Kenya’s receives a boost as travel technology leader launches new service at an official event welcomed by the County Executive for Finance, County Government of Nairobi and attended by the CEO and Vice Chair of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents

Travelport has officially opened a new help desk for the Kenya’s travel agency community in Nairobi today. The help desk opening comes as recent research indicates increasing synergies between various tourism and travel industry players in Kenya are supporting the recovery of the industry despite a challenging environment, with Travelport’s new service for Kenya’s travel agents testament to this collaboration.

According to Rabih Saab, Travelport’s President and Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, the new help desk reflects Travelport’s ongoing investment and expansion strategy in the East Africa region in light of the growth it is experiencing and its strategic location; “Travelport has made continued investment in Kenya in recent years with the setting up of our own office, a multitude of product launches as well as signing key airline deals. We are delighted to officially launch our new help desk which reflects our continued commitment to our business partners here and the country’s travel and tourism industry. This investment also emphasizes our industry leadership as Travelport is unique in providing local help desk support services to the travel agent community in Kenya.”

The state-of-the-art travel agency helpdesk facility in Nairobi offers a range of services including technical and operational assistance in both English and Swahili, employing five experienced travel trade members full time. Designed to heighten service delivery for Travelport’s travel agent customers in Kenya to an unprecedented level, the help desk will support travel agents by providing a travel commerce platform redefining the breadth and depth of travel choice with 400 airlines, 650,000 hotel properties, over 36,000 car rental locations and more. The help desk is expected to handle over 18,000 calls in its first year, supporting Kenya’s travel agent community in leveraging Travelport’s technologies to grow their respective businesses.

The new service has been welcomed by the County Executive for Finance, County Government of Nairobi, Gregory Mwakanongo; “With the travel and tourism industry representing almost 10% Kenya’s employment either directly or indirectly2, we are delighted to see Travelport supporting the growth and development of Kenya’s travel and tourism industry.” The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) also welcomed the inauguration of the help desk and recognized the launch as progress in supporting Kenya’s travel agent community in providing greater access to universal content to their customers. “The service will support our capacity for innovation in providing our customers and partners with the most up to date and highest standards of quality worldwide,” said Julie Dabaly Scott, Vice Chairperson of KATA, with CEO Nicanor Sabula also in attendance.

Travelport’s Rabih Saab concluded; “Local support greatly increases our offering flexibility and use of our products to regional demands, providing the best service to our customers. We are a global company committed to our partners and that starts with the communities around us.”
- See more at: http://www.travelport.com/company/media-center/press-releases/2016-01-26/travelport-launches-state-art-customer-helpdesk-kenya#sthash.IeMSOsPZ.dpuf