Category Archives: Technology

SITA and Fraport are enabling all airlines at Frankfurt Airport to jointly use face biometrics as identification from check-in to boarding the aircraft. Frankfurt is the first airport in Europe to offer biometric touchpoints to all airline passengers, enabling streamlined, frictionless passage throughout the airport. Using SITA’s Smart Path biometric solution, powered by NEC, your face becomes your boarding pass. Passengers can securely register in advance on their mobile device through the Star Alliance biometric app or directly at the check-in kiosk with their biometric-enabled passports. The whole registration process only takes a few seconds. Once registered, passengers pass through the facial recognition-equipped checkpoints without showing any physical documents. The new technology is already in use by more than 12,000 passengers at check-in, boarding pass control, and boarding gates. Pierre Dominique Prümm, Executive Board member Aviation and Infrastructure at Fraport AG, said: “Together with Lufthansa and the Star Alliance airlines, we have been offering this innovative service since 2020, an experience – with the help of SITA and NEC – which will now be extended to all airlines. We are the first European airport to offer all passengers a contactless and convenient passenger journey using biometrics. Our goal for the coming months is to equip at least 50% of all check-in kiosks, pre-security, and boarding gates with the new and pioneering technology.” David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said: “We have seen that the more we can automate the passenger journey in the airport, the better the experience. Biometric touchpoints significantly speed up the mandatory steps in the airport, giving passengers more time to relax before the flight rather than waiting in line. We know from our research that where biometrics …

Cruise Saudi has renewed its ongoing collaboration with Discover Saudi. Following a highly successful third season for Cruise Saudi, which included Discover Saudi providing unique and memorable shore excursions to over 5,200 cruise passengers in the Two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah, this collaboration will continue to provide a seamless and unforgettable journey with the highest standards for regional and international visitors. With the shared vision to promote domestic tourism in Saudi and enrich the nation’s growth as an international cruising destination, Discover Saudi’s shore excursion packages will offer Cruise Saudi’s passengers an authentic Saudi experience, enabling visitors to explore The Two Holy Cities’ rich history, culture, heritage and nature. Lars Clasen, Chief Executive Officer at Cruise Saudi said: “As we approach season four, we are delighted to renew our partnership with Discover Saudi, so that we can continue to ensure our guests experience the very best of what Saudi has to offer. These extraordinary experiences, created in collaboration with partners such as Discover Saudi, are a crucial part of Cruise Saudi’s attractive offering to both cruise lines and travellers alike, it is also in line with our mandate to develop a comprehensive cruising ecosystem in Saudi and promote Saudi as a distinct global cruise destination.” Fahad Alobailan, Chief Tourism Officer at Almosafer, said: “We are excited to continue to build on our relationship with Cruise Saudi. Saudi has a plethora of incredible cultural, natural, historical and religious attractions that are drawing an increasing number of international tourists. As a leading integrated Destination Management Company, our local knowledge and passion for travel and tourism will provide an immersive and authentic experience for visitors and further fuel this upward growth …

Travelport and Air India announced that they have extended and expanded their multi-year distribution agreement to include New Distribution Capability (NDC) content and servicing. The agreement further expands the collaboration between Travelport and Air India, confirming the future delivery of a complete NDC solution which will provide Travelport’s global network of travel agencies the ability to easily search, shop and service Air India’s product offerings. “Our valued partnership with Travelport is an important part of our growth and technology strategy as we prepare to deliver a complete solution that makes it easy for agents to access and service Air India’s content and offers,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Air India. “Travelport+ will elevate our technology investment and the future roll out of NDC-sourced content, so that together, we can ensure agents and travellers have a seamless, modern retailing experience.” Travelport and Air India remain committed to providing travel agencies worldwide with more choices and a fast, easy way to search and book the best options that meet travellers’ needs. This renewed agreement between Travelport and Air India ensures that Travelport subscribers continue to have simplified access to Air India’s extensive network of destinations, which will continue to expand and evolve. “Our expanded agreement with Air India positions Travelport and our operator partner ITQ to continue driving modern travel retailing as the leading travel technology partner of choice for travel agencies in India,” said Damian Hickey, Global Head of Airline Partners at Travelport. “As part of Air India’s future technology strategy, our collaboration on NDC will be complemented by the superior retailing and merchandizing solutions available in Travelport+, which ultimately make it easier for agents to operate …

