Amadeus booking service to strengthen RP tourism

CEBU, Philippines - The introduction of the Amadeus Hotel Store in the Philippines is expected to provide a good competitive advantage to Philippine tourism industry.

The Amadeus Hotel Store, a service that would provide the public the widest range of hotels, from one to five-star tourist accommodations, will also provide easier access for tourists to avail of the different accommodations and packages available in the Philippines.

Amadeus, the leading global technology partner to the travel and tourism industry, recently launched the hotel service in the country.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ace Durano said that the new booking service, which makes the Philippines only the third country in the Asia Pacific region after Australia and China to have the service available to the traveling public, provides a competitive advantage to the Philippine tourism industry.

“This innovation could spur tourism growth as it significantly appeals to tourists today who prefer making fast and convenient hotel arrangements for their travels,” said Durano.

“Now that it’s available in the country, we could anticipate more positive feedback about our travel accommodations, even aiding in the advancement of our local travel agency sector,” he added.

Apart from offering the best available room rates, the Amadeus Hotel Store will also offer an interactive map to the hotel, improved search capabilities on a per city basis, commentaries by individuals on their experiences with the hotels, and list of activities and entertainment offered by the hotel.

According to Undersecretary for Planning and Promotions Eduardo Jarque, “The Amadeus Hotel Store complements the value of hospitality in which Filipinos are greatly known for. With this new store, more tourists would be drawn to visit, as well as re-visit the Philippines.”

Amadeus Asia Pacific Hotel distribution and travel services business group director Kartikeya Tripathi said they expect 700 Philippine hotels and destination resorts to be made available over the next two months at the Amadeus Hotel Store.

The tourism sector, which is one of the few industries in the Philippines which thrived from the devastating economic challenges brought about by the global recession in the last two years, is also seen to double or triple its growth starting 2010, and with a lot of investors is putting up facilities that complement wide array of potential tourists-drawer sites.

Since 2005, the tourism industry in the Philippines provided at least P600 billion worth of investment. These are the establishments of hotel, resort facilities that accommodates each market requirements, from boutique hotel to six-star hotel/resort facilities, Durano said.

The entry of Amadeus Hotel Store in the Philippines will push to tourism growth in the country, as it will become the country’s competitive edge over other destinations in Asia.—Ehda M. Dagooc