Unique travelwebsite launched in Middle East and North Africa

The opening of an office in Dubai has also been influenced by the emirate's strategic position as a regional hub for trade, tourism and technology. The Dubai office will be the regional headquarters for OctopusTravel.com. The company already has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

OctopusTravel.com offers an extensive range of travel products from Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) on the Internet including over 2,000 apartments and villas, 19,000 hotels for the benefit of tourists and business travelers. Visitors to the site can also access exclusive online travel guides for over 200 cities including several Arab destinations, a facility that has been designed to promote both inbound as well as outbound tourism in the MENA region.

The London-based OctopusTravel has apppointed a travel expert, Amer Al Halabi to head the Dubai office as the company's Regional Business Development Manager (Middle East and North Africa). For the past five years he has worked in the same capacity with Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA), the world's largest independent travel wholesaler, with responsibility for most of the Middle East and North Africa markets.

Mr. Al Halabi said that with the tourism industry showing strong growth in the MENA region, many of the leading travel agencies and tour operators are now concentrating on the need to develop and offer state-of-the-art online booking services.

Mr. Al Halabi said:"Booking travel and accommodation on the Internet is still a very new concept to the Arab world and we are still one of the few companies who have invested in building and promoting the idea in this part of the world. With the number of Internet users increasing rapidly, this is a business that has great potential in the Middle East. OctopusTravel.com is a simple and straightforward operation offering a range of products, unique features and speedy service".

He added: "The mission of our new office in Dubai is to grow its business by capitalizing on OctopusTravel.com's strong technical systems, as well as its huge inventory of accommodation, travel and sightseeing products.

OctopusTravel.com already has a clear technical lead by virtue of the fact that its site already functions in nine languages including Arabic. I am greatly looking forward to showing consumers the benefits of booking their holidays on the net and, of course, to explaining how OctopusTravel.com can widen their choice and save time and money".

Daniela Wagner, Managing Director of OctopusTravel.com, said:"We are delighted to open our regional headquarters in Dubai, which has set the pace for IT and Internet development in the entire region. Amer's strong contact base and his intimate knowledge of technology will be a great asset. He has already discussed potential tie-ups with a number of major companies, and we are confident that he will help make OctopusTravel.com, the most sought after travel site in the region".

OctopusTravel aims to become the best global online travel company by offering unmatched expertise, unbeatable value, a simple and straightforward site, round-the-clock accessibility online, and prompt and efficient customer service.

The company's industry partners include EasyJet, bmi, Lufthansa, Eurostar, Virgin Blue and Ryanair. OctopusTravel's close relationship with Gullivers Travel Associates has helped the company offer a lowest price guarantee on accommodation and frequently has availability when other operators are sold out.