Travelport has appointed Alamdar Travel and Tours as its first ever GDS distributor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Under the new, multi-year agreement, Alamdar Travel & Tours will distribute the Galileo GDS to travel agencies in the country.

This appointment is in line with Travelport’s commitment to increasing its footprint in Africa and brings the total number of countries within its African network to 47 from 30 just 12 months ago.

“Our appointment as national distributor for Travelport, allows us to provide a unique offering to travel agents in the DRC,” said Nadim Vazir, managing director of Alamdar Travel & Tours.

“We are looking forward to working closely with the travel trade and delivering a strong GDS alternative - not only in terms of service but also in terms of content and strength of technology.”

Under the terms of the new agreement, Jeffery Travels – one of the largest travel agents in the DRC – will migrate its GDS business to the Galileo platform by the end of quarter two, 2012, in order to benefit from Travelport’s latest innovative technology, including the Travelport Smartpoint application which aims to increase productivity and reduce costs for travel agents.

Mark Meehan, managing director, Travelport Africa said: “Partnering with Alamdar Travel and Tours in the DRC has already proved to be a very positive move and they have made an excellent start.

“We look forward to working closely together over the coming years as we continue to invest in the region.”