Category Archives: Technology

Amadeus is partnering with ATS Travel to launch its sustainable drive under the brand ‘ATS Go Green’ in collaboration with Olive Gaea, a Dubai-based start-up providing Net Zero solutions across the MENATI region. Amadeus is committed to working towards environmental sustainability, encouraging industry-wide progress to help achieve its net zero targets and securing long-term growth and prosperity for the travel industry. The company has set a target of zero emissions by 2050, with the ambition to achieve this by 2030. The ‘ATS Go Green’ initiative reiterates the commitment by all parties to reach their environmental sustainability goals and be the front runners in the travel industry providing tailor-made reports on Co2 emissions for corporates. Saleem Sharif, Deputy Managing Director at ATS Travel said, “The partnership will allow Amadeus, ATS Travel and Olive Gaea to work closely together and offer clients offsetting opportunities and inspire sustainable living. The collaboration saw all parties pledging to develop a more sustainable future with participants planting mangroves at the local Al Zohra mangrove ecosystem.  Participants were briefed on the sustainability project and taken on a Kayak tour to the mangrove plantation area with reusable water bottles and eco-friendly utilities. We invited our corporate clients and UAE National airlines representatives to join the event and support the cause.” “The increase of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere today is a growing concern within the travel and tourism sector. We aim to be the front runners in the travel sector providing custom carbon footprint reports for Air, Land, and hotels to our travel corporates. Our collaboration will enable us to go beyond just greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reports in the future, and provide cost effective offsetting options,” …

As part of its continued support of hotels in the Middle East, Atomize partners with ExploreTECH to help drive growth and digital transformation in the region. Hotels in the Middle East are leading the global recovery from the pandemic and are boosting their revenues and growing their market share with the help of price automation. Atomize’s solution matches the region’s high demand for lean and easy-to-use revenue management tools that do not require hours of training to use. This is reflected in the company’s recent customer signings. In the last couple of months alone, Atomize has expanded its Middle East footprint with the addition of hotel groups such as JA Resorts & Hotels with its 10 luxury properties representing 1,500 rooms in Dubai, Maldives and Seychelles, Gulf Court Hotel, with the ambition to do a full roll-out across the group’s portfolio and Dubai-based SUHA Hospitality with its four luxury hotel apartment properties in Dubai. As part of Atomize’s increased presence in the region, they have recently partnered with ExploreTECH, the rapidly expanding marketplace platform that presents the knowledge, resources and technology required to fully optimize business performance in the hospitality and travel sector across the Middle East. “The partnership with ExploreTECH is a natural and important step in our continued support of hotels in the region. Not only are Middle East hotels leading the global recovery but they are also embracing price automation to leverage as much as possible from market demand and reach superior results.”, says Alexander Edström, CEO at Atomize. “It is a great pleasure to welcome Atomize to the ExploreTECH family. By providing an innovative revenue management solution for the hospitality industry, Atomize will provide considerable value …

iCoupon, the leading digital vouchering platform in airports worldwide, is continuing to revolutionise the world of digital vouchering with its new service, iCoupon AutoPay. The iCoupon system already organises all airline vouchers by flight, date, airport and creates draft invoices automatically, and now the retailer will no longer have to spend time sending the auto-generated bill to each individual airline and chase for payment. Instead, iCoupon’s billing system, for those who select the service, will automatically submit the invoices directly to iCoupon, which will pay the bills directly to the retailers on payment dates and terms selected by the retailer. Airlines will only have one bill to pay to iCoupon for their consolidated AutoPay retailer bills, yet still have full visibility of every passenger transaction for audit, EU261 and validation purposes. In addition, the entire billing process takes place automatically in the iCoupon billing engine, meaning that retailers and airlines do not need to make any changes manually and everything carries on as normal from their perspective. By automatically generating billing documents at the end of each month, iCoupon AutoPay will eliminate the time retailers and airlines are putting into billing administration. The billing documents will be fully compliant with local legislation of each country, and with VAT compliance such as EU112 directives. After generating the document, iCoupon will automatically pay the retailer on its selected credit terms. Retailers using iCoupon AutoPay can select which package best suits their needs and will be paid depending on that choice. New and existing retailers and airlines will be able to opt-in to the solution and iCoupon will do the rest, with just the flick-of-a-switch. Non-iCoupon AutoPay clients will be able to continue …

