Amadeus is highlighting its growth and sustained leadership across key markets and its position as one of the fastest growing distribution systems providers. Amadeus says it achieved a strong level of performance in 2009 in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa, despite the slump in regional travel due to the global economic recession.
“Despite a tough year, Amadeus shone through in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa regions - two of our key potential growth markets. This has been made possible due to the consistent support and commitment from our travel partners and employees in these markets. This year we continue to support and provide technological innovation, global reach and local expertise that will form the foundation of continued growth for Amadeus in the global markets,” said Philippe Chérèque, Executive Vice President, Commercial, Amadeus.
In Asia Pacific, Amadeus grew its market share of travel agency air bookings to 33 percent for the full year (FY) 2009. Amadeus Asia Pacific also processes the largest number of online travel agency bookings, with more than a 51 percent market share, Amadeus reports.
The primary drivers of this market share growth were gains in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia. Amadeus also says it increased its headcount in Asia Pacific by 15 percent to more than 1,400 employees and opened three new offices – in Bali, Indonesia; Koh Samui, Thailand; and Yangon, Myanmar.
Major new airline agreements signed in 2009 included AirAsia, SEAir, Zest Airways, and a Memorandum of Understanding with Thai Airways. This will assess the first phase of rolling out the Amadeus Altéa Customer Management System. Travel agencies in Asia Pacific using Amadeus to process reservations increased to 19,500.
In the Middle East and Africa region, Amadeus achieved a market share of close to 45 percent in 2009, a growth substantially higher than the industry as a whole, Amadeus said. Despite a slow economy and a decrease in the total number of travel industry bookings in the Middle East and Africa, Amadeus showed resilience with a growth in bookings of more than 9 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Amadeus also expanded its reach, market share and headcount by opening three new fully-owned Amadeus Commercial Organisations in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, making it the only global distribution services provider to have its direct operation across virtually all markets in the Middle East. Amadeus also opened its Middle East Regional Hub based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and appointed a new team of senior executives to oversee the growth of Amadeus in these markets.
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