Cendant Travel Distribution Services Announces Destination Marketing Partnership with Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways

Cendant TDS brands supporting the campaigns will include: consumer websites CheapTickets.com, Lodging.com, HotelClub.com and RatesToGo.com; the Galileo GDS serving more than 44,000 travel agencies; Travel 2/Travel 4, a leading UK-based long-haul consolidator; and Travelers Advantage, a premier travel provider with a membership of 2 million people.

Cendant TDS already drives significant numbers of inbound visitors to Thailand, transacting 1 in 5 air passengers to the country worldwide through Galileo in 2003, and arranging 12,500 tailor-made programmes through Travel2/Travel4. Cendant TDS’s four consumer websites provide access to an excellent selection of Thai accommodation and tour content. For example, there are 314 Thai hotels in HotelClub.com and 58 in RatesToGo.com.

TAT Governor Juthamas Siriwan, said: “Thailand is already a major destination but still has a wealth of untapped tourist potential. I’m confident we will benefit from Cendant’s successful and highly varied distribution channels – each with their integral marketing platforms such as membership schemes, magazines and newsletters, electronic marketing, as well as incentive programs and affiliate networks. Cendant can deliver highly targeted marketing and, with their ability to measure and track campaigns, enhance the effectiveness of our marketing spend.”

Kanok Abhiradee, President of THAI, said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Cendant as an example of how two leading organizations in travel can combine strengths to promote the wonderful destination that is Thailand. Through this partnership, THAI and Royal Orchid Holidays will be able to reach travelers in many parts of the world with exciting offers and services that will help increase visitors to our country. Only with a truly global partner like Cendant could we have such a significant opportunity to make this happen.”

Mark Rizzuto, Managing Director (Asia), Cendant TDS, said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to broaden the existing sales and marketing activities of the TAT and THAI. We are achieving two firsts. This is the first time that Cendant TDS has worked with both a national tourist organisation and national airline to promote travel to a country. This is also the first time that TAT has worked with an international private sector company to promote its country to international travellers.

“We touch many points along the travel distribution chain and are ideally positioned to deliver multiple campaigns in response to the TAT’s brief. We are more than a GDS distribution channel – the game has changed. It’s not enough just to be a GDS and here’s a powerful example of what we can achieve through our broader value proposition.”

Cendant Partner Marketing, an international team within Cendant TDS, specializes in building integrated marketing programs for its partners across multiple Cendant channels that reach consumers and travel agent audiences alike. This group will work with TAT to develop and coordinate an integrated strategy across the broad reach of all Cendant distribution channels. This type of global marketing campaign, integrated across so many leading travel brands, is unprecedented in the industry.

Bob Coggin, Vice Chairman of Cendant TDS, added: “This alliance is an excellent example of the Cendant TDS ability to combine ‘Order Making’ and ‘Order Taking’ capabilities and provide the highest value to partners. The Cendant TDS ‘Order Making’ operations – such as our consumer websites – actively generate travel transactions, complementing the traditional ‘Order Taker’ role of the Galileo Global Distribution System, a transaction processor. It is the combination of our effective sales platforms coupled with our proven transaction processing that will really stimulate and facilitate the increased travel to Thailand. We are offering our partners a powerful ‘one company, one vision’ proposition.”

The initial destination marketing campaigns will focus on encouraging inbound visitors from six key source markets: the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, with other geographic markets to be targeted in the future. Cendant TDS is working with the TAT and THAI at every level including identifying targeted segments of the tourist market, the best channel to reach a given market segment, contracting additional content as required and jointly creating advertising and promotion activity.

HotelClub.com and RatesToGo.com are excellent examples of how a campaign can utilize the online capabilities of Cendant TDS. They provide attractive platforms for promoting specific Thai cities to particular target groups, such as families, students or honeymooners, through targeted promotions. THAI can promote its international and domestic flights through these websites to allow consumers to create their own packages. Thai hotel chains and resorts can also participate.

About Cendant Travel Distribution Services Division
Cendant Corporation’s (NYSE: CD) Travel Distribution Services Division is one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse collections of travel brands and distribution businesses. The division, employing nearly 5,000 people in more than 116 countries, includes: Galileo, a leading global distribution systems (GDS) company, serving more than 44,000 travel agencies and over 60,000 hotels; hotel distribution and services businesses (Trust, THOR, WizCom, Neat Group); leading on-line travel agencies (CheapTickets.com, Lodging.com, HotelClub.com and RatesToGo.com); Shepherd Systems, an airline market intelligence company; Travelwire, an international travel technology and software company; Travel 2/Travel 4, a leading international wholesaler specializing in long-haul tailor made programs to North and South America, Southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the South Pacific; and Travelport, a provider of online global corporate travel management solutions.