Spokesperson: Eddie Fernandes director, Prime One Destination Management Company, Kuwait

How has business been over the past year?
Inbound business for the year 2007 was very productive with a good number of tourists and groups handled by our company. Most of our bookings have been generated through our website search, previous FIT and group handlings through hotels in Kuwait, plus most importantly, our good service. The majority of our business is on ground handling, that is, sightseeing tours, desert camp tours, sea trips, meet and assist at the airport, vehicle rentals and multi lingual tour guides or escorts that we provide for special requests.

Do you have any expansion plans?
Our company is planning to increase its manpower within the next six months and will be working more on the sales and marketing aspect. We shall be pleased if some of the other governmental or private companies will be able to help us in promoting the destination.
 
Are you experiencing any room shortages?
With the increase of new hotels in Kuwait, I don’t think there is a shortage of rooms at all. Clients should note that there are other unbranded hotels in Kuwait that also provide similar services with cheaper prices that can be booked through our company.
 
How much of your business is carried out on the internet now?
The majority of our business is carried out on the internet, but a few sales calls and advertisements make a difference in making people aware that there is a professional inbound tour operator available to solve all their problems before visiting Kuwait.  Clients can easily log onto our website www.primeoneholidays.com and review the services that we provide for Kuwait. All requests are answered within 24 hours.

What are the biggest problems facing you this year?
The biggest problems that we are facing now is the new increased rates of the established hotels in Kuwait, which is due to the increase in demand for rooms for corporate companies using the hotels for conferences, seminars and meetings.