Agents Expect Growth in 2004 Summer Sales

London: January 5, 2004 – 62.5 percent of travel agents and industry professionals surveyed in a recent Amadeus snap poll stated that they were either confident or very confident that they would see no decrease in summer 2004 booking levels compared to sales for the current year. Given that mass market bookings for summer 2004 are said to be 30% down year on year, agents were asked how confident they were that bookings would return to summer 2003 levels during the peak January selling period. Responding to the question about whether mass market 2003 summer booking levels would be maintained next year: § 8.3 percent of agents were very confident § 54.2 percent of agents were confident § 33 percent of agents were pessimistic § 4.2 percent of agents were very pessimistic Commenting on the expected booking levels for summer 2004 one agent stated that he was “very pessimistic that 2003 booking levels would be maintained, based on the fact that direct online bookings work out cheaper for clients than bookings made through a Travel Agent.” Another agent expected to see the ‘Independent’ and ‘Self-Packaging’ markets do very well in 2004 but not mass market packages. Several agents mentioned this trend being influenced by an increasing number of bookings sold via the web and holidays being booked closer to the time of travel. Rob Golledge, Senior Marketing Communications Executive at Amadeus UK, said “This snap poll shows that many travel agents are banking on a prosperous 2004 in comparison to this year. 2003 has been a real challenge to post-September 11 recovery plans. Uncertainty over the war in Iraq and SARS at the beginning of the year, plus the threat of international terrorism, have all contributed to the trend for late bookings. “The British summer of 2003 also added a new element to the mix – namely, sunshine – and lots of it. It will be interesting to see whether travellers are tempted to stay at home and book more UK short breaks in 2004, or whether late bookings continue to rise as more consumers adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude. Based on the booking patterns of 2003, one thing seems certain; travel agents who can cater to both package and independent travellers’ needs will be best positioned for success in the year ahead.” Amadeus Global Travel Distribution (MAD: AMS) Amadeus is the leading global distribution system (GDS) and technology provider, serving the marketing, sales and distribution needs of the world’s travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive GDS data processing centre serves some 64,500 travel agency locations and more than 10,000 airline sales offices, which together total around 290,000 points of sale located in over 210 markets worldwide. Through the Amadeus GDS, travel agencies and airline offices are able to make bookings on more than 95 per cent of the world’s scheduled airline seats. The system also provides access to 56,000 hotels, 50 car rental companies serving some 25,300 locations, and other provider groups including: ferry; rail; cruise; insurance and tour operators. Amadeus is a leading application service provider (ASP) to the airline industry. 139 airlines use the Amadeus Sales System in their offices to provide passengers with superior and seamless service at optimal cost. Amadeus’s new generation of Passenger Service Systems, which include all IT systems associated with inventory management and departure control, will be implemented by British Airways, Qantas and Finnair. e-Travel, Amadeus’s e-commerce business unit, is global leader in online travel technology and corporate travel management solutions. It powers the Web pages of more than 900 travel agencies, 264 corporate sites, 10 hotel sites and 54 airlines. Amadeus is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and quoted on the Madrid, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For the year ended 31 December 2002, the company reported revenues of EUR 1856m and net income of EUR 148.6m. The Amadeus data centre is in Erding (near Munich), Germany and its principal development offices are located in Sophia Antipolis (near Nice), France. The company has some 5,100 employees worldwide. For more information please contact: Amadeus UKRob GolledgeT: 0870 990 7851F: 0870 990 9299E: [email protected] W: www.amadeusuk.com Amadeus Press Bridget Agnew / Anya VelzeboerFinancial DynamicsT: 020 7269 7219/7174F: 020 7831 8438E: [email protected]