Category Archives: Technology

Amadeus announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Omeir Travel Agency, aimed at fostering growth through productivity and advancing seamless travel solutions. The collaboration underscores both companies’ commitment to providing smart, personalized travel experiences, transforming how we travel over the next few years. With this renewed partnership, Omeir Travel Agency leverages Amadeus’ cutting-edge travel technology solutions to enhance its service offerings significantly for travelers’ convenience and engagement. The partnership will see the implementation of the New Distribution Capability (NDC) aggregator solution that provides Omeir with access to richer airline content and personalized booking options, as well as an easy comparison of offers and streamlined booking process across different providers. As part of the expanded agreement, Omeir will now access hotel content through Amadeus Value Hotels — a net rate program available via Amadeus Hotels API, designed to support competitive pricing and flexible travel offerings. Amadeus also supplies Omeir Travel with crucial data analytics capabilities through Agency Insight Productivity Tracker, providing the agency with access to valuable and actionable insights, empowering them in the decision-making processes. Ernesto Sánchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, shared his enthusiasm about the partnership. “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Omeir Travel Agency, a distinguished leader in the UAE’s travel sector. This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of transforming travel through innovative technology, ensuring that we continue to meet the demands of modern travelers.” Abdulla Bin Omeir, CEO at Omeir Travel Agency, emphasized the significance of the partnership, stating, “The extension of our partnership with Amadeus marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards delivering exceptional travel experiences. By harnessing Amadeus’ innovative technology, we are set to redefine what …

Wego announced its partnership with Waves, the innovative experience app and aggregator that seamlessly connects users with yachts and chalets. This collaboration brings an unparalleled luxury experience to travelers looking to explore coastlines, indulge in water activities, or celebrate special occasions in style. With this partnership, Wego customers can now easily book family friendly yacht trips ranging from 2 to 6 hours, accommodating an average of 25 guests for bespoke journeys across Dubai, Kuwait, Jeddah, and Qatar. Whether it’s a tranquil coastal escape, an adventurous boating experience, or an exclusive celebration, Wego and Waves together offer the perfect setting for unforgettable moments at sea. Mr. AbdulRahman AlSaadoon, CEO of Waves added: “By integrating Waves with Wego, we are bringing our world class yacht experiences to a broader audience. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to redefining travel by seamlessly connecting land and sea.” Waves has quickly established itself as a regional leader, beginning its journey in Kuwait before expanding to Qatar during the World Cup and further into Saudi Arabia and Dubai. The platform is known for its hassle-free booking experience, ensuring reliability, convenience, and premium service for all users. Mamoun Hmidan, Chief Business Officer at Wego, said: “We are excited to partner with Waves to offer our customers exclusive luxury experiences. This partnership enhances our mission of providing travelers with unique, hassle-free travel options that go beyond conventional tourism.” Through Wego’s extensive reach and seamless technology, travelers now have easier access to Waves’ fleet of luxurious yachts, making premium water experiences more accessible than ever. The collaboration aligns with both companies’ missions to enhance travel convenience and elevate experiential tourism in the region. Travelers can now access …

Riyadh Air and IBM partner to build AI-driven enterprise, to elevate guest and employee experiences. Agreement will see Riyadh Air leverage IBM watsonx and IBM Consulting solutions to drive Riyadh Air’s vision as the world’s first digital native airline. The collaboration aims to help power the Saudi Arabian airline’s mission to launch flights in 2025 while offering an elevated guest experience. IBM announced a new agreement with Riyadh Air, which will integrate watsonx, IBM’s portfolio of AI products, and IBM Consulting AI solutions to establish an enterprise-wide AI capability to elevate Riyadh Air guest and employee experiences. As Riyadh Air prepares for its inaugural flights in late 2025, the new Saudi Arabian airline sets another key building block of its journey in redefining air travel as the world’s first digital native carrier. The announcement took place at the third edition of The FII PRIORITY Miami 2025 Summit, where senior executives from both IBM and Riyadh Air, including Adam Boukadida, Riyadh Air Chief Financial Officer, and Mohamad Ali, SVP and Head of IBM Consulting, reaffirmed their commitment to driving innovation in the aviation sector. Building a world-class airline requires more than just aircraft and infrastructure; it demands an intelligent digital foundation that anticipates passenger needs, streamlines operations, and empowers employees. Riyadh Air is embracing this challenge by making AI the driving force behind its transformation. Adam Boukadida, Riyadh Air Chief Financial Officer, said: Riyadh Air is more than just an airline; it is a gateway to new opportunities for travelers from the Kingdom and beyond. As we move closer to our first flight later in 2025, our vision is to deliver a seamless, world-class travel experience by expanding our reach, pioneering innovations, and …

