Cuba's Havanatur on Amadeus

Havanatur Signs Deal with Amadeus IT Holding

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 1 (acn) Cuba's tour operator Havanatur is looking to
further expand operations with an agreement recently signed with the
Argentinean subsidiary of world's leading IT solutions provider for the
travel industry, Amadeus IT Holding S.A.

According to a communiqué issued by the Cuban tour operator, the
agreement was penned by Havanatur Vice President Leonel Luis Guillot and
Amadeus Senior Adviser Felipe Gonzalez-Abad and it is the first
cooperation with a global booking services provider by a Cuban tour
operator. Amadeus already provides booking services to Cuban airline
Cubana de Aviacion and hotel chains Cubanacan, Gran Caribe and Islazul.

Under the deal, Havanatur agents will have access to the Amadeus
Selling Platform, which is used by 90,000 travel agencies worldwide. The
online service allows users to make reservations with 436 airlines, 87,000
hotels, 103 railroads, 21 cruise lines, and 37,000 rent-a-car agencies.

The Amadeus platform was started, and is part-owned, by European
airlines Air France, Lufthansa and Iberia, says the company's website.

Amadeus, which has had an office in Havana since February 2009, had
also donated a computer lab and access to the system for students and
teachers of the Tourism Faculty at the Universidad de La Habana, said
Prensa Latina news agency.

Cuba's International Group of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies,
Havanatur S.A., has been selling Cuba travel packages for more than 30
years through 50 agencies in Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Chile, France,
Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Russia and United Kingdom, among others.