LEADING global distribution systems (GDS) provider Travelport is increasing its focus on non-air bookings with the launch of Travelport Leisure to encourage travel agents to use the technology for dealings other that flight reservations.

Research across 12 countries, released at the end of May, revealed that, contrary to popular belief, more than 70 per cent of travel spend actually goes on non-air services from car hire to hotels.

Travelport’s Middle East vice president Rabih Saab said: “The majority of travel spend is not on air tickets, it’s on hotels etc so we are putting a lot of focus on non-air and raising awareness among travel agents to book this sort product.

“You would be surprised how many agents themselves are not aware of the range of services available through Travelport.

“To encourage agents to book non-air products there are incentives and they also receive commissions, for example from hotels, which we are working to channel back to them through the GDS.

“To that end we have launched Travelport Leisure which is a source of integrating full content – our term for best available rates – to cover areas such as hotels and cruises etc.”

The new travel trade portal is an upgraded version of the company’s former Galileo Leisure portal which was first launched in 2005. The GDS provider decided to invest further in its leisure offering in response to the ongoing growth potential of global leisure travel spend which is expected to reach around $700bn by 2014.

The Travelport Leisure portal, which now includes extensive new hotel, hostel, B&B and car options as well as new functionality to add localised content at a country level, is being rolled out globally. Like its predecessor, it will continue to be free of charge to use for all travel agents, even if they do not subscribe to a Travelport GDS.

Incorporating all of Galileo Leisure’s existing hotel content, which includes GTA’s 35,000 hotels, Travelport Leisure will also give agents access to new content from a range of well-known, market-leading leisure suppliers including HotelClub by Orbitz, Kuoni Connect, Hostelworld.com and Cars by TUI.

In addition, Travelport Leisure will continue to offer useful features such as interactive city maps and useful travel information such as weather reports, hotel reviews, news, visa requirements and destination guides to aid agents during the sales process.