According to a study co-sponsored by Travelport and conducted by market research companyPhoCusWright, the travel industry in Egypt is set to start recovering in the near future, with the tourism sector predicted to grow from $5.1bn in 2012 to $5.9bn in 2014.
As such, Travelport has emphasised its focus on Egypt as a strategic investment region by unveiling a robust business strategy for the country based on Travelport’s four pillars of investment – Unrivalled Content, Intelligent Search, Empowered Selling Experience and Open Platform. Specifically, in the next 18 months Travelport will:
1. Introduce a range of new products to Egypt’s travel trade. Travelport has today announced the forthcoming release of two products – Document Producer Plus, a product that allows subscribers to produce numerous documents from a PNR, and Rapid Reprice, Travelport’s unique revenue management tool. Since the start of 2013, Travelport has also launched a number of other new solutions in Egypt, including Agentivity, Travelport’s business intelligence suite, and Travelport Merchandising Platform – pioneering technology for airline distribution.
2. Continue to enhance customer service delivery – Travelport already offers excellent service to customers in Egypt through a dedicated 24/7 Helpdesk, on-site training and dedicated account managers. Later this year, Travelport will also start offering a ‘floor walker’ service to new customers to insure smooth migration to Travelport systems.
3. Focus on mobile and online technologies. According to the Travelport co-sponsored research, Egypt has some of the highest mobile web penetration in the world, with estimated 71m mobiles phones for a population of 81m (in 2012). Travelport will therefore continue to invest in mobile and online technologies to complement existing products such as Travelport Mobile Agent, which enables Travelport-connected agents to gain access to Galileo desktop from their smartphone, and Travelport View Trip Mobile, the itinerary management tool.
“Travelport has a long history in Egypt spanning over 20 years, and this remains a strategic investment region for us,” said Tarek Bassiouny, General Manager, Egypt, Travelport. “In the recent years, Travelport has made a significant investment in Egypt in terms of products, services, and our team – and we remain positive about the future of the local travel industry.
“Travelport will therefore continue to invest in Egypt through a solid product stagey in 2013/14, continuing to address the evolving needs of our customers. Our team in Egypt is highly motivated and committed, and we are here to support the local industry now and for years to come.”
