Global business services provider Travelport recently welcomed four travel agency partners from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at a signing ceremony in Dubai that marked their heightened commitment to the global distribution system (GDS) provider and its Galileo platform.

Welcomed at Travelport’s Middle East headquarters by MEA President and Managing Director Rabih Saab, Asfar Travels and Global Destination Solutions signed new contracts that will see the majority of their travel bookings made through Galileo. Meanwhile, Transcontinental Holidays and Roibek Travel renewed multi-year agreements to continue their long-standing partnership with Travelport.

“We feel that Travelport understands our requirements better than any other GDS provider and offers a suite of products that can help us improve productivity and ease the travel booking process. With an exciting offering in the pipeline, we believe in their long-term vision and see them as a partner that can help fuel our growth,” said Mr. Majdi Rais, general manager at Global Destination Solutions.

With fully-equipped sales, training and helpdesk teams in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, Travelport is able to provide its new partners in Saudi Arabia with the highest levels of customer service around the clock. In addition to Travelport’s extensive airline, hotel and car content, the agencies will gain access to the GDS provider’s comprehensive training resources and day-to-day technology support.

“What is important to us is that we work with a GDS partner that is dedicated to our growth and can see our success through to the future. Travelport has an impressive team of seasoned professionals in Saudi Arabia who work hard to ensure that all of our commercial and operational needs are met,” said Mr. Khalid Suliman Al Turaiki, general manager at Roibek Travel.

Working with a global network of more than 65,000 travel retailers, Travelport provides access to rich airline, hotel and car content through its Galileo and Worldspan reservation systems, along with customised technology tools and support that maximize efficiency within the travel agency environment.

“These key agreements underscore Travelport’s continued momentum in KSA and are a testament to the strong track record that we have established in the Kingdom as the result of our unparalleled technology and customer support capabilities,” said Faris Azzee, general manager, Travelport KSA. “We are forging ahead with an expanding roster of customers and exciting new product and service plans.”