EMIRATES Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates, has established its first global franchise, Emirates Vacations, following the appointment of the US-based Destination Southern Africa Inc. (DSA Vacations) as its partner.
In line with Emirates Holidays’ vision to grow its business in new markets, the five-year franchise agreement will enable the group to tap into the US market, leveraging DSA’s local expertise and market intelligence. Under the brand name Emirates Vacations, DSA will distribute competitively-priced vacation packages to Dubai and other popular destinations such as the Indian Ocean Islands, India, Italy and Thailand.
“With Emirates’ successful operations in the US serving seven gateways, we have access to a significant market of global travellers many of whom are already considering destinations served by the airline’s network. Working closely with Emirates, there is tremendous potential for Emirates Vacations to reach a wider customer base and adopt a more holistic approach to the business – where the airline can be a part of the customer’s entire travel experience,” said Thierry Antinori Emirates’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
Providing the same high levels of service and quality of product as the airline and the tour operator, Emirates Vacations will focus primarily on selling one-week to two-week vacations to Dubai. This will then extend to vacation packages beyond Dubai, with stop-overs, multi-centre packages and high-end adventure holidays across Emirates’ global destinations.
Emirates offers 56 weekly flights in the US from seven gateways including Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC, and from October 1 Emirates will launch its new transatlantic route from New York to Milan, providing the only First Class service between the two cities.