Amadeus, a leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has commissioned a major new report to study the potential of Middle East region to become the world’s dominant travel hub.

The report will cover the GCC region and include assessments of the airline, travel agency and hotel sectors and also include interviews with senior business figures as well as industry bodies and government officials, Amadeus said in a statement.

“Asking the question about whether the Middle East can fulfill it’s potential as the world’s most important global hub is vital”, comments Antoine Medawar, vice president, Mena, at Amadeus.

"The role of government, regulators and industry bodies will also be examined. The importance of the GCC region for worldwide travel will be analysed, particularly in comparison with other emerging hubs such as those in Asia. The potential for growth will also be reviewed against the impact of the recent economic down turn."

According to him, the report has been commissioned by Amadeus from the consultancy companies Insights Management Consultancy and h2c Consulting and will be launched in the second quarter of 2010.

"We have commissioned this report to help bring the issues and actions into focus. Across the region there are so many important players involved and many complexities to address we thought it was important to help draw all the threads together to enable a clear view to be obtained," he noted.

The report will make a major review of the current and future economic prospects for the region to position as a global hub. It will consider the infrastructure and technology requirements as well as the business social, cultural and environmental impacts, he added.

Amadeus’ spread in the Mena region includes 12 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations (ACOs) servicing 15 countries. In the region, Amadeus is used by some 7,400 travel agency locations and is installed on 22,740 travel agency terminals.
 
Through a recent deal with the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), Amadeus entered into a 10-year exclusive distribution agreements with 13 leading airlines from the AACO including EgyptAir, Etihad, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines

p.stanley@asdaa.com, mona@insightsmc.com