ATS Travel won the title of ‘Best Travel Management Company in the UAE’ at the seventh edition of the Arabian Travel Awards 2024. “Winning the Arabian Travel Awards is significant as it has become a prestigious benchmark within the industry. The recognition is not only a testament to the excellence of the winners in their respective categories but also serves as a validation of their consistent efforts and contributions to the travel sector. As the awards have evolved into an industry standard, they are eagerly anticipated each year.”-Saleem Sharif, Deputy Managing Director, ATS Travel.

Emirates announced that it is expanding its long-standing partnership with Trip.com to focus on exploring growth avenues to capture emerging opportunities in new markets and customer segments. In the next phase of its expansion, the partnership will Emirates and Trip.com will collaborate on expanding Trip.com’s global presence through strategic partnerships and activations, leveraging Emirates’ extensive international network, and coordinating promotional efforts in Asian and European markets, which remain a strategic focus for both Trip.com and Emirates. The agreement was formalised at ITB Berlin by Nabil Sultan, Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales & Country Management for Emirates and CT Ooi, VP of Flights Business, Trip.com Group. Nabil Sultan commented on the newly expanded partnership: “We very much look forward to extending the breadth and depth of our cooperation with Trip.com. The next phase not only strengthens our position to provide more of our products to Trip.com’s customer base, but also unlocks traveller demand for air and hotel packages, enables us to integrate offers across both of our loyalty programmes and tap into a variety of consumer segments with specialised promotions. We look forward to empowering Trip.com customers with options to customise their travel with ease on Emirates.” CT Ooi added: “At Trip.com, we are excited to take our partnership to new heights, integrating a wide range of flight offerings with an expanded portfolio of hotels and travel services. By combining Emirates’ world-class network with Trip.com’s innovative travel ecosystem, we are creating more opportunities for travellers to access exclusive flight and hotel packages, tailored promotions, and enhanced loyalty rewards.” Product integration and exclusive promotions: Emirates and Trip.com will work closely on boosting customer conversion by integrating a variety of Emirates flight offerings …

Sabre Corporation  and Coforge Limited have entered into a new multi-year agreement to strengthen their long-standing partnership. This collaboration will enhance Sabre’s product development capabilities, accelerating the delivery of AI-enabled solutions at scale. The agreement positions Coforge as a key partner in Sabre’s efforts to expedite product launches and drive technological advancements, reinforcing Sabre’s commitment to innovation and efficiency. 2025 is a pivotal year for Sabre, said Kurt Ekert, CEO and President of Sabre. With a sharp focus on prioritisation and strategic technology investments, we are well-positioned to accelerate innovation and solidify our role as the world’s most valued travel technology platform. Sabre is uniquely placed to pioneer, develop, and deploy next-generation solutions, and we look forward to working with Coforge to fast-track this process. Sudhir Singh, CEO and Executive Director of Coforge, added: Sabre and Coforge share a common ethos as technology companies with a strong emphasis on cutting-edge engineering, customer-centricity, and deep expertise in the travel sector. Our new agreement marks a major milestone in our partnership, reflecting the trust, capability, and shared commitment to delivering transformative solutions that drive innovation and operational excellence. By combining Sabre’s forward-thinking technology strategy with Coforge’s scale and engineering expertise, the partnership aims to set a new benchmark for innovation in the travel industry, accelerating digital transformation and modernisation across the sector.

Emirates and Expedia Group have expanded their long-standing partnership through the airline’s full integration of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) API with Expedia Group’s brands, establishing a direct connection that delivers Emirates’ complete portfolio of fare products and services to Expedia Group’s global customer base. This latest enhancement will empower millions of travellers to unlock a wider range of options and benefit from streamlined booking capabilities on Expedia Group’s brands when planning their journeys to any point on the airline’s global network. Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to expand our partnership with Expedia Group, allowing travellers on the platform to personalise their booking experience with Emirates. Looking ahead, our enhanced collaboration will provide travellers with seamless access to Emirates’ NDC content while expanding booking possibilities across all elements of their journey.” Greg Schulze, Chief Commercial Officer, Expedia Group said: “Our expanded partnership with Emirates marks a significant step in elevating the travel experience. This collaboration gives our global travelers more customised options and easier bookings, allowing them to create unique trips that suit their needs. Ultimately, it’s about making every journey a lasting memory for our travelers.” The full integration will enable Expedia Group to offer Emirates’ NDC fares, products and ancillary services including extra baggage and seat selection, along with other improved features and flexibility in their booking journeys. In addition to customer personalisation, Emirates and Expedia Group will explore deeper collaboration on loyalty programmes to enhance travel rewards for both companies’ customers. They will leverage market data insights to drive business growth and inform joint marketing initiatives. The partnership will also focus on creating end-to-end booking experiences by leveraging …

