Tag Archives: Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont

Sharaf Travel Services and Amadeus have set a new milestone to drive forward New Distribution Capability (NDC). Together with Sharaf Travels, Amadeus has successfully issued a Singapore airlines ticket on 4th March 2021 with NDC content via Amadeus Travel Platform. Sharaf Travel has thus laid the foundation to deliver modern retailing, with new, richer and more innovative content and advanced servicing for its travelers. NDC is an integral part of the Amadeus Travel Platform which brings together travel content from multiple sources (EDIFACT, NDC and other APIs), allowing travel agencies to easily search and compare offers on one screen. Through Amadeus’ NDC-enabled solutions, travel agencies like Sharaf Travel are able to shop, order and pay for airline travel offers via NDC in their usual booking environment. Additionally, Sharaf Travel has access to the main servicing capabilities that an agency requires once a booking via NDC has been made, such as changes, cancellations, or adding ancillary services such as preferred seats, meals or checked baggage. Jayaram Vaidyanathan Iyer, Managing Director, Sharaf Travels, said, “Our travel business was established to provide quality travel and tour services to the rapidly expanding population in the UAE. To meet that aim, we firmly believe in the value of NDC to address the industry’s need for modern retailing as well as travelers’ changing needs, offering our customers access to rich content as well as a transparent shopping experience.” “We are thrilled to have processed our first booking via NDC in the UAE with Sharaf Travel. As we roll-out our NDC-enabled solutions and make content via NDC available, we are opening up a world of opportunities for agencies and travelers in the region,” said Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing …

The latest study, commissioned by Amadeus and delivered by Censuswide, provides encouraging news for the industry, with 51% of travellers from the UAE keen to book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting. The study also demonstrates the importance of understanding traveller concerns around privacy, ease of use and security. As governments and the travel industry explore the benefits of digital health passports, the message from travellers is clear: digital health passports can be a vital tool in opening up travel. An Amadeus commissioned study has found that that just over 9 in 10 (91%) travellers surveyed globally would be comfortable using a digital health passport for future trips. This encouraging research provides an incentive to accelerate plans for digital health passports that will help to address traveller concerns. The study provided further good news for the industry as just over half of UAE travellers (51%) said they would book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting, demonstrating that the appetite to travel remains high. The survey of 9,055 travellers in France, Spain, Germany, India, UAE, Russia, Singapore, UK and US also contained a note of caution for the industry with over 9 in 10 (93%) travellers having some concerns around storing their health data for travel. The survey also explored what solutions might alleviate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future and results showed: Almost 3 in 5 (58%) of UAE travellers would be comfortable using a digital passport if it was accepted by most countries and was regulated by international standards, while 47% would be comfortable if only COVID-19-specific data was included in any health passport.  Just under 8 in 10 (78%) would …

Khimji’s House of Travel, one of the leading travel companies in Oman, has extended its partnership with Amadeus to build momentum around its digital transformation and the development of integrated travel services. Since 2012, Amadeus has worked with the agency to strengthen its position in Oman’s travel and tourism market as well as helping it expand across the region. Cashio Vettom, General Manager of Khimji’s House of Travel, said: “One of the pillars of our success has been an unwavering focus on digital transformation and innovation. We have developed state-of-the-art service platforms with the support and expertise of Amadeus – a pioneer of the global travel industry. Our experience means we can completely trust Amadeus to offer solutions that ensure we exceed our customers’ expectations. This is especially important considering the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we strive to give confidence to the local travel market.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, said, “Our priority in Oman has always been on maintaining strong, long-lasting relationships with our customers. Khimji’s House of Travel is a great example of how trust built over time brings dividends to our customers and the travelers they serve. We are determined to keep delivering digital solutions that enable the agency to offer its customers an even more rewarding and seamless, travel experience.”

Omeir Travel has strengthened its long-term relationship with Amadeus by extending its partnership. Since 2003, Amadeus has accompanied Omeir Travel in its digital transformation and the development of integrated travel services for consumers in the UAE and from around the world. This continued collaboration comes as Omeir Travel plans expansion into more B2B and retail outlets in the UAE. The latest engagement also includes the development of an Omeir Travel one-stop-shop mobile app that meets customers’ hotel and flight needs and is expected to be introduced to the UAE market very soon. Abdulla Bin Omeir, CEO at Omeir Travel Agency, said, “With the travel sector constantly evolving, our business must stay agile to not only keep up, but to stay ahead. Our partnership with Amadeus has allowed us to do this with resounding success. It makes me very pleased to extend our relationship once more. Our ambition is to provide customers with tailored services and a superior experience, which Amadeus helps make possible.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, noted, “ We are pleased to see the role our technology has played in the growth, digitisation, and optimisation of Omeir Travel during our ongoing collaboration that spans nearly two decades. We will continue to support them with our worldwide experience and leading technology-based solutions as the business enter an exciting new stage of expansion.”

