to learn more about several business initiatives to help them take best advantage of the coming peak travel season.
The number of room nights booked around the world by Saudi travellers has been showing a healthy 13% annual growth since 2010. Rami Mashini, Vice President of Sales for the Middle East and Africa, says: “Powering global travel, GTA helps thousands of Saudis to explore their own countries and international destinations year after year. The strength of our relationships in Saudi Arabia reassures hotels worldwide that they can rely on us to bring them a wealth of business.
“With the Premium Room Collection particularly, they have given us great deals at one of the busiest times in their year so our agents can take advantage and make their clients’ trips that extra bit special.”
GTA unveiled its g shop, Strategic Partnership Program and Premium Room Collection in Riyadh with a series of presentations:
The Premium Room Collection puts the best hotel stays within the reach of any traveller’s budget. GTA has secured additional availability between 1 July and 30 September 2015 – one of the busiest times of the year – and fantastic rates for premium room categories. It is urging Saudi travel agents to inspire the travelling public to upgrade their accommodation.
Retail and wholesale travel agents who book trips that depart between 1 July and 30 September 2015 can take advantage of free upgrades, stay 4 pay 3 deals or up to 50% savings in premium category rooms and executive suites in the most popular destinations in the world. 500 offers are available at three- to five-star hotels in more than 30 locations from Amsterdam and Bangkok to Tokyo and Vienna with New York and Paris between.
New loyalty programme g shop, gshop-mea.com, allows enrolled agents to earn points for every booking they make and redeem them for fantastic rewards: smartphones, tablets, shopping vouchers, theme park tickets and more can all be earned. First launched across 11 Asian countries in 2012, more than US$2 million in rewards has been given away already.
The strategic partnership program showcases the hidden gems of 22 three- to five-star hotels in Singapore and highlight value for money travel. Hospitality groups Far East Hospitality, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, Fragrance Hotel Management, Resorts World Sentosa Singapore and The Ritz-Carlton are all part of the program.
Rami adds: “The Middle East remains one of our most successful regions. Since 2010, we have enjoyed double digit increases every year on average (CAGR) with healthy growth already predicted for 2015.”
Over 70% of source markets in the Middle East and Africa region booked increasing numbers of room nights through GTA last year. This is in large part due to the strength of GTA’s general sales agents in the region who have a deep knowledge of consumer travel trends in their particular markets and valuable insight into the political, economic, cultural and technological circumstances influencing travel businesses.
Celebrating 40 years in business in 2015, GTA is today part of the Kuoni Group’s 100 year heritage. It’s longevity in the industry and financial stability, coupled with its global presence, technological performance and the expertise of its people, will keep it powering global travel for years to come.
