Travelport – a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry – and Hertz International – one of the world’s leading car rental companies – have joined forces in Saudi Arabia to bring local travel agents up to speed on the latest car rental trends and opportunities.

More than 30 of the Kingdom’s leading travel agencies attended two workshops held in Jeddah and Riyadh to learn about ways to maximise their business through the car content available on Travelport’s Global Distribution Systems, as well as the latest offers from Hertz.

According to the two companies, both events – the first of their kind hosted by Travelport and Hertz in the Middle East – were well received by local travel agents and have set a precedent for similar initiatives in the future.

“Travel content such as car rental is a key part of the Travelport offering, and the workshops we organised with Hertz really helped us highlight the business opportunities available to travel agents in Saudi Arabia,” said Assita Kone, hospitality business development manager, Middle East, Travelport.

“We’re thrilled with the response we’ve received from the local travel trade and are planning to make these events a regular feature in Saudi Arabia – and across the region – in 2014.”