Amadeus: Overview

Web-Based Booking and Information System Revolutionizes Travel Worldwide
For the travel industry, the growth of the Internet as a venue for communication and commerce presents both new opportunities and challenges. Travel agents are fighting increased competition and reduced commissions. They are being forced to find new sources of revenue and to charge fees for their services.

To help in this task, they need a front-office system that reduces their costs and provides them with management tools that allow them to offer their customers added value and extended services. They require new and powerful tools that help them meet these goals while maintaining reliability and productivity. At the same time, they need to reduce their overall distribution costs.

Above all, success in tomorrow�s travel and tourism industries depends on effective exploitation of e-Business technology. In such a highly competitive environment, travel agents need to be able to use e-Business to provide better services, and have instant access to a wider audience than was ever possible before.

Amadeus is the world�s number one global distribution system and technology provider serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world�s travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive data network and database are among the largest of its kind in Europe. Worldwide, it serves more than 48,400 travel-agency locations and some 8,200 airline sales offices.

Through the Amadeus* system (eBusiness*), travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings on more than 500 airlines, representing some 95 percent of the world�s scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to more than 51,000 hotels, 48 car rental companies, and newer provider groups such as ferry, rail, cruise, insurance providers and tour operators.

Amadeus is a significant provider of information technology and an enabler of e-Commerce for the travel industry. Amadeus Vista* is an advanced browser-based front office that has recently been developed by Amadeus to provide a fully graphical interface for the travel professional.

The challenge for companies such as Amadeus, which serve the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world�s travel and tourism industries, is to meet these requirements more quickly and efficiently than the competition.