Etihad Holidays is formally launching itself to the trade with a series of events promoting its price parity guarantee and booking incentives.

Up to 100 agents attended a dinner in London on Tuesday, with events also being held in Birmingham on Wednesday and Manchester on Thursday.

Outlining the importance of the trade, Etihad Holidays general manager Ranj Kundi said: “No matter how artificial intelligence evolves, we as humans will always need that human interaction.”

The operator, which currently has four trade-facing staff in the UK, is offering a price parity guarantee as well as a £50 incentive for the first booking and £20 for every transaction thereafter.

Etihad flies out of Heathrow and Manchester, and the operator also has partnerships in locations including Scotland, Wales and the Midlands.

Kundi said Abu Dhabi has “massive potential” for growth in British visitor numbers, pointing to the destination’s beaches as among the key attractions.

Etihad Holidays’ total hotel portfolio comes to 420 properties, said Kundi, with sites in the Maldives, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Thailand in addition to the United Arab Emirates.

Kundi, formerly chief executive of bed bank Youtravel.com, is also general manager of Capital Holidays, which will formally launch early next year with a focus on the Mediterranean.