Abacus was unanimously voted Best GDS by the readers of TTG Asia, TTG China, TTGmice and TTG-BTmice China on criteria such as network comprehensiveness, ease of operation, user friendliness, efficiency and reliability, said Abacus International President and CEO Don Birch.

"Clinching this award for the eighth year recognises the commitment of Abacus' 1,000 strong team across 24 markets, and the success of the company's strategy to be an industry leader, foster a distinctive Asian spirit and build rewarding relationships with our airline partners and network of over 15,000 travel outlets," Mr Birch says.

"Abacus prides itself as a leader in helping travel agents upgrade systems, skills and business models as the industry constantly evolves. As a result the Abacus GDS system now manages more than 50 million travel bookings a year or one in every two international air bookings in Asia Pacific," he said.

Over the past years, Abacus has invested more than $60 million in customising global technology to suit the particular requirements of the Asian travel industry. Abacus connected travel agents are now able to access the travel booking content of 450 airlines, 60,000 hotels and more than 50 rental car companies.

"Abacus appreciates the ongoing recognition provided by the TTG Best GDS Award, and acknowledges that our ongoing success would not have been possible without the consistent strong support of our employees, customers, shareholding airlines and partners in the travel industry," Don Birch said.