Category Archives: Technology

Travelport and Emirates announced they have reached a commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s surcharge on bookings via Global Distribution Systems (GDS) that will be introduced from 01 July 2021. Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+, and an extension to its longstanding IT agreement. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates said: “We are pleased to have reached key agreements with Travelport that take our decades-long partnership to the next level. Supported by the recent launch of Travelport+, these new deals will further cement Emirates as the airline of choice for travellers that want highly personalized offers and access to the world’s best destinations. Emirates and Travelport will continue to work jointly on future travel retail solutions that will offer our travel community partners even better and more bespoke services.” Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport, said, “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to re-invent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible. With a shared vision for the future, our long-standing collaboration will continue to go from strength-to-strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travelers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”

Bedsonline has launched the latest, upgraded version of The Compass, its award-winning market intelligence platform. The Compass harnesses Bedsonline’s real-time data to provide clients with the latest trends and up-to-date insights to help them promote the right destinations at the right time to their customers. Through its powerful search engine, travel advisors can identify market-specific booking patterns and use the filters to set their preferences when they select a destination. Once the selection is made, travel advisors can create their own personalized and branded marketing materials directly from the tool and easily share it with their customers. This latest upgrade, which is available in all Bedsonline markets, comes with a refreshed design and new functionality including: Automatic translation with information related to each destination now displayed in the client’s default language; More data including information on hotels and destinations not currently booked; The inclusion of destination and hotels proof points meaning that from now on, travel agents will be able to see – in real time – data related to the destination and hotels based on what they buy and how much they buy so that the information is fully tailored to each and every Bedsonline client. Since its launch in August last year, The Compass has managed over 80,000 visits for Bedsonline clients. Paul Anthony, Digital Commercialisation Director at Hotelbeds, the parent company of Bedsonline, said, “Now that the industry is slowly recovering, it is more essential than ever to provide our clients with the best tools available to help them harness all the pent up demand that is out there. This is why we are delighted to unveil this new version of The Compass, with its added functionality …

SCAT Airlines and Sabre Corporation, the leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, today announced a new strategic partnership, building on Sabre’s other achievements in the central Asian region. Under the new agreement, SCAT Airlines will migrate to Sabre’s passenger reservations system, SabreSonic.  It will also leverage Sabre’s industry-first Commercial Platform to help maximize revenue and create a differentiated brand experience for travelers. By delivering real-time, customer-centric offers to the airline’s customers, Sabre’s technology will help SCAT achieve its ambitious plans to lead the recovery and future growth of travel in Kazakhstan. “As we navigate the new travel environment, it’s very important for us to be agile and able to deliver personalized offers to our customers at the right time and through the right channels”, said Vladimir Denisov, president, SCAT Airlines.  “Our new agreement with Sabre is an essential pillar in our strategy, providing us with modern reservations technology, intelligent revenue management and scalable platform capabilities, which will help enable us to unlock new opportunities, provide best-in-class customer experience and maximize profitability.” “Given the current environment and pressure on the travel industry, it is more important than ever for airlines to use robust and intelligent technologies to forecast, analyze and optimize operations and revenue streams”, said Dino Gelmetti, Vice President EMEA, Sabre Travel Solutions.  “Sabre plans to enhance its presence in Kazakhstan and provide SCAT Airlines with the capabilities to achieve profitable growth and to pioneer the future of travel.  Today’s announcement demonstrates SCAT’s forward-looking approach and Sabre’s deep commitment to supporting the global aviation industry”.

Travelport introduced its enhanced RESTful / JSON APIs that will provide next-generation retailing and exchange capabilities to travel retailers worldwide. As part of Travelport’s investment in its next-generation platform, Travelport+, the new APIs are being rolled out globally and will offer retailers a gateway to better content choices, the tools to tailor their retailing experience, and the power to greatly improve the efficiency of their operations. “With our new APIs, we’ve expanded our modern retailing toolkit so that agencies upgrading to Travelport+ can more easily personalize the retailing experience they provide to their customers,” said Greg Webb, Chief Executive Officer at Travelport. “The improvements we’ve made with these enhanced RESTful / JSON APIs will give travel retailers around the world simplified access to dynamic retail-ready content, from multiple sources, across all of their points of sale. And to ensure agencies can effectively operate as modern digital retailers, our APIs will also deliver the tools to optimize storefronts, better engage customers and manage trips more efficiently.” The modern, lightweight and highly functional APIs, which can also be used in conjunction with Travelport’s SOAP / XML APIs, drive up to 68% faster average transactions and a faster shopping and booking experience for travelers. The JSON API also enables greater flexibility and speed for developers, fostering quick, seamless connections and an optimized experience for both developers and travel retailers. Travelport’s new APIs include all of the details needed for public, private and tour operator specific air content and can be deeply enriched with Travelport’s branded fares. Additional API capabilities include streamed, cached content, speeding up the delivery of marketplace pricing and giving retailers the ability to inspire customers with highly relevant travel offers. …

eDreams ODIGEO expands its leading flight content platform through strategic technology agreement with Travelport – With this deal, Europe’s largest online travel company and the second largest flight retailer in the world signs a strategic agreement with Travelport, a worldwide leader in travel retail – Using the next-generation Travelport+ platform, eDreams ODIGEO will offer customers more choice in airline routes, including unique carrier content and unique ancillary services – The agreement is part of eDreams ODIGEO’s business strategy to further strengthen its leading offering in a post-COVID world Barcelona. The platform’s retailing and merchandising capabilities will offer eDreams ODIGEO customers more flexibility and choice in their bookings, allowing them to create tailored routes which meet their exacting requirements. The customer-centric approach is also poised to benefit the business’ airline partners. The agreement sees two travel-tech heavy weights join forces to drive innovation across the industry. eDreams ODIGEO is a technology-led business with one of the largest development teams in the European travel industry. The business is transforming the online travel booking experience with innovative products, it also boasts industry-leading capabilities in machine-based learning. Today, eDreams ODIGEO leverages its leading Artificial Intelligence capabilities to generate over 45 billion daily predictions to anticipate customer needs and travel demand. Travelport+, in turn, represents a multi-year investment by Travelport to accelerate industry innovation in multi-source content distribution, travel retailing and value generation. The combination of these leading technology capabilities will result in unparalleled benefits for travellers and increased competitiveness for both businesses. Javier Bellido, Air Content Strategies Director at eDreams ODIGEO said, “The addition of Travelport’s leading travel retail system into our flight content platform is yet another example of how the business is …