As travel picks up once again around the world. Wego provides a detailed report on Egypt’s top flight destinations for domestic and international travel in 2023. According to Wego’s 2023 data so far, Kuwait and Jeddah are highly favored by Egyptian travelers as top international destinations due to convenient accessibility and wide range of attractions. Following these two cities are Dubai, Doha, and Muscat. On the domestic front, Cairo takes the lead as the most popular choice even for local tourists. Along with Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Aswan, and Luxor also captivate Egyptian travelers with their unique characteristics. During the ongoing changes within the travel industry, Wego’s core mission is to assist Egyptian travelers in uncovering their preferred destinations, offering a streamlined booking process for flights and accommodations to ensure an exceptional travel experience. With a wide range of flight options at their disposal, those with a passion for global exploration will find countless opportunities in 2023.    

TravelGenius Pte Ltd announced the launch of Geni-us, a powerful travel search engine which delivers meaningful, relevant, and personalised travel recommendations and itineraries based on the travellers’ desired experience. The map-based travel planning and discovery platform uses a revolutionary technology understanding travel intent, with a natural language free form search, answering all travellers needs in a single search and locating the best area to stay at. Acting as the users’ local travel agent, Geni-us.ai, currently launched in Beta version, offers a stress-free way for users to turn all their travel desires into memorable experiences, at a click. Following the recent launch of SpotQuest, the leading location intelligence platform for hospitality businesses, TravelGenius is ushering in a new era of human-centric innovation for the travel industry. Leveraging cutting-edge Voice and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies, as well as advanced mapping capabilities, TravelGenius offers a dedicated location intelligence platform tailored to the unique needs of the hospitality and travel sector. With access to meticulously curated proprietary data, TravelGenius enables location classification at granular levels, right down to streets and neighbourhoods. This all-encompassing platform is a one-stop solution catering to the diverse needs of travel businesses, consultancies, hotels, restaurants, travellers, and destinations alike, offering a transformative approach to the world of travel. Pioneering this game-changing solution for the travel industry, Hannes Bos, the Founder of TravelGenius, is a hospitality professional with over two decades of industry leadership. Understanding the travel industry challenges, Hannes has always wanted to simplify how people work in the industry, and how travellers can plan for their trip and make the best out of their stay. “Over the last twenty years, the online travel industry has not been able …

At the recently concluded TravelTech ME with TravTalkME as media partner the travel experts from various travel agencies, tourism boards, travel technology and metasearch companies etc shared some very important aspects in terms of the future of the travel and tourism sectors. Daniel Rosado, Director Spain Tourism GCC shared, “during travel tech we had the chance to discuss and learn about the new trends, challenges and solutions on the travel sector related to technology, where experts from different companies enlighten the attendees. But also, amongst the topics we discussed some other issues on a more general approach in order to give the frame and set the tone of the current situation of the region where these technologies are applied. We highlighted the importance of tourism in the region, with UAE and Saudi leading the way. We analysed the latest data and figures trying to understand where the near future will take us. Regarding the outbound market we also saw that its growing at a steady pace and travel to countries such as Spain has experienced an impressive growth.”

