Leading luxury hotel brand Kempinski Hotels said the luxury travel market, for both leisure and business travellers, was poised for solid growth in the GCC.

“There will continue to be a market for luxury travelers, for both leisure and business and we remain optimistic about maintaining the growth we achieved last year, ' said Samer Achcar, global director of sales Middle East and Africa, Kempinski Hotels.

He was speaking to media during a GCC roadshow aimed at strengthening its business ties with travel trade partners.

“Bannered by our existing portfolio of luxury properties in exotic destinations, as well as announcements of exhilarating new destinations, our goal is to excite our travel partners and give them further reasons to continue recommending the unique Kempinski experience to their clients,” said Achcar.

In support of improved relations with travel agencies, Kempinski Hotels has recently unveiled its partnership with Worldwide Payment Systems (WPS) to automate its data and commission payments processing.

Forecasted for use by all Kempinski Hotels by June 2009, this platform will allow travel agency bookings for a Kempinski Hotel to received personalized payments, as well as have online access to track payments, generate receipts and assist with reporting.

From Indonesia to Zanzibar, a Kempinski Hotels team representing the luxury operator’s distinctive properties from across the region and the world is visiting trade partners across the GCC, in locations such as Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Bahrain, Doha, and Kuwait.-TradeArabia News Service