With annual growth rates rising, last year has been one of expansion and development in many corners of the Middle East travel industry, but none more so than at Sabre Travel Network Middle East, which has picked the…
With annual growth rates rising, last year has been one of expansion and development in many corners of the Middle East travel industry, but none more so than at Sabre Travel Network Middle East, which has picked the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to celebrate its achievements since the announcement of its formation 15 months ago.
“Sabre has been operating in the region for more than 15 years, but last year we became fully incorporated as a joint venture with Gulf Air. ATM will be the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on our achievements and celebrate our successes with staff, customers and partners,” said Daniel Naoumovitch, chief executive officer of Sabre Travel Network Middle East.
Highlights of the company’s achievements in the region over the last 15 months include:
Securing enhanced content for our travel agency customers. This includes the joint marketing agreement with Oman Air, making Sabre the airline’s preferred global distribution system and providing Sabre ConnectedSM travel agencies access to Oman Air’s full range of airfares. We have used the entire range of Sabre Holdings businesses to add terrific value to this airline partner. Because Sabre has a multi-channel distribution strategy we provide the most efficient, comprehensive, global and real-time electronic supermarket for the buying and selling of travel, said Naoumovitch.
Growth of its regional capabilities with the establishment of its new Bahrain headquarters in April, to house its regional head office, help desk, sales and training teams, service centre and technical support facilities.
Heavy investment in human capital, expanding the regional sales and customer service staff numbers to more than 70 personnel, to serve more than 1,000 customer locations in 11 countries.
Technology to offer the best value to customers: New help desk facilities at its regional customer contact centre in Bahrain, equipped with the latest telephony and AV technology. Sabre has also invested heavily in training and operational support to ensure the company delivers more value to customers.
Specialised training to ensure that customers take full advantage of the Sabre services and products: Sabre set up of a team of six specialist trainers, who work with clients in their own offices and provide training on the Sabre system and products, from booking and ticketing air reservations to building customer profiles and automating repetitive tasks. Extensive training has been provided on My Sabre, Sabre’s web-based booking tool which makes the entire content of the Sabre GDS available to travel agents from a single Internet page.
Our investments are part of our plan to address the very specific needs of the region’s travel suppliers and agencies. Operating in the region is not about taking global products and selling them in the region; our aim is to pick the best solutions we have available world-wide and tailor them to the very specific technical and business needs of the Middle East, Naoumovitch said.
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