UAE’s Emerging Travel appoints new MD...

Dubai-based Astrid Kastberg brings expertise in travel management and technology

UAE-based global travel tech company Emerging Travel Group has appointed Astrid Kastberg as Managing Director of RateHawk, its B2B booking platform for travel professionals across 120 countries.

Kastberg joins RateHawk amid rapid expansion, with the platform scaling fast over the past few years, increasing its net booking value by 1.8 times in 2024 and growing global bookings by 67%, compared to 2023.

In this newly introduced role, Kastberg is tasked with “maintaining that growth pace and consolidating the efforts of 500 commercial specialists within the B2B business unit”.

Based in Dubai, Kastberg will lead RateHawk’s B2B division, overseeing commercial, product, marketing and support functions for a network that now includes more than 110,000 retail partners and 1,100 API partners across some 120 countries.

RateHawk platform

Kastberg brings with her decades of experience in travel management and technology across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, with senior roles at travel tech companies including Juniper and Hotelbeds.

Most recently, she served as General Manager at Yalago, a global leisure wholesaler, where she spearheaded the company’s international expansion and business growth strategy.

A Danish native, she is fluent in Danish, English, French and Spanish and has a master’s in Tourism Administration and Hotel Management.

Ilya Kravtsov, Chief Commercial Officer at Emerging Travel Group, described Kastberg as being “uniquely equipped” to take the business to the next level.

“She’s a leader who balances visionary thinking with hands-on execution, and I have every confidence she’ll unlock the full potential of RateHawk.”

Commenting on her new role, Astrid Kastberg said: “I’m thrilled to join the ambitious team at Emerging Travel Group at such a pivotal moment. I look forward to leveraging my global experience to drive sustainable growth for the company and, together with the team, we will lead the future of the industry.”

RateHawk offers its clients 2.7 million hotels and other types of accommodation from over 130,000 directly contracted properties and 320 wholesalers. The platform also provides flight tickets from over 450 airlines and transfers in more than 150 countries.

The platform provides a fast and easy-to-use API with dedicated 24/7 support.

For more information, visit www.emergingtravel.com and www.ratehawk.com

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