Travelport– a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry – and Hertz International

(TRAVPR.COM) UAE - December 10th, 2013 - Travelport– a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry – and Hertz International – one of the world’s leading car rental companies – have joined forces in Saudi Arabia to bring local travel agents up to speed on the latest car rental trends and opportunities.

More than 30 of the Kingdom’s leading travel agencies attended two workshops held in Jeddah and Riyadh to learn about ways to maximise their business through the car content available on Travelport’s Global Distribution Systems (GDS), as well as the latest offers from Hertz.

According to the two companies, both events – the first of their kind hosted by Travelport and Hertz in the Middle East – were well received by local travel agents and have set a precedent for similar initiatives in the future.

“Non-air content such as car rental is a key part of Travelport offer, and the workshops we organised with Hertz really helped us highlight the business opportunities available to travel agents in Saudi Arabia,” said Assita Kone, Hospitality Business Development Manager, Middle East, Travelport. “We’re thrilled with the response we’ve received from the local travel trade and are planning to make these events a regular feature in Saudi Arabia – and across the region – in 2014.”

Chris Bradley, GSA – Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, Hertz International, said:“Travel Agents are our valued partners and it was wonderful to see this terrific response. Initiatives such as these are designed to boost our long-term outbound strategy focusing on key growth channels and will play an instrumental role in our long-term success. We are looking forward to building on this great start and are truly grateful to Travelport.”

Travelport’s Galileo and Worldspan GDS systems currently offer deals from 24 global car providers representing 30,000 locations, ensuring that travel agents have the best choice available, and are able to complete entire itineraries – including air travel, hotels and cars – through the same booking system. Travelport also caters to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) by providing an efficient way to search and display relevant car content on their website. This is enabled by Travelport’s cutting edge Universal API technology, which allows agents to access a wide range of content as well as apply individual parameters to guarantee relevant search results.

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About Travelport
Travelport is a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry.

With a presence in over 170 countries, approximately 3,500 employees and 2012 net revenue of more than $2.0 billion, Travelport is comprised of the global distribution system (“GDS”) business, which includes the Galileo and Worldspan brands, its Airline IT Solutions business and a joint venture ownership of eNett.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Travelport is a privately owned company.

Follow Travelport on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Travelport

About Hertz

Hertz operates its car rental business through the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty brands from approximately 10,400 corporate, licensee and franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand. Hertz is the largest worldwide airport general use car rental brand, operating from approximately 8,800 corporate and licensee locations in approximately 150 countries. Hertz is the number one airport car rental brand in the U.S. and at 111 major airports in Europe. Dollar and Thrifty have approximately 1,580 corporate and franchisee locations in approximately 80 countries. Hertz is an inaugural member of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards Hall of Fame and was recently named, for the thirteenth time, by the magazine’s readers as the Best Car Rental Agency. Hertz was also voted the Best Overall Car Rental Company in Zagat’s 2013/14 U.S. Car Rental Survey, earning top honors in 10 additional categories, and the Company swept the global awards for Best Rewards Program and Best Overall Benefits from FlyerTalk.com. Product and services such as Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, NeverLost®, and unique cars and SUVs offered through the Company's Adrenaline, Prestige and Green Traveler Collections, set Hertz apart from the competition. Additionally, Hertz owns the vehicle leasing and fleet management leader Donlen Corporation and operates the Hertz On Demand car sharing business. The Company also owns a leading North American equipment rental business, Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, which includes Hertz Entertainment Services.

About Hertz Middle East and Africa

Hertz has a strong presence in the Middle East and Africa region, with 11 Hertz franchisees in the Middle East and 23 in Africa, and a total of 66 locations in the Middle East and 161 outlets in Africa, offering a wide range of car rental and leasing services.  Hertz locations across the region offer customers the most modern fleet of vehicles in the market, with a focus on quality, safety and reliability.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT (KSA & Bahrain)
Hina Bakht
+971 50 6975146
h.bakht@mpj-pr.co

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