General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai in a special interview with TravelTV Middle East shared that travel agents can  now make use of the smart portal to apply and obtain approval for bulk tourist visa within a few minutes with the new system in place. Lt.Colonel Dr. Ghalib Abdullah Hassan Al Majed Al Marri, Director of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence reiterated, “the new visa issuance application which process all the entry permits through AI solutions within 3 to 10 minutes with this new system. Travel agents apply through the smart portal, the main AI system  is comparison of pictures which is a new solution which expedite the process. The good part of this new solution is that you can obtain approval for bulk visa within a few minutes instead of the earlier time period. Before, if you had 100 or 200 tourists who needed entry visa you had to send each one for approval but with this new system, travel agents can obtain approval within minutes as it becomes one application through the new system.”

At the recently concluded Travel Tech ME summit with TravTalkME as media partner, the focus was on the digital tourism strategies which could accelerate growth in the tourism ecosystem. Guest speaker Amro Al Zubair – Director of Digital Product & Digital Experience, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia reiterated that a new unified platform to connect the tourism ecosystem, launch new services, and support investors and startups as some of the main criteria to work on. He further shared that strategy to embed digital practices across the tourism sector, upskill workforce, and attract investment coupled with digital transformation will help drive sustainable growth of the tourism ecosystem. In this digital age in travel and tourism where technology has become a catalyst in this industry. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of digitalisation for the past many years and today they continue with their plans to make the destination sustainable in all aspects.

Amadeus announced the opening of its new office in Dubai. This strategic move aims to further strengthen Amadeus’ commitment to the UAE and particularly to the burgeoning travel sector in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, expressed his enthusiasm and said, “We are excited to mark the inauguration of our new Amadeus Gulf Office and are eager to enhance the level of service we provide from this new, dynamic location. Dubai is a lighthouse to attract tourism and the new office is a state-of-the-art space for clients and visitors who support this growth for this city.” Next month marks the 21st anniversary of Amadeus Gulf’s presence in the UAE, initially opening its doors in Abu Dhabi. Recognizing the UAE as a hub for some of the busiest airports, Amadeus is committed to complementing Dubai’s rapid growth in the travel sector. The global achievement of Amadeus supports the regional growth including partners working with the Dubai office. Amadeus continues to be a leading R&D investor, and recently formed a groundbreaking partnership with Microsoft using Azure cloud technology to revolutionize software development cycles and data capabilities. Customers will be able to develop truly engaging solutions on top of the Amadeus Technologies. Amadeus in Dubai is also working on the environmental efficiency of its operations and sup-ports customers in their sustainability journey with the aim of reaching the industry’s goal of being Net Zero 2050. “At Amadeus, we acknowledge our responsibility to contribute to the fight against climate change. The company has invested in climate-tech companies like Chooose and CAPHENIA and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025’ and locally in Dubai we get involved in …

Hospitality technology solutions providers WorldVue® and Infrateq have announced they have signed an agreement that will mark the entry of WorldVue’s full tech stack into the EMEA region powered by Infrateq. Nearly 50 years in business, WorldVue (formerly known as World Cinema) has been a trusted provider of video, digital infrastructure, wireless connectivity and professional services to hotels, residential properties and enterprises across the world. A family-owned business headquartered in the United States, WorldVue has offices in the Americas, UK, Netherlands, Mexico City, Dubai, Singapore and Australia. Michael Vargosko, Managing Director International Operations at WorldVue commented: “This agreement couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. As we close in on managing a million rooms installed globally, the business has been focused on strategic international growth with EMEA as a top priority, which was cemented by the appointment of Julian Daniel as Vice President of Operations EMEA earlier this year.  Through our alliance with Infrateq our full offering, including IPTV, ISP and wired and wireless network solutions, will be available in EMEA and we will work closely with the team to ensure smooth and seamless operations with the goal to fully integrate the business.” Specialized in IT infrastructure project design, deployment and management for the hospitality industry, Infrateq designed solutions are approved by leading vendors and international hotel chains, using decades of industry experience of their team plus a network of over 50 verified local partners. Infrateq has extensive coverage in the EMEA region through its hubs in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Europe and the UK. “This is a very exciting milestone for the company,” said Gary Carscadden, CEO & Founder of Infrateq. “WorldVue will bring its North …