Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, has signed a partnership agreement with the emerging Russian Internet Travel Services Association (ITSA) which will see both parties collaborating to promote growth and provide support to the online travel industry in Russia.

Founded last year and chaired by longstanding travel industry professional Vadim Zelensky, the aim of the association is to establish a unified forum where agencies selling online travel can benefit from negotiated rates and a range of support services.  In a region where the online travel industry constitutes 3-5% of flight sales, thought leaders are predicting this figure to double in 2012, supported by leading technology solutions such as those provided by Travelport.

The new partnership will equip members, at present consisting of five of Russia’s leading online agencies, with direct access to Travelport’s range of travel technology solutions and advice from the growing local team.  With online tools such as Galileo Web Services and Travelport Universal API, agencies can integrate their booking interface with the Galileo system.

Maria Yakushkina commented on the partnership “This cooperation between ITSA and Travelport supports our established strategy to invest in the travel industry across Russia, particularly within online travel.  We are fully committed to working with business and leisure agencies to help drive efficiencies and increase revenues.”

Vadim Zelensky, chairman of ITSA, stated: “There is huge growth potential within the online travel arena in Russia and through partnerships with industry leaders like Travelport, we can ensure that we are best placed to promote the development of the industry. Our member agencies benefit not only from access to leading distribution solutions, but also reliable travel technology consultation services and we look forward to drawing insight from Travelport’s expertise in this sector”.