Kuwait travel firm eyes GCC expansion

EXPANSION PLAN: Travel firm Alshamel International is eyeing growth in readiness for the upturn in the tourism industry. (Getty Images - for illustrative purposes only)

Alshamel International, a Kuwait-based travel management company, is eyeing expansion across the GCC by opening offices in Saudi Arabia and Oman during 2009.

The growth plan will bring the company's number of regional countries to seven and is taking place in anticipation of surging demand for managed business travel and tourism across the Gulf and Middle East markets.  

“Alshamel will also look at strategic mergers and acquisitions with successful travel agencies to expand its market reach and customer service capacity”, said Derin Cameron, CEO of Alshamel International Holding Company.

“Despite difficult global economic conditions and their impact on the travel-tourism sector, we see distinct opportunities in the regional marketplace and have the financial stability, history and network to act on them,” Cameron added.

“The expansions and new alliances will bring us closer to our existing customers across the region and enable us to introduce the Alshamel experience to new audiences.”

Mazen Hamad, senior vice president of Alshamel International Holding Company said the company continued to "challenge the unprecedented decline in passenger traffic and other industry challenges in the wake of the slowdown”.

The company, which has been singled out by leading airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa for its 2008 sales volumes, is targeting a minimum 30 percent increase in market share and profits by 2012.

“Alshamel has achieved a noticeable increase in the ticket sales in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008,” Hamad said.

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