Accra: Mr. Yann Gilbert, Regional Managing Director of Amadeus for Central and West Africa, has commended Ghana for its growth in the travel and aviation sectors. He described the country’s performance as ‘exceptionally strong’ compared to other West African markets.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Yann was speaking at an Amadeus and ASKY Trade Forum in Accra, where he highlighted Ghana’s growth over the past year which had boosted Amadeus’ operations. The company continued to gain market share through technology-driven solutions. ‘Ghana is doing extremely well in terms of performance and growth compared to last year and this is quite different from the trend we are seeing across West Africa. Amadeus is benefiting from this growth because we are still gaining market share, which means we are doing things right,’ he said.
He explained that Amadeus’ role in Ghana was beyond business gains, noting that the company existed to support travel agencies and airlines with modern technological solutions that improved efficiency and enhanced the travel ecosystem. The event, which attracted over 150 travel agencies from across the sub-region, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and C´te d’Ivoire, was described by Mr. Gilbert as a major success.
‘Every year, we have an amazing event in Ghana. The country has become very attractive for the travel agency community and the travel industry in general,’ he said. He noted that one of the highlights of the gathering was a presentation on New Distribution Capability (NDC), a technology standard developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to modernize airline distribution. ‘NDC is already very popular in Europe, and we are bringing it into Africa, particularly Nigeria. Amadeus is the biggest aggregator on NDC today, and we want to push this technology because it allows travel agencies to offer cheaper fares, better products, and more visibility on what is available in the market,’ Mr. Yann added.
He said Amadeus would continue to partner with local and regional stakeholders to strengthen Africa’s travel industry through innovation and knowledge sharing. Mr. Worlanyo Afadzinu, Ghana Country Manager of ASKY, said the partnership with Amadeus Ghana would not only help stakeholders save costs but also improve revenue across the value chain. ‘This is the best way we can prepare for the influx of travelers, ensuring they experience efficiency and quality service,’ he added. He said ASKY intended to sustain this knowledge-sharing initiative on an annual basis.