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Sabre launches in Uruguay new headquarters office for Travel Network focused to Latin America and the Caribbean

Alfred De Cardenas (CCO, Sabre Travel Network), U.S. Ambassador in Uruguay Kelly Keiderling, Ricardo Carreon (VP Latin America & Caribbean), Jay Jones (SVP The Americas)

New office unifies business development, technology consulting, and e-commerce projects for travel buyers and suppliers in 43 countries.

SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS – Sabre Corporation, leading technology provider for the global travel industry with operations across Latin America for over three decades, opened a new regional headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay, for Travel Network, its global travel marketplace which processes more than US$120 billion of global travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers.

The technology support the company provides on a large scale to hundreds of travel agencies and corporate travel buyers in Latin America and the Caribbean requires a pan-regional network of strategically located offices, connected to a headquarters that centralizes resources and optimizes business and consulting processes. This office is fully dedicated to companies within the region.

“Any company that wants to be competitive, attain high levels of efficiency, and lead as an industry expert needs to manage their business with a global view combined with a strategic regional operation,” said Alfred de Cardenas, chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Network. “Travel bookings made using our technology platforms for the Latin America and Caribbean region increased more than 8 percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016. That represents the highest growth rate since 2013, so we are launching this office at the perfect time with great momentum.”

Sabre strengthened its international footprint over the past 10 years, taking the lead over other technology providers to the travel industry. Today, the company has a global network of offices dedicated to business functions, software development, and global services. These offices are interconnected with dedicated regional centers specialized in the ecosystem and travel economy of each country. Based in Zonamerica Technology & Business Park, the Montevideo headquarters for Travel Network joins other regional headquarters such as London (European hub), Singapore (Asia-Pacific hub), and Sabre’s global headquarters located in Southlake, Texas.

“The Zonamerica technology and business Park helps connect global companies with local talent seeking careers in a global environment. This made Zonamerica a first perfect location for the Sabre Global Service Center, which currently employs over 980 professionals. Today, our new office expands our synergy to optimize our pan-regional operations for Sabre’s largest business – Travel Network,” highlighted Ricardo Carreon, vice president of Travel Network in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jay Jones, senior vice president of Travel Network in the Americas region, remarked: “We partnered with Zonamerica to support our regional operations in Uruguay, as the infrastructure and technology they provide are a perfect match for our strategy to establish a commercial and business development hub in Montevideo.”

Out of the 300 multinational companies with a presence in Zonamerica, Sabre is the largest employer in the business park, with a total headcount of over 1,000 professionals. The resources provided by Zonamerica, together with the incentives provided by the Uruguayan government, contributed to the establishment of the new office. Building upon the successful establishment of Sabre’s Global Service Center in Montevideo, which provides world-class customer service and IT support for customers around the world, Sabre has defined new standards in software consulting and account management for the travel industry.

The regional Travel Network headquarters in Montevideo serves as the operational hub for satellite offices located in strategic markets including Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Bogota, Buenos Aires, and Lima.

Sabre celebrates ten years of growth in Nigeria
Sabre Corporation is also celebrating ten years of success in Nigeria and the continued growth of the local travel industry.

To mark its important milestone, Sabre hosted an evening of celebrations in Lagos. More than 200 professionals from the travel and tourism industry attended the event – including many of Nigeria's most prominent travel agencies and airline partners, such as Kenya Airways, British Airways, Etihad Airlines, RwandAir, Dana Air and Arik Air.

"Nigeria is an important strategic market for Sabre, and a gateway into the wider West African region," said Dean Bibb, interim senior vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Sabre.  "Since we formed Sabre Nigeria ten years ago, the country has experienced phenomenal growth and change.  Industries like retail and telecoms have helped the country to become one of Africa's largest economies, and have fuelled the growth in international and domestic travel.  With our unique blend of expert people and latest technology, we've been able to help airlines, hotels and travel agencies unlock growth and success in this thriving market."

The aviation industry now accounts for around 0.4 percent of Nigeria's GDP* – and this looks set to increase, alongside an increasing appetite to travel. A recent study by Sabre, of four African countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Egypt), found that Nigerian travellers would be willing to spend 24 percent more on travel once the pan-African passport is introduced in 2018.  Furthermore, the survey highlighted that Nigerians were already well-travelled; 35 percent of Nigerians had travelled abroad within the last two years, compared with an average of just 23 percent across the four countries surveyed.  Technology played an important role in the journey for many Nigerians; 27 percent said that having the latest technology on board (e.g. wifi and superior on board entertainment) was one of their top three deciding factors when choosing an airline.

"Travel is an important facilitator of growth in Nigeria – and technology is making it easier than ever for people to shop and book travel," said Gabriel Olowo, CEO of Sabre Nigeria.  "When we opened Sabre Nigeria, first-generation smartphones had yet to be launched.  Just a decade later, technology has transformed travel with at least 30 percent of Nigerians* now using smartphones and travel apps.  This trend will continue to snowball, and providing our travel partners with the latest technology and expertise will be key to helping them stay ahead in this globally competitive industry."

Guests at Sabre's 10th anniversary event, which took place at the new Renaissance Hotel in Lagos, enjoyed presentations from Sabre on the evolution of travel in Nigeria, as well as speakers from Babcock University, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies and local aviation consultancy, Spring Fountain.

* IATA (2016)
** Africa Infotech Consulting (2016)

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Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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