AVIAREPS launched its Digital Ecosystem, an all-in-one marketing hub for the travel industry. The AVIAREPS Ecosystem empowers everyone to market their brand and product to a global community online via a platform that combines several digital marketing solutions into one unified hub. With only a few clicks, customers can promote their destination, hotel, airline, car rental, cruise line or attraction and reach potential trade partners around the world. The AVIAREPS Ecosystem brings digital marketing solutions such as landing pages, campaign websites, webinars, online press conferences, e-learnings and virtual events under one umbrella. The platform lets clients reach travel trade professionals and media all over the world with specific market campaigns, a multi-country approach or a global campaign. All campaigns are fully customizable to the client’s CI and the user-friendly interface of the AVIAREPS Ecosystem allows the user to easily adjust multiple design themes and components. Users benefit from a single sign-on and from easy access to the browser-based digital marketing services, provided by state-of-the-art technology partners to ensure the best-in-class solutions. Thomas Drechsler, COO Tourism at AVIAREPS, said: “Our digital ecosystem offers easy access to a variety of digital marketing services for the travel industry. By bringing webinars, websites, e-learnings and virtual events under one global umbrella, we simplify digital marketing and expand the potential reach of digital marketing campaigns. Our competent local trade marketers at AVIAREPS help clients design the perfect campaign and assist in selecting suitable content for the campaigns. Thanks to the user-friendly design and browser-based technology, the AVIAREPS Ecosystem empowers everyone to market their brand and product to a global community online – no technical expertise is necessary! Be it a landing page, a campaign website, …

ATS Travel has extended its partnership with Amadeus as the UAE-headquartered travel management company embarks on an ambitious expansion plan across the GCC. The deal cements a long-term digital transformation partnership between the two companies, adding new value to ATS Travel’s offering and helping position it as a leading travel management company in the Middle East. With the new solutions, ATS Travel will gain new efficiencies by fully automating its ticketing system through Amadeus Auto Ticketing Solution. Meanwhile, Amadeus Remote Ticketing Solution will deliver a fully automated solution for managing pricing, price comparison, and ticketing at remote points of sale. ATS Travel will also benefit from Amadeus Hotels, a one-stop-shop search platform that pulls together content from top hotel aggregators and the world’s leading hotel chains and representation companies into an intelligent single screen solution. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director, Amadeus Gulf, commented, “The pandemic has led to accelerated demand for digital solutions across the customer journey, particularly for touchless experiences. Amadeus technology will allow ATS Travel to automate many of its functions, delivering superior customer service and cutting costs.” Saleem Sharif, Deputy Managing Director at ATS Travel, said: “The travel industry is one of the biggest contributors to regional economies. Therefore, improving efficiencies streamlines our business and helps us deliver better value to the markets we operate in. Amadeus and ATS Travel have a relationship that goes back many years, and based on the strength of its solutions, our long-term plan is to standardize our technology stack on Amadeus technology.” ATS Travel is the UAE representative of ATG – one of the largest, independently owned business travel management companies globally – with offices in Saudi Arabia and India. The …

As recovery of the travel industry picks up steam, payments technology company Mastercard and travel website Musafir have partnered to take travel bookings originating in the Middle East and North Africa, to new heights. The exclusive partnership will digitize end-to-end payment flows and launch new innovative payment products with attractive travel benefits to both consumers and corporates. According to an analysis by the Mastercard Economics Institute, if flight booking trends continue at their current pace, an estimated 115 million more passengers in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa will fly in 2022 compared to last year. The research reveals that global leisure and business flight bookings have surpassed pre-pandemic levels with an estimated 1.5 billion more passengers predicted to fly in 2022 compared to 2021. “At Mastercard we are committed to contribute to the continued recovery of the travel and tourism sector through insights, data analysis, innovative digital solutions and unique partner collaborations. We are continuously investing to innovate across the travel value chain. We are excited to partner with Musafir to provide digital-first experiences to their consumers,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard. “Our partnership with Mastercard is a testament to our belief that travel is back and our commitment to providing both consumers and corporates with technology-led travel solutions,” said Sachin Gadoya, Co-founder, and CEO of Musafir.com. Musafir.com is the UAE’s first online travel agency and is among the leading corporate travel management companies in the region. Mastercard and Musafir have signed an exclusive partnership to launch innovative payment products and solutions across the MENA region, benefiting both consumers and corporates. These will help digitize end-to-end payment flows, providing …

Almosafer and The Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to boost tourism between the Kingdom of Thailand and GCC countries. Almosafer’s consumer segment and The Tourism Authority of Thailand will work together to promote and develop quality tourism experiences in Thailand for travellers from GCC countries, with a focus on key niche markets including sport tourism, luxury tourism, and health and wellness tourism. Muzzammil Ahussain, Executive Vice President of Almosafer, said: “The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation with The Tourism Authority of Thailand today is an important step in meeting the growing demand for tourism from the GCC to Thailand. This partnership will provide our consumers with the best experiences while strengthening ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand is an increasingly popular destination and we look forward to working together with The Tourism Authority to enable many visitors from the GCC to experience all that Thailand has to offer.” The MOC follows the announcement on 9 March 2022 permitting Saudi nationals to travel to Thailand which marked the end of a travel ban for nationals wanting to visit the popular Southeast Asian destination. Since the announcement, Almosafer has experienced huge growth in demand for travel from Saudi Arabia to Thailand with a 470% increase in demand compared to January 2022 and a 268% increase compared to February 2022. Thailand is currently a very popular international destination for visitors from the GCC, especially from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait where Thailand ranks in the top 5 and top 9 international destinations respectively. During the month of May to date, searches for Thailand on Almosafer’s platform grew by 1100% in Saudi …

