Garuda partners Smailing Tour to wholesale domestic and outbound holidays

AEROWISATA, the support services arm of Garuda Indonesia, has entered into a joint venture with Smailing Tour, forming Garuda Indonesia Holidays (GIH), a wholesale travel company selling domestic and outbound products within the airline's network. Formerly a full subsidiary of the airline, GIH was relaunched last week after Smailing Tour was chosen after a tender process. Garuda Indonesia’s president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said Garuda Orient Holidays (GOH) would continue to create products for inbound tourists. “This is a concept we applied to GOH overseas, where we also partnered local travel companies,” he explained. Smailing Tour CEO Anthony Akili, also GIH president and CEO, said: “We have seen the success of Qantas Holidays, Cathay Pacific Holidays and Emirates Holidays. Their products sell so well. If (Garuda) can achieve double-digit growth in passenger traffic (every year), why not its holiday products?” He said GIH would be helpful for travel consultants who may be able to access airline seats, but not hotels, adding that the company has some 140,000 hotels worldwide, with 1,500 to 2,000 within Indonesia, that allow instant confirmations. GIH products will be available to consultants who enrol as GIH retailers, and the company is aiming to sign on 1,000 retailers within a year. Products range from land content only to free-and-easy air tickets and accommodation to all Garuda destinations. Special interest products such as culinary and cycling tours will also be offered. There are also plans to cross-sell products with GOH at a later stage. Asked if there was a conflict of interest for Smailing Tour, Akili said GIH’s products only feature Garuda airfares, while Smailing also sells packages with other airlines. Sourced: TTG Asia