Amadeus has supported the launch in Sao Paulo of the European Commission’s ‘Low Season Tourism’ initiative that will look at actions to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism sector by stimulating the travel flow between European and South American countries.

This will be achieved by promoting travel in particular in the respective low seasons of Europe and South America, utilising the available spare airline and accommodation capacity thus benefiting the local economy of the host destinations.

The Low Season Tourism pilot project workshop organised in Sao Paulo by the European Commission and presented by Pedro Ortún, director for tourism, CSR and consumer goods, gathered the leading players in both regions’ travel sector ranging from airlines to travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, destinations and other industry stakeholders.

Challenges and opportunities of this project were discussed by the travel professionals and the European officials during the event. 

This initiative will be rolled out in Brazil, Argentina and Chile as pilot countries.

Back in January, Amadeus signed a memorandum of understanding with the main initiator of this initiative, Antonio Tajani, vice president of the European Commission, by which it will facilitate the technology tools and solutions to deploy this programme, track its results while supporting the European Commission in establishing contacts with relevant stakeholders in South America as well as participating in joint promotional activities.

“We are very excited by the potential of this global project where private and public sectors join forces towards a common goal in the development of tourism” commented Svend Leirvaag, vice president, industry affairs, at Amadeus.

“Through this project Amadeus has engaged with the European Commission to support its efforts in developing the tourism sector in Europe, whilst reinforcing the competitiveness of European travel and tourism enterprises via technology.

“We consider our relationships with key travel industry stakeholders around the globe to be key assets, which we are pleased to offer to ensure the success of this program” he concluded.