UAE’s Stella Stays announces its expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, introducing the first tech-enabled residential hospitality concept in the region. The highly anticipated Stella Stays Riyadh Olaya Tower will open its door in June 2022, as a significant milestone in the company’s impressive growth trajectory. Stella Stays Olaya Tower offers modern, fully equipped, tech-enabled apartments and hotel suites, a co-working space, recreational and commercial amenities. Stella Stays offers holidaymakers, business travellers, and residents a seamless hospitality experience, through leveraging ground-breaking technology and modern service. Guests and residents in Saudi Arabia will be able to use the Stella Stays app to navigate the entire journey – from booking and managing their stays, checking in, controlling smart home systems, to ordering a wide range of guest services. Payment terms are flexible and can be made through various methods, including debit, credit cards and crypto payments. Riyadh and Jeddah are strategic locations for Stella Stays’ expansion with more than 1 trillion dollars of real estate and infrastructure developments underway. The Kingdom’s economy has fueled solid growth in residential construction with developers progressing a booming number of freehold apartment projects. Saudi Arabia also offers some of the most attractive set-up costs in the real estate sector in the region. Commenting on the expansion, Mohammed Al Ghussein, Chairman of Stella Stays said: “We are extremely proud of our launch in Saudi Arabia, and we believe that our vision for the future of living and hospitality aligns perfectly with Vision 2030, in transforming the Kingdom into a world economic centre with blossoming tourism and entertainment industries. The speed of national development is phenomenal, with around 730,000 homes to be added to Riyadh by 2030. …

Amadeus with its recent strategic tie-up with Microsoft will be looking at more flexibility and committing itself to adaptability in track with changing market dynamics. Ernesto Sanchez, Managing Director, Amadeus Gulf shares with TravTalk Middle East, their plans and focus for this year at the 29th edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). Renew Travel enables us to communicate to a coherent story that is adaptable to shifting market environment, and reflects the challenges that everyone who works in travel has experienced over the last few years. What is the focus of Amadeus this year? This year Amadeus’s focus is on Renew Travel following last year’s Rebuild Travel initiative.  Renew Travel is a platform that provides Amadeus with the flexibility to adapt to changing market dynamics. It enables us to communicate to a coherent story that is adaptable to shifting market environment, and reflects the challenges that everyone who works in travel has experienced over the last few years. As global travel returns in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, it is clear that uncertainty remains. However by focusing on ways to support the industry to become more resilient, agile, and traveller-centric, Amadeus is committed to driving the industry renewal. We collaborated with the key industry player Microsoft to enhance the traveler experience and help facilitate the travel in a new dimension through breakthrough technologies. Source:  https://amadeus.com/en/topic/safe-travel-ecosystem   Could you share about the technologies currently developed by Amadeus and Microsoft? Amadeus’ tie-up with Microsoft last year has unlocked a plethora of opportunities that translate into value for the travel industry. The partnership includes joint innovation and product development to envision, design, and deliver cutting-edge travel solutions. We call this new dimension …

Spain Tourism Office in UAE signed an agreement with Wego, at the Arabian Travel Market. Through this collaboration, Spain Tourism & Wego to promote the ‘You deserve Spain’ campaign providing reassurance for travelers to visit the country again in the new norm. Spain is one of the top searched destinations for MENA travelers. The country is a year-round destination, packed with unique experiences, passionate people, and rich cultural traditions, not to mention its excellent dining scene, wine-making traditions and chic cities and multiple shopping avenues  across the country that is perfect for all types of travelers. Daniel Rosado, Spain Tourism, said: “We are very optimistic and with Wego as our partner, we are aiming to have a great summer and are eagerly waiting to welcome all travelers from GCC.” Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and India of Wego, said: “We are thrilled to offer another stunning destination for our users to visit. Spain is on the MENA’s top travelers’ list with over 316,000 searches in Q1 2022. This partnership is in line with our efforts to provide more choice to our users and boost tourism recovery.” Travelers are invited to experience the heritage and arts and culture of the city, the stunning beaches, the coasts, and authentic food, among many sports adventures that await all the types of travelers.