KEMPINSKI Hotels and Sharaf Travel have inked a deal to launch a central reservation office in the UAE by the end of the year, in a bid to tap the UAE’s $4.9 billion annual spend on overseas travel.

“The region has established itself as one of the premier outbound markets,” Kempinski’s area director of sales for the Middle East, Samer Al Achar, told TTN at World Travel Market in London last month, quoting World Tourism Organisation numbers, according to which Arab tourists from the Gulf States spend more than $12 billion on overseas vacations, with the UAE as one of the biggest outbound markets with tourists from the emirates spending $4.9 billion annually on overseas travel, and an average spend of $1,700 per trip, $500 higher than the European average.
“We offer a diversified number of hotels worldwide, but especially in such key destinations as Germany, London and Spain, and this collaboration allows us to introduce to this unique range to UAE travellers.” 
Sharaf Travel is the only travel agency to represent Kempinski worldwide in the UAE and Oman. Besides Kempinski, Sharaf Travel’s other high profile partners include Virgin Atlantic and Delta Airlines.
The central reservation office will be represented across Sharaf Travel’s branch network in the UAE and Oman, and will provide travellers with a professional, convenient and reliable one-stop shop for bookings and other travel arrangements to any of Kempinski’s destinations worldwide.
“Over the last few years, we have seen record-breaking travel activity in the region, and it shows no signs of slowing down. We have been at the forefront of establishing strategic partnerships with hotel groups and airlines to deliver exciting travel packages to our clients. Kempinski’s distinctive collection of hotels appeals to them, so we have decided to set up this central reservation office to make available to what we believe to be a very exceptional hospitality experience,” said Salah Sharaf, chairman, Sharaf Travel.