Greek travel specialist Marine Tours has contracted to use the Sabre global distribution system (GDS) for travel bookings. 
The agency specialises in the shipping sector and is one of the largest air travel consolidators in Greece, accounting for over 35 percent of all travel sales there.  Its conversion will make Sabre
the leading GDS in Greece, with a market share of more than 40 percent.

The agency?fs offices in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Heraklion, Crete, have been migrated successfully from Worldspan
and Galileo
.  The conversion involved full training on Sabre over a two-week period for more than 50 travel consultants.

Aghis Athanassiadis, Sabre?fs general manager in Greece, said Sabre?fs suite of marketing tools and online booking platforms had added real value to its bid for the Marine Tours business.

“We were able to provide customised solutions for Marine Tours?f specific requirements. Importantly, we were able to show how these products could contribute to Marine Tours?f strategic direction, and how we would be able to meet their needs several years from now?h, Athanassiadis said.

Marine Tours?f move to Sabre follows five other recent and significant European agency account wins by the GDS.  The conversion of French agencies Club Voyages, Jancarthier and Boomerang from Amadeus has increased Sabre?fs French market share by nearly two percent.  In the United Kingdom, Top Flight Travel?fs move from Galileo gives the company a foot in the door of the Uniglobe consortium.  And in Italy Sabre has secured the business of a large Italian corporate travel management organisation.

Related stories on ITN:

(05/04/2002) Uniglobe Franchisee Converts to Sabre GDS for Travel Bookings

(02/04/2002) Sabre Selected as Technology Provider for Boomerang

(15/02/2002) Jancarthier Switches to Sabre.

(12/11/2001) Alitalia implements Sabre`s booking tool for airline alliances

——-