GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Global Distribution system

Global Distribution System

Introduction

Global Distribution System means a computerized network of reservation connecting global customers to one access point, through agents and online reservation web-portals. GDS is now been widely applied for the reservation of airlines, hotels and vehicles (Strauss, 2010).

Worldspan, Galileo, Amadeus, and Sabre are the major GDS systems worldwide. The major airlines, hotel groups and car rentals have collaborated to form and operate these GDS systems as their joint venture projects. GDS is also known as computerized reservation system (CRS) or automated reservation system (ARS). More than eight hundred thousand travel agents now use GDS for reserving airline tickets. This has made the reservation process, quite hassle free.

Apollo/WorldSpan, Amadeus, Galileo and Pegasus

Now GDS has become the chief sales channel for booking of travel tickets. More than three thousand websites are directly selling tickets through the GDS facility. The famous among these sites are Travel Hero, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trip Adviser, Expedia and Zulji. In America, the trend is rapidly shifting towards the online reservation of the travel tickets. Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity are the top 3 websites with a combined market share of more than forty percents of the leads generated online (Strauss, 2010).

The researches show that one booking made online gives way to three more bookings made directly through visit or phone call. This indicates that the online channel has a vast scope of expanding through a little advertising. It is foreseeable in the near future that all the travel reservations would be made online. The phone call or visit the office pattern would soon be obsolete.

Reasonable Cost

Inbound travelling usually has a high cost in the form of commissions. These inbound programs are not only too expensive but also a burden for managing. The accommodation requirements and conditions of the required rates make ...