The figures have been produced by PhoCusWright, in the first comprehensive study of GDSs.
Travel revenue powered by GDSs in the US rose from $93.6bn in 2006 to $98.2bn in 2007 and $98.7bn in 2008, despite the recession.
GDSs also account for a significant portion of European travel revenue, with 21% of all revenue and 47% of airline bookings in 2008.
The GDSs power the reservations and technology infrastructure for more than 163,000 travel agency locations and nearly half a million travel agents worldwide.
They provide access to over 550 airlines, 90,000 hotels, 30,000 car rental locations, and hundreds of major tour operators and cruise lines.
The three major GDS companies, Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport (which owns Galileo and Worldspan), had combined corporate revenue of $9.624bn in 2008 and employ more than 23,000 people.
Douglas Quinby, senior director of research at PhoCusWright, who wrote the study, said: ‘GDSs are the quiet giant of the travel industry.
‘Although many consumers have never heard of them, GDSs power the billions of electronic transactions that both online and traditional travel agencies use to book airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, and other travel arrangements.
‘By aggregating inventory and rates across thousands of suppliers, GDSs help individual and business travellers by providing more transparency, better access, and increased competition.’
Recent GDS articles from e-tid.com:
Langham chooses Sabre (13/01/2010)
Amadeus CFO to step up (13/01/2010)
Amadeus ‘the partner of choice’ in Ireland (08/01/2010)
Flight Centre feedback ‘invaluable’ to Travelport (07/01/2010)
GDS woos package providers (02/12/2009)
Research reveals GetThere/Sabre savings (22/09/2009)