Sabre Hospitality shared plans to release SynXis Pay, its new solution that eases payment pain points for travelers and hoteliers alike. For travellers, SynXis Pay integrates with over 250 alternative payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Klarna, WeChat Pay and more, adding much needed flexibility when it comes to checking out on their favorite hotel websites. Additionally, it enables a new express checkout experience in SynXis Booking Engine if the guest selects Apple Pay or Google Pay. Those integrations are just one part of the equation. For hotels, SynXis Pay greatly reduces the complexity of managing multiple payment types in one place. SynXis Pay’s orchestration layer – powered by CellPoint Digital, the leader in payment orchestration –optimizes global payment acceptance by seamlessly connecting to multiple gateways and dynamically enabling the most relevant payment methods based on the guest’s location. In collaboration with other payment partners within the ecosystem, hotels can customize payouts in their local currency, converting from the guest’s preferred currency. This minimizes exposure to foreign exchange rates and simplifies reconciliation. Plus, the enhanced guest experience contributes to increased conversion rates. “At Sabre Hospitality, we love to solve complex travel challenges in ways that benefit both our customers and travelers,” said Juan Abello, Vice President of Product Management at Sabre Hospitality. “SynXis Pay is a prime example of that mission, offering travelers the flexibility and personalization they desire, while simplifying the resulting output and payout for our hoteliers. For some time, both sides of hospitality transactions have been hungry for improved payment processes. This is the truest definition of a ‘win-win’ scenario.” SynXis Pay will be released in phases over the coming months.

Visit Qatar and Microsoft strengthened their collaboration to drive digital innovation in the tourism sector by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Qatar Web Summit. The MoU was signed by Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, CEO of Visit Qatar, and Lana Khalaf, General Manager of Microsoft Qatar, marking the beginning of a new phase of partnership between the two sides. Building on the success of Visit Qatar’s Smart Travel Assistant powered by Microsoft Azure, OpenAI 4o and 4o mini technologies, the two entities will explore the latest technologies to enhance visitor experiences and improve workflows. Visit Qatar’s Smart Travel Assistant is a pioneering innovation that seamlessly integrates text, voice, content, a conversational virtual assistant, maps and an interactive layout interface, setting new standards in digital excellence in tourism. Visit Qatar and Microsoft are developing a comprehensive technology roadmap to drive digital transformation in the tourism sector and enhance visitor experiences through integrated smart and digital solutions.

VFS Global launched a new Generative AI-powered chatbot to enhance customer support for travellers to the UK in 141 countries including the GCC. The AI-Powered Chatbot not only utilises advanced Generative AI technology to offer human-like, conversational support, but does so through both voice and text commands, providing instant, accurate, and accessible information for customers travelling to the UK. Developed by VFS Global’s AI team, headquartered in Dubai, the AI-Powered Chatbot addresses the increasing demand for efficient customer support, allowing users to easily access the information needed to navigate the application process. Jen Vidler, Deputy Director, Cross Cutting Service Operations, Visa, Status and Information Services, Customer Services Group, UK Visas and Immigration, said, “The rollout of VFS Global’s AI-powered chatbot demonstrates our continued commitment to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient and meet the needs of all customers. Providing instant access to accurate information about the visa application process will ensure we continue to offer the best service to our customers.” Zubin Karkaria, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global, added, “Technology and innovation have always been the cornerstones of our operations at VFS Global, and we are pleased to launch this AI-powered information solution which will significantly enhance the visa application experience for our customers travelling to the UK from across the globe. We are developing a range of AI and digital technology driven products to drive the next transformation in visa and consular services for our Client Governments and customers. We remain deeply committed to the responsible development of AI in accordance with the policies and requirements of our client governments.” The AI-Powered chatbot was developed using advanced Generative AI technologies, each trained exclusively on publicly available data …