The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has eased its regulations, allowing Amadeus to market and distribute fares to travel consultants in China.

Effective October 1, 2012, foreign airlines will be able to use GDSs for fare distribution for the first time. However, the CAAC regulation is currently not applicable to domestic airlines.

All airlines with domestic and international bookings in and out of China currently have to operate via TravelSky.

David Brett, president, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said: "The regulations will enable a new technology infrastructure (allowing) for a more dynamic travel booking market with more travel products on offer that will greatly benefit the Chinese travel industry and Chinese travellers."

Travel companies also have the option of streamlining their accounting procedures and strengthening credit line control.

Bart Tompkins, newly appointed managing director of Amadeus China, said: "We welcome the opportunity to be part of China's ongoing success and believe that all industry stakeholders would benefit greatly from modern distribution technologies."