Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, has been re-appointed as the preferred global distribution system (GDS) provider to Al Tayyar Travel, Saudi Arabia’s largest and best known travel and tourism group.

The new multi-year agreement will see Travelport, operator of the Galileo platform, provide travel booking systems and services to all of Al Tayyar’s wholly-owned travel agencies in Saudi Arabia as well as the group’s affiliate agencies in Kuwait, Yemen, Canada and the United States. Al Tayyar Travel has a total of 330 retail branches.

The announcement reaffirms the long standing partnership between Al Tayyar and Travelport which has been in place since 1981 and has moved from strength to strength since Travelport launched direct operations in the Kingdom in 2009. The two companies have grown together as Al Tayyar has strategically expanded its extensive agency network globally.

“This new agreement is a reflection of the confidence and value we place in the Galileo GDS and the Travelport organisation,” said Dr. nasser bin Aqeel Altayyar, vice-chairman and managing director of Al Tayyar Travel. “The service and support we have received over the years has been second-to-none and we look forward to solidifying our relationship even further by implementing Travelport’s latest travel technology innovations to our outlets across the Kingdom and beyond.”

“Our continued partnership with Al Tayyar Travel represents an enormous vote of confidence in Travelport and not only reaffirms the level of satisfaction with our offering to-date, but signals the team’s confidence in our ability to deliver the technology and products necessary for the future needs of such a large and growing travel group,” said Kurt Ekert, chief commercial officer, Travelport.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Al Tayyar Travel is one of the most well-established travel conglomerates in the Kingdom. Its parent company Al Tayyar Group has business interests spanning travel, tourism, insurance, cargo and shipping.
Photo caption: Vice-chairman Dr. nasser bin Aqeel Altayyar with Travelport’s CCO Kurt Ekert.