Etihad Holidays has unveiled ambitious plans to expand its franchise of innovative and interactive holiday shops across the UAE and the GCC and open up to 12 new outlets during the next two years.This follows the launch of two successful holiday shops in Al Wahda Mall and Khalidiyah Mall in Abu Dhabi in 2008 which has helped Etihad Holidays increase its revenue by more than 140% when compared to the first four months of 2007.

The new holiday shops, planned to roll out across the GCC will provide customers with a complete travel sales experience, offering holidays to key Etihad destinations as well as the full range of Etihad Airways products and services.

There will also be considerable expansion of Etihad Holidays’ operations across the UAE with new shops scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall in July and the new Balwadi Mall in Al Ain due to open late 2008.

Tony Gauci, head of Etihad Holidays, said, “Etihad Holidays has enjoyed a phenomenally successful 2008 and this growth is set to continue as we expand the holiday shops across the region and continue our drive to become the leading premium holiday operator in the Middle East.”

Etihad Holidays has also made a considerable investment in state-of-the-art IT systems to support the company’s expansion and recently implemented the “Ocean” holiday booking system, a product from the renowned ISO Travel Solution group based in Germany.

“Ocean” allows sales operators to create all-inclusive holiday packages for customers covering all aspects of the holiday including accommodation, ground services and flights, provides instant confirmation of products and services and convenient e-documentation for customers.

In addition to simplifying and automating the sales and customer process, the new “Ocean” system also provides a portable solution allowing Etihad Holidays sales to be made at trade exhibitions, events, corporate offices and even in customers homes.
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