Array Of Global Packages Bookable From Anywhere In The World
Consumers And Travel Trade Worldwide Offered New Online Booking Tool
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, middle, at the official new brochure launch of tour operating division, Qatar Airways Holidays
Arabian Travel Market, DUBAI, UAE – Qatar Airways Holidays, the tour operating arm of Qatar’s national carrier Qatar Airways, has unveiled its new-look brochure offering an array of worldwide holiday options to suit all tastes.
Replacing three separate regional editions, the new 352-page holiday brochure – Inspiring Great Journeys 2011/12 – covers three, four and five-star hotels in over 100 cities which Qatar Airways flies to across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.
An easy-to-use reference tool, the brochure is split into regions with holiday options clearly marked under the headlines – Charming Europe, Mystical Middle East, Enchanting Africa, Colourful Asia, Captivating Australasia and Free-Spirited Americas.
For the first time, Qatar Airways Holidays is offering dynamic online packaging enabling customers to book different components of a holiday – flights, hotels and car rental – through qatarairways.com/holidays or through any one of the parent airline’s global reservation and ticketing offices.
Ensuring real-time instant confirmations, Qatar Airways Holidays is the first airline-run tour operator in the GCC to provide such an enhanced service.
The online booking service is currently available to Qatar-based residents, but will be rolled out to other markets, initially across the GCC, North Africa and Europe over the next few months before going worldwide.
Recognising the importance of the travel trade as a key distribution channel, Qatar Airways Holidays will extend the online booking facility to agents around the world, who will be able to book commissionable holiday packages via the web for the first time.
From honeymoon packages, beach and city breaks to family holidays, safaris and cruising, Qatar Airways Holidays offers many options, including tours. With Qatar Airways’ extensive route network from its Doha hub, consumers have a wide choice of holiday package options that include scheduled flights operated by the State of Qatar’s national airline.
Unveiling the new brochure in Dubai this week, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the revamp represented a significant enhancement to the holiday programme.
“Whether it is the consumer or travel agent, we are offering a custom-made, easy-to-use holiday brochure that offers simple booking procedures,” said Al Baker, speaking at the official launch reception during Arabian Travel Market, the Middle East’s premier travel trade event.
Al Baker said the dramatic growth of parent airline Qatar Airways over the past 14 years to a global network spanning 100 diverse business and leisure destinations, enabled Qatar Airways Holidays to offer a diverse product range in its revamped brochure.
“Greater flexibility to book, particularly online by our consumers and travel trade partners ensures we provide easy-to-use booking processes.
“Qatar Airways has strengthened its business model with a vertically integrated operation that includes a global airline, travel agencies in Qatar, a hotel following the opening of the five-star Oryx Rotana in Doha and a developing tour operation arm, Qatar Airways Holidays.
“Through this unique model, we are able to offer excellent prices due to our strong buying power of travel products and services around the world which we are only delighted to pass onto our customers in the form of value-for-money, affordable holiday packages, added Al Baker.
Featured destinations include those launched by Qatar Airways over the past 12 months, including Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Phuket, Budapest, Bucharest, Brussels, Copenhagen and the Syrian city of Aleppo – the airline’s milestone 100th destination.
Others include New York, Washington, Madrid, Dar es Salaam, Seychelles, Paris, Dubai, Muscat, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Qatar Airways’ Doha hub feeds passenger and cargo traffic to all parts of the world, offering convenient connections across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.
The airline plans to serve more than 120 key business and leisure destinations worldwide with a modern fleet of over 120 aircraft by 2013. Today, the airline’s fleet stands at 97 aircraft flying to 100 destinations worldwide, a figure set to surpass 120 cities within three years.
Over the next few months, Qatar Airways launches flights to the following destinations, further strengthening its global reach. These are Shiraz in Iran on June 5; Venice (June 15); Montreal (June 29); Kolkata (Calcutta) on July 27; Sofia (September 14); Oslo (October 5); Entebbe (November 2); Baku and Tbilisi (November 30).
