Introducing New ITP Partners

On 23rd of January 2017, Sun Holiday Tours were awarded ISO 9001-2015 certification, a significant achievement for the ITP partner in Lebanon.  Throughout the company, many employees worked together as a team to support and drive the process which led to accreditation. The procedure was complex and required changes to be made in many areas of the business to meet the ISO standard and fulfil all of the certification requirements. “Amin Haddad, Executive Manager, commented “We are very proud of the Team and the way they all pulled together to achieve this important goal for our company”.

ISO Certification is not a new development in Travel. Many ITP partners are certified and Sun Holiday Tours can now join this group and meet the standards prescribed by so many multinational and global customers. Sun Holiday Tours started this project just over a year ago in an effort to embrace quality and continuous improvement.  Most importantly, it enables them to meet the international standards now required by a growing number of existing and potential customers.

The process required two ISO auditors to move into Sun Holiday Tours’ offices to implement the fundamental ISO procedures and work alongside the Team.  The main challenge for everyone involved was to adapt to an entirely different approach to many everyday tasks and processes. Imad Wehbe and Roula Khoury were instrumental in driving the Team behind this project from start to completion.

Sun Holiday Tours is currently the only Lebanese travel company certified to be ISO 9001-2015 compliant. Without doubt, this achievement has raised their profile in the Lebanese marketplace and the feedback that followed shortly after certification was very positive and encouraging for all involved.

Amin went on to say, “ISO 9001-2015 is already proving to be beneficial internally to our business, and we really feel this will be followed by positive opportunities in local and international markets.”

Amin Haddad
Executive Manager
Sun Holiday Tours – ITP Lebanon

ITP MICE Partner – Paragon Events’ sister company, Cultural Explorations Cuba successfully led the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI) on their Pre-Symposium journey to Cuba. Together, a network of medical professionals whose mission is to increase awareness and knowledge of pulmonary vascular disease met in Cuba to present their research and start the dialogue with global specialists within the field.

Paragon Events and Cultural Explorations Cuba collectively organized for the Pre-Symposium venue event and accommodation, as well as collaborating to secure prominent Cuban speakers who specialize in Pulmonary Hypertension. One of the keynote speakers, Eduardo Rivas, President of the Cuban Cardiology Society, spoke about treatment and rehabilitation of the disease.

With pulmonary vascular disease considered to be one of the leading causes of death in Cuba and around the world, this exclusive expedition holds significant value and the opportunity to exchange important breakthroughs and findings.

Interested in hosting your events in the U.S., Caribbean or Cuba?

Contact Paragon Events and Cultural Explorations Cuba today:
www.paragon-events.com         www.cultural-explorations.com

Amadeus announces that Rajiv Rajian is appointed Global Head of Business Travel, effective immediately.

Rajian brings 20 years of deep travel industry expertise to Amadeus, with a strong track record in business travel, product marketing, strategy and mergers and acquisitions. In his most recent role, Rajian was responsible for all commercial activities for Sabre Travel Network, incorporating both global and corporate customers, as Vice President, Global Sales & Account Management. Before that, Rajian spent time as Vice President, Product Marketing, also at Sabre, with responsibility worldwide for all points of sale and platform solutions.

*Source: Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)

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ITP is delighted that one of it’s preferred partner suppliers, Shangri-La Hotels won Best Upscale Hotel Brand and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Programme at the Business Travel Awards in London on 23 January 2017.

BEST UPSCALE HOTEL BRAND

The judges felt Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts submitted a top-drawer entry, offering the highest quality of five-star accommodation with outstanding staff training and a world-class CSR programme.

BEST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMME
The judges felt Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts CSR programme was truly world-class, involving every aspect of the business, and making it potentially a template for the rest of the industry.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La International Hotel Management Limited, one of the world’s premier hotel management companies, currently operates over 95 hotels in 22 countries and 73 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands.  Prominently positioned in Asia, the group has established its brand hallmark of “hospitality from the heart” over four decades in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean.  The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in mainland China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

Hotels in UAE, China, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Japan and Canada are available to book under the dedicated ITP rate code inclusive of;

• Free Wi-Fi access in all hotel rooms, public areas and limousines for complete connectivity
• Business centre facilities to support your client’s associates while they are away from the office
• Complimentary amenities, including our PressReader service (unlimited access to over 2,000 digital newspapers and magazines), coffee / tea-making facilities and bottled water in all guestrooms and access to Health Club facilities to provide travellers with the conveniences of home
• Invitation for your client’s associates to enrol in our Golden Circle loyalty programme

ITP negotiated rates at selected Shangri-La Hotels are available for bookings via the local ITP partners’ sales consultants and online.