Saudia Holidays to assist Jamaica in the opening of Middle Eastern market - Jamaica Observer

Source: Jamaica Observer

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Discussions are underway to strengthen the relationship between Jamaica and Saudia Holidays, the official tour operator of Saudia Airlines that operates flights to over 100 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett led the discussions on Tuesday with his senior tourism team and head of Saudia Holidays, Omar Kwarjah.

"Getting an arrangement in place with Saudia Holidays is critical to enabling us to promote the destination and fill airline seats through the multiple code sharing partnerships available. Through this partnership we will be able to promote content around Jamaica's destination offerings to increase our attractiveness in the region," said Minister Bartlett.

"The Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC region is a critical region that we are targeting as an emerging market and partnerships like these will help us in our strategic planning to attract more visitors" he added.

Saudia Holidays, one of the largest tour operators in the region, offers its clients the ability to make reservations with more than 900,000 service providers.

"The arrangement would also include familiarisations trips for top agents and tour operators at Saudia Holidays to give them a taste and feel of Jamaica so they will be in a position of knowledge to sell the destination in the region," said Donovan White, director of tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board.

Minister Bartlett is leading a mission at Arabian Travel Market, a leading global event enabling growth for the travel and tourism industry with thousands of participants attending this year's staging.