Amadeus has signed a wide-ranging technology partnership agreement with OK Travels and Tourism LLC. The partnership with Amadeus will provide OK Travels and Tourism with access to a range of cutting-edge travel solutions including artificial intelligence, all designed to deliver a superior level of service to customers and remove friction from the travel experience. Muhammad Ali, Managing Director of OK Travels and Tourism, said: “We understand the challenges of the modern tourism industry and know that planning, developing, and adapting destination resources to the evolving needs of the market is the key to success. In an increasingly digital world where more consumers are online. Amadeus’ solutions will enable us to build upon this philosophy, taking our customer relationships and value-offering to the next level.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, said: “The UAE is an attractive travel hub, not only for residents from the region but also for global travelers looking to visit or transit through a country with robust health and safety systems in place. In partnership with Amadeus, OK Travels and Tourism will have access to some of the most advanced global technology solutions to enhance its offerings, providing a key point of differentiation based on superior customer experience.” Under the agreement, OK Travels and Tourism will benefit from products including Amadeus Web Services, which allows the creation of customer applications and delivery of a wealth of high-quality tailored content for customers; Business Management Platform, incorporating various solutions such as Robotic Ticketing tools and Sales Data management systems to support pricing, comparing, and ticketing automation through a single platform; Amadeus All Fares Plus, through which agents can find the best air deals for customers in minutes …

Amadeus’s latest research explores the leisure traveller’s mindset towards planning and purchasing upcoming travel amidst the realities of COVID-19. To do this, Amadeus got the opinions of +8,500 CheckMyTrip users from around the world through a quantitative and qualitative survey. The research gives us very good reason to be hopeful about the travel industry’s future. Amadeus’s research findings, outlined in the eBook Destination X: Where to Next – What Leisure Travellers Want in a COVID-19 World, shows consumers have a healthy appetite for travel despite the ongoing challenges and unknowns that still lie ahead. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, notes, “Millions of travellers are out there dreaming of their next adventure. They need the travel industry to share what measures are being taken to help keep travellers safe. Enabling travellers to successfully navigate the many variables, such as changing border restrictions, airline and hotel capacity adjustments, and other operational twists and turns, will go a long way to get people travelling again.”

“Travel is once again becoming an option for many people in the world. However, how the world travels will change – so too will travellers behaviour. Maintaining the advances made over the past few years while offering new products and services to travellers is one of the biggest challenges facing sellers and suppliers.” said Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director, Amadeus Gulf said He added, “The recovery of travel will thus be built upon a foundation of information and collaboration. In the short term especially, brands need to put aside commercial considerations where possible and work collectively to help restore travellers’ trust in the industry. New forms of private – public partnerships should also be fostered. The bottom line is that the Middle East travel market was incredibly strong before COVID-19 and remains resilient. There is no reason why it can’t come back even better.”

Hala Travel Management, an Abu Dhabi based company, has confirmed an extended partnership agreement with Amadeus to develop and deploy digital solutions for its government and corporate clients.  Hala Travel Management is part of the Etihad Aviation Group and has long championed global best practices in digital transformation and provides truly bespoke experiences to its clients. The agreement will span over the next five years with a focus on personalised services, traveller safety, and delivering unparalleled value for money to organisations in the UAE.  As part of the agreement, the company will be able to leverage the strengths of the Amadeus Selling Platform, connecting with global tools such as the Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller, Amadeus Margin Manager, Amadeus Fare Optimiser, the Amadeus B2B Wallet, Mobile Application and its latest Amadeus Value Hotels programme. Ahmed Ershood Al Shehhi, General Manager of Hala Travel Management, said, “We have always looked at technology as an enabler—a tool for providing enhanced, seamless, and more personalised services to our clients. With Amadeus, we have a wealth of digital tools at our fingertips, and are free from technology constraints so that we can put more of our passion to work.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, said, “We are delighted to be collaborating with Hala Travel Management as a real pioneer in the local travel sector. The Amadeus platforms that they will have access to are built with customers in mind, following thousands of hours of in-depth user research. In this fast-moving industry, such platforms help companies to sell more, move faster, and ultimately serve better.” 

SpiceJet and Amadeus recently organised a series of empowerment sessions for the region’s travel community held in Dubai, UAE. More than 100 travel consultants participated in the sessions, which focused on how the Gulf’s travel industry can collaborate to better define and deliver offers to travel agents, corporates, and individual travellers. A number of success cases were also presented during the sessions, including SpiceJet’s MoU with Gulf Air and codeshare agreement with Emirates. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, briefed audiences on how the travel tech company is working with ecosystem partners to create fully-open systems, to better harness the intelligent use of data, and to integrate new interfaces and architectures that connect travellers to the journeys they want. The agreement marks the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. “To realise the full value of their inventory in 2020 and beyond, it is essential for the Gulf’s travel community to differentiate their offers beyond just price, while ensuring that more agencies and travellers can connect with their growing networks,” said keynote speaker Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont.

Amadeus recently welcomed travel industry leaders to an exclusive gathering in the Amadeus Majlis at Arabian Nights Village, located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s desert. Hosted by Antoine Medawar, Senior Vice President Retail MEA at Amadeus, and Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, the industry leaders discussed the future of the travel industry, the role of new distribution capability (NDC) in travel, and the impact of digital technologies in the industry. They were joined by members of the Amadeus Gulf team. Antoine Medawar, Senior Vice President Retail MEA at Amadeus, said, “As the travel industry continues to evolve and become increasingly complex, we are further committed to connecting with our customers to determine how we can best address the challenges they face with their business. With the increased investment in digital technologies to drive innovation, our customers are becoming more specialised to better serve travelers, underlining the need for the industry to be digital-first and customer-centric.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, said, “With all the changes taking place in the industry landscape, the most important factor in building a competitive edge is the ability of travel companies to embrace new sales and travel distribution models. By providing our customers with access to more content and advanced technology, we are helping them to remain competitive and to sell travel in an efficient, and personalised way. By working closely together, the industry can unlock new value for travelers, and generate more business for all.”