Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts appoints Inter-Rut Turizm as its sole GSA in Turkey

Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts today announced that it has appointed leading Istanbul-based travel agency and concessionaire, Inter-Rut Turizm, as it sole General Sales Agent (GSA) in Turkey.

The new agreement with Inter-Rut Turizm will enable Le Meridien to substantially build upon its current sales and marketing programmes in the region, while simultaneously pursuing its strategy to nurture and develop feeder markets in the Middle Eastern and European sectors.

Mr. Russel Sharpe, Senior Vice President (Sales), Middle East and West Asia (MEWA) said: "Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts is committed to following an aggressive policy of creating new market opportunities for its portfolio of luxury and up-scale hotel properties around the world.

"Through our alliance with Inter-Rut Turizm, which is one of the largest travel marketing concessionaires in Turkey, Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts will now have a wider representation in the rapidly growing out-bound hospitality services market in Turkey."

Mr. Sharpe further added that Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts was among the first hotel chains to recognize the business potential from the feeder market sector in the Middle East and Europe regions.

"Traditionally the luxury and upscale hotel sector has predominantly focused its marketing efforts towards conventional commercial and business hubs. In a major departure from this trend, we took the bold  decision to open another marketing front targeted at key feeder markets in the Middle East & Europe. This has proven a very successful initiative, with a substantial part of our global revenues now coming from these markets."

Established in 2001 with a mandate to cater to the increasing leisure and business traffic to and from Turkey, the GSA division of Inter-Rut Turizm today represents several regional and international airlines including All Nippon Airways, Air New Zealand, Croatia Airlines, South African Airways and Spirit Airlines. 

Mr. Ozsezen, Inter-Rut Turizm said that while Inter-Rut Turizm had several GSA agreements in place with major regional and global airlines, this would be the first time that the company would be forging a strategic alliance with a global hotel chain.

"Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts is one of the most reputed hotel chains in the world. Through this association we will be in a position to offer our corporate, incentive and leisure travel agents and customers in the country  access to some of the finest hotel properties in the world," he concluded.