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Barnes outlines Amadeus strategy
Amadeus executive Bill Barnes will take the role left by Peter Cacioppo, who has gone to rival GDS Worldspan.
After 18 months as head of Amadeus Tours UK, Mr Barnes will now take the role of UK director of sales after impressing the Board with a leading role in the GDS’ agreement with Comtec. A replacement for his previous role has not yet been found.
Mr Barnes told TravelMole that he is looking into the business travel market to grow the business. He said: “We will be addressing the business travel side which has been slightly less strong in the past. It is high on my agenda for Amadeus and I now feel that we have the right products in place to go after that market.”
Mr Barnes also told TravelMole that in November Amadeus will name a new addition to its sales team who will focus on the business travel market.
It is the toughest environment yet that GDSs and the industry as a whole has faced, said Mr Barnes. He said initiatives such as charging agents for GDS access could not be ruled out in the future, but he added that agents could benefit from the technology being offered by Amadeus to boost revenues.
Mr Barnes will lead the UK sales team and has an impressive record to build on, as Amadeus claims to have increased its UK market share by more than 300% in the past three years. Mr Cacioppo is currently on gardening leave before taking up his new role of sales director EMEA at Worldspan.
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
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