Kuwait-based Alghanim Travel will be the first travel agency in Kuwait to launch its own online travel booking portal complete with a payment gateway, allowing travellers the chance to book packages over the net.
A division of Alghanim Industries, the largest family owned business in Kuwait - Alghanim Travel is one of Kuwait’s largest travel companies, with 112 staff over five branches and two corporate implants. The company represents American Express in Kuwait and acts as GSA for a number of airlines such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific.
Zaid Al-Khubaizi, general manager, Alghanim Travel signed a deal with Dubai-based travel technology provider Illusions Online, who will provide all the technological capability for the company, including the new website and an online booking tool for corporate customers. The website will have its soft launch in July, and should be fully functional by October.
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Al-Khubaizi said the deal was a "long term investment" for the company, and predicted that 50% of the company’s bookings would come from the website in the next five years.
“The online growth is very slow – especially as we are new so we are not expecting high growth in year one, but by year five we expect 50% of our bookings will be made online. Technology is not a short term solution for our business; it is a long term investment,” he said.
He admitted that the project had been delayed due to challenges with finding a secure enough payment gateway for customers. “There are a lot of challenges regarding the payment gateway but we have overcome them. It’s to do with the technology available in the region. That’s one of the reasons why this project has been delayed.”
Kuwait has the biggest market for outbound travel of any country in the GCC, and there are currently 275 travel agencies in the country - but Al-Khubaizi predicted that the online sector took off, agencies that didn’t catch on were under threat of closure.
“I always put technology in both columns – threat and opportunity. Technology is a threat if we don’t invest, and it’s an opportunity if we invest. We have decided to invest to increase our market share,” he said.
“Travel agencies will not be able to survive without technology – because technology is eliminating businesses that are naturally in the middle and we are that kind of business – in the middle of the customers and the product. That’s why we have no option but to invest in this.”
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