Tag Archives: Salman Syed

New online research by Sabre Corporation has revealed that 59% per cent of Middle Eastern adults would pay between $101 – $500 on extras that personalise their travel journeys. The report also provided insight into the pain points, trends and opportunities for the Middle Eastern travel industry. The research highlighted a significant retail opportunity for travel providers of the 3,090 people surveyed. The study, which compiled insights from 3,090 people online across five countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan and Lebanon) was revealed at Sabre Space Jordan, an industry event that brought together experts and leaders from airlines, travel agencies and government officials from across the Middle East to network and learn about the latest travel and technology trends. Salman Syed, Vice President EMEA at Sabre said, “To align with today’s travellers, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and even corporate buyers must think and behave like true retailers. They need to analyse consumer behaviour and market data to better target future offers and fulfill as many of the traveller’s needs as possible.”  Sabre’s research showed that 43% of the Middle Eastern adults want personalised travel offerings and services around their needs, expectations and previous experiences. When thinking about what this personalisation looks like, the majority (40%) of those surveyed wanted recommendations based on their budget, whilst 30% wanted suggestions of holiday extras that would be of genuine interest to them when asked what they would want airlines to do for them in the next 5 years. Sabre’s report showed a significant opportunity within the online travel space in the Middle East, as 48% of those surveyed would look online for travel inspiration for flights or hotels, which may …

Apiso and Sabre Corporation announced a long-term partnership to increase virtual payments adoption in the travel industry across the Middle East region. The partnership, and resulting technical integration between Apiso and Sabre, will promote Apiso’s unique product offering as the preferred payment solution for Sabre Virtual Payments’ customers in the fast-growing Middle East. It will also enable Sabre to scale the volume of payment transactions processed through its global distribution system (GDS) and other technology solutions globally. “Sabre’s virtual payment technology and its extensive distribution reach coupled with Apiso’s advanced technical solutions and payment integration will enable us to jointly deliver compelling products to help regional and international travel companies to optimise their payments workflow, drive revenue and profitability,” said Andrew Sims, Director, Apiso. “We are excited about this partnership that will provide advanced, reliable, secured and flexible virtual payment solutions to the region.” Sabre Virtual Payments’ network of strategic banking partners enables it to effectively meet specific regional needs while providing a comprehensive global solution. “Sabre Virtual Payments continues to expand our strategic partnerships to ensure a comprehensive solution that optimises travel payments globally,” said Salman Syed, Vice President, Sabre EMEA. “Our partnership with Apiso helps us deploy Sabre Virtual Payments with flexible facilities such as multi-currency and multi-channel options, increase the value of our regional offerings in the Middle East and provide customers with a global payment solution that meets their specific payment needs.” Apiso works with back-end financial services providers that are members of the global payment schemes to automate the provision and administration of virtual cards for B2B supplier payments across multiple industry segments.