JacTravel, a leading UK-based B2B wholesaler, has gained an official local operators license in the UAE, where it has started trading as JacTravel Tourism from a new office in Dubai, recruiting additional contracting and sales staff.

This is a significant step forward for the company, which has had a local representative office in Dubai since December 2012, a statement said.

Malcolm Lindop, head of Contracting, said: “With our new local operator status, global distribution, a track record of consistent strong growth over the past few years and local staff who are interested in building strong relationships with hotels, we are well placed to grow the quality and quantity of JacTravel’s inventory in the region.  That, in turn, will make JacTravel a more compelling supplier to trade clients.”

Taoufiq Abouchadi, JacTravel’s contracts manager for Mena, who has spearheaded JacTravel’s UAE presence, growing inventory to over 200 hotels in the past two years, will now be supported by Christina Macdonald who joins the Dubai-based team.

Dan Cross has joined JacTravel Tourism as regional head of Sales, Mena, reporting to Alexia Renedo, director of Global Sales – FIT.

Cross has more than six years of experience working in online travel, during which time he has overseen growth in markets around the world. In the Middle East, he is known as a media commentator on travel and as an Awards judge.

“My target is to expand JacTravel’s business in terms of revenue and brand recognition. This is a good moment to be doing so, taking advantage of the build up to Expo 2020, which will attract huge numbers of new visitors to Dubai,” said Cross.

Mario Bodini, president and CCO, said: “The Middle Eastern market is booming, fuelled particularly by increasing numbers of people travelling within the region.”

“Our strategy is to build very strong local team in order to offer a service that is highly knowledgeable, imaginative and responsive to the needs and aspirations of both clients and suppliers,” he added.

JacTravel is an independent, privately owned, wholesale travel company specialising in the provision of hotels online and inbound services to the travel trade.  Its portfolio includes over 11,000 properties in more than 1,000 cities. – TradeArabia News Service