Amadeus has launched a fully integrated and complete mobile application designed to support pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip functionalities, providing travellers with access to real time travel information including flight, car rental and hotel bookings.

The Amadeus Mobile Traveller, comprises of a portfolio of functions including planning, searching and booking flights, hotels and cars, tracking itinerary and flight information and sharing travel experience with friends through social media channels, key advantages enabling end consumers to fulfil their travel needs while on the go.

It was developed with the support of Techmaster, a strong development for Amadeus in the Mena resgion, a statement from the company said.

The application is supported by iPhone, Blackberry, WAP and Android in Arabic, English and French, the statement said. It is available to travel agency customers in the Mena region and can be accessed worldwide once downloaded onto the user’s mobile device.

As a native application specifically designed to meet the needs of the region, Amadeus Mobile Traveller allows travellers to access the application and store itinerary information even when they are offline, the statement said.

The application’s unique integration with Amadeus Content Store – an Amadeus hotel booking solution giving Mena travel agents access to a wealth of hotel properties - offers travellers unparalleled access to over 150,000 hotel properties worldwide, sourced from the region’s most popular aggregators and wholesalers at effective prices.

Antoine Medawar, vice president, Mena, Amadeus, said: “Travellers are becoming increasingly demanding and technology savvy owing to advancing mobile penetration rates. The need to keep pace with this trend and provide travel agents with a competitive edge has never been greater.”

“Amadeus Mobile Traveller has been specifically designed for the region to enable travel agents to stay at the forefront of new trends and traveller habits. It is the outcome of a thorough analysis of our local and regional customers’ needs as well as key market trends.”

“Currently, the only player to provide an all-in-one GDS-powered mobile application, Amadeus has opened up new avenues for growth and advancement of the regional travel and tourism sector,” he added.

The average mobile penetration rate for the Middle East region was more than 97 per cent  at the end of 2011 and is expected to reach over 107 per cent at the end of 2012, exceeding the mobile penetration rate in the US and Canada for the first time, according to forecasts by Informa Telecoms & Media.

Gaurav Bhatnagar, managing director, Techmaster, said: “Such staggering figures are indicative of the region’s dependence on mobile technology and the increasing need for consumers to have access to information at their fingertips. Today, the use of the mobile platform in the travel industry is associated with post-booking and trip information services.”

“However, like Amadeus, we believe that the pre-trip and booking areas will significantly gain importance in the coming years,” he said. “Anticipating industry demand, we were pleased to collaborate with Amadeus to develop an all-in-one mobile-based travel application built with the traveller perspective in mind.”

Omeir Travel Agency, one of the largest and the most recognised travel agencies in the UAE, has partnered with Amadeus to pilot the application.

Abdullah Bin Omeir, deputy CEO, Omeir Travel Agency, said: “We firmly believe in innovation and the importance of meeting customers’ increasing needs in the field of mobility. This area of travel booking is no longer something futuristic, but rather a tool expected by many travellers as a standard – and adoption rates are growing sky high.”

Amadeus Mobile Traveller was launched at a press conference on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the region’s leading travel and tourism trade show that opened on April 30 and runs until May 3 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. – TradeArabia News Service