Amadeus and Yatra.com partner to offer travellers more hotel choices in India
More than 900 small and independent hotels on Yatra.com now available in Amadeus GDS

New Delhi, INDIA, 19 May 2009: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has signed a major agreement with one of India’s largest online travel companies, Yatra.com, to distribute its hotel content on Amadeus’ Global Distribution System (GDS).

This deal will mean that, for the first time, more than 100,000 travel agencies using the Amadeus GDS will be able to offer travellers a choice of over 900 one to three-star and independent hotels in India.

Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra.com, said, “Yatra.com is a visionary travel company that strives to deliver the widest range of travel options at the best prices. We offer customers a choice of booking channels including online and traditional retail methods. This milestone agreement will help our hotel partners to sell their rooms globally through another channel – the GDS with its unparalleled reach.”

“We have chosen Amadeus as our long-term technology partner because of their cutting-edge technology and commitment to constant innovation. This new deal will strengthen our collaboration and help drive our global expansion,” said Shringi.

David Brett, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, “Demand for mid-range and independent hotels is growing as travellers look for more budget-friendly options in today’s economic climate. This partnership with Yatra.com is therefore very timely to meet that need.”

“Since 2008 we have seen a growing number of independent hotels and smaller chains joining Amadeus’ GDS. This demonstrates this channel’s appeal to hoteliers that are not traditionally represented by a GDS, as they recognise the value of our global reach.”

Yatra.com has partnered with Amadeus since 2007. It currently uses the Amadeus API, a comprehensive toolkit that allows travel agencies to customise their own applications to access the full range of domestic and international airline content in Amadeus’ GDS. Yatra.com also uses Amadeus Master Pricer, the industry's leading international low fare search tool, to enable their customers to find the cheapest fares online.

Ankur Bhatia, Managing Director, Amadeus India, said, “Inbound travel to India has experienced significant growth in recent years, in addition to booming domestic travel.

India generates the highest number of online travel bookings in Asia Pacific, as many local travellers like to look for the best deals via the Internet.”

“However, travellers who prefer to book via a travel agent are also looking for more choice in hotel options. This agreement with Yatra.com will deliver more choice for travellers, and help Yatra.com and its hotel partners reach out to new markets, which in turn will increase revenues for the Indian travel industry. This is another great example of Amadeus’ ‘think global, act local’ strategy in action,” he added.

Headquartered in India, Yatra.com provides information, pricing, availability and booking facility for air travel, hotels, buses and car rentals across 5,000 large cities and small rural areas around the globe. The award winning online travel company is also one of India’s largest consolidators of hotels, providing booking options in over 2,500 domestic hotels across 250 destinations in the country.

About Yatra.com

Yatra (www.yatra.com) is the assisted, online and call-center-based travel services company for the India market. Yatra helps businesses and consumers book travel by offering them travel-related information, pricing, availability and reservations for airlines, hotels, railway, buses and car rentals across 5000 large cities and small rural areas throughout India. Yatra’s customer service center enables business and family/leisure travelers to make well-informed and cost effective bookings 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Yatra customers benefit from priority booking and customized travel packages and deals for multiple large to small hotels, airlines, railways, buses and car rentals at the lowest prices, as a result of strategic relationships with the leading travel suppliers across the country.

For more information visit www.yatra.com or e-mail info@yatra.com

About Amadeus

Amadeus is a chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories – Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consultancy.

The company is owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs over 8,600 employees worldwide, representing 105 nationalities.

More information about Amadeus is available at: www.amadeus.com

Press Contacts

Tarun D. Nagrani/ Sonika Hussain                
Text100 Public Relations    
Ph: 9810118234/ 9810900112    
Email:tarunn@text100.co.in
sonikah@text100.co.in

Ritu Bararia                
Amadeus India Pvt Ltd   
Ph: 011- 30613300   
Email: rbararia@amadeus.co.in