Introduction of GDS

A global distribution system (GDS) can be defined as a centralized and permanently upto-
date database that is accessible to its subscribers through computing terminals. A GDS
provides all kinds of tariffs and tourism services to subscribers everyday, allowing the users to
make, change and cancel reservations, as well as to print tickets and avail themselves of any kind of rights related to services and products. Traditionally, travel agencies have been the main
subscribers, with airline companies being the owners, creators, hosts or salesmen for GDSs. It
be noted that this situation has been undergoing important alterations .The GDSs constitute at the present time the evolution and natural adaptation of the traditional computer reserve systems (CRS) to the market. The origin of these distribution systems comes from the 1960s in the United States as a consequence of the inefficacy of manual systems for the control of seat availability in the wake of the growth experienced by the aviation industry .With the goal of creating an automated system for the capacity administration of their  airplanes, American Airlines and IBM developed a joint program that became the SABRE, considered the first CRS . The original purpose of these systems was to facilitate through an automated system the storage and administration processes of all the information related to flights, lodging availabilty, and schedules or prices. Beginning in 1987 and as a consequence of the increase in demand for the application of such information to other types of tourism products (e.g. hotel rooms), and of the internationalization of their operations, CRS moved towards a new and enlarged concept which we know today as the global distribution systems. Traditionally, inside the distribution channels a GDS operates as a retail wholesaler because its sales are addressed to the travel agencies. However, at the present time all the major players have developed direct access to consumers through the Internet, and as a result of this reorientation a GDS should now also be considered as a retailer.

GDS constitutes the main working tool for travel agencies, providing them all the necessary
information to carry out their job, from the moment a client asks for a service until the potential
sale and follow-through. The GDSs provides a valuable instrument for travel agencies, increasing their productivity. Moreover, this wholesale element in the distribution channel is also a very positive tool for hotel companies, airline companies, car rental business, etc. Some have argued, however, that the effectiveness of global distribution systems for hotel products has not been proven . Disadvantages of this distribution channel include utilization costs, and the ‘halo effect’ may obscure the reality of its different effectiveness for different tourism products. The rise of computerized reservation systems sponsored by the hotels themselves, with a clear specialization in this kind of tourism product, has decidedly begun to revolutionize the way such central reservation systems operate.
The GDS industry is consolidated under the control of four powerful organizations, three of
them – Galileo, Sabre, and Amadeus – comparable in dimension. The fourth element, Worldspan, keeps a certain distance from the others. Beyond these exist another five systems: Abacus Distribution Systems, Axes International Network,GETS, Infini Travel Information, and TOPAS. Parallel to these companies, however, whose origins are in the airline industry, another ninety some regional reservation systems which emulate the original GDSs have important coverage. These regional systems (RICIRMSs – Regional Integrated Computer Reservation Management Systems), according to Buhalis’s denomination , constitute a strategic tool for the small and medium-size companies of the tourism sector.
These new developments in the organization of the tourism industry confront the GDSs with a
panorama to which they must respond. The GDSs will have to develop new strategies that will allow them to continue being the nucleus of tourism distribution. To reach such a goal, providers of GDSs should understand, among others things, that they must: continue to evolve their technological experience; reduce utilization costs; simplify the utilization processes; enlarge the products and services range; establish strategic alliances with the new competitors; and develop a more effective relational marketing policy with travel agencies; etc.