Orient Travel has opened its 26th branch in the Al Qarain area of Sharjah. 

The new travel agency has been launched to service the local population of local emiratis with their leisure travel needs; and will be staffed with Arabic speakers.

"The new branch is in an area near Sharjah Airport which has a very strong local population, so we thought it would be was a good opportunity to get ourselves closer to the Nationals and with that intent we have opened up there. We have got qualified and capable Arab staff working there and the target is the leisure market," said Orient Travel CEO Asim Arshad.

This year marks a milestone year for Orient Travel as it celebrates its 50th year in operation.

 Arshad told Arabian Travel News that there were no further new branch openings planned for the forseeable future. 

The company is now focusing on its online strategy and will launch its B2C website soon.