Sojern announced an extension of their partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) to drive further traveller demand into the Emirate using its Co-Op Marketing Programme. Following a successful pilot of the joint marketing programme, which has reached more than 3 million people so far, Abu Dhabi hotels have been able to increase direct bookings through a highly targeted, digital display and social media advertising campaign. The hospitality industry has been heavily impacted by the pandemic but DCT Abu Dhabi has worked closely with the UAE government to launch a series of stimulus initiatives to support the recovery of the tourism industry. “We were looking for ways to support the hospitality industry and navigate the economic challenges presented by the pandemic, and the partnership with Sojern helps us do just that, by supporting hotels in Abu Dhabi to drive direct bookings and improve room profitability,” said HE Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi. “DCT Abu Dhabi is committed to collaborative efforts between the private and public sectors within the local tourism industry to continuously support and drive tourism growth to the capital. Our efforts are aligned with the overall strategic objectives and vision — to support the evolution of Abu Dhabi into a world-class destination, while also reinforcing the capital’s position as a forward-thinking tourism destination.” Sojern’s Co-Op Marketing Programme is designed to help Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) and their partners increase the effectiveness of their marketing initiatives through collaboration, and drive revenue for the travel industry, at scale. “Hotels in Abu Dhabi were looking to improve their direct booking volumes and reduce commission from …

Travelport announced a strategic, long-term collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to use advanced cloud technology to accelerate the digital transformation of retailing in the travel industry. The collaboration, which unites globally renowned expertise in travel technology, cloud technology, and hyper-personalized retailing, will focus on optimizing Travelport’s recently launched next-generation platform, Travelport+. It will also drive innovation in travel merchandising with the launch of a new accelerator program that will incorporate talent from the tech startup community. “The travel industry has struggled to keep up with the pace of change in digital retail,” said Greg Webb, Chief Executive Officer at Travelport. “This landmark collaboration is specifically designed to address just that. AWS’s retail heritage makes them uniquely qualified to optimize digital retail platforms, simplify complex environments, and enable game-changing innovation in the travel retailing space. With AWS as our preferred cloud partner, we are going to create a simpler, smarter, and better future for travel retailing.” “Travelport is using the flexibility, scalability, and reliability of the world’s leading cloud to provide the speed and insights needed to put the customer first,” said Adam Selipsky, Incoming CEO of Amazon Web Services, Inc. “By leveraging the broadest and deepest set of cloud capabilities and AWS’s proven global infrastructure, Travelport can enhance the performance of its platform and continue to develop new ways to simplify the travel booking experience. With people around the world beginning to return to travel, we look forward to working with Travelport to help the travel industry continue to innovate.”

VFS Global has announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Jazan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to provide end-to-end visa and passport concierge services. Moving forward, the Chamber’s members will benefit from the availability of these services on its premises, providing ease, convenience and ensuring they do not have to visit a Visa Application Centre. Ahmad M. Abo Hadi, Chairman of Jazan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed Shahid Alam, Consul General of India in Jeddah inaugurated the office on 8 June 2021 in the presence of Mr Sumanth Kapoor, Regional Head – KSA, Bahrain and Oman, VFS Global. During the inauguration ceremony, Ahmad M. Abo Hadi, Chairman of Jazan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “We are happy that we can rely on VFS Global to ensure our members receive safe and secure passport and visa services they need all within the premises.” “The opening of VFS Global concierge at Jazan Chamber of Commerce is a momentous step and would go a long way in delivering fast and efficient consular services at the doorsteps of our India nationals especially during the period of pandemic. “said Mohammed Shahid Alam, Consul General of India. “This announcement represents our latest contribution towards the Kingdom’s sustainability agenda, and the presence of VFS Global’s concierge service in the Jazan Chamber will enable its members to further concentrate their efforts towards economic and social development contributions. We are delighted to be working alongside the Chambers and look forward to assisting its members with the services we provide,” added Sumanth Kapoor, Regional Head – KSA & Bahrain, VFS Global.

ITL World has renewed signed a new multi-year agreement with Sabre Corporation, the leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry. The expanded, long-term agreement will see ITL World work with Sabre to deploy the latest technology and best solutions to drive growth, boost revenue and transform its business during the anticipated recovery period and beyond. ITL World will continue to use Sabre’s next-generation travel agency desktop, Sabre Red 360, to deliver an intelligent and consultative service to travellers, create compelling shopping experiences for customers and provide an enhanced level of expertise to help people travel again. “Travellers have developed new expectations throughout this crisis and are seeking assurances, flexibility and real-time communications from travel providers. I therefore believe that the road towards recovery relies heavily on technology,” said Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman & Managing Director, ITL World.  “Sabre has the technology and development to support our strategy and enable us to cater to the new expectations of today’s traveller. We are looking at intelligent solutions such AI and NDC that will help us meet the demands of the new-age, technology savvy traveller by providing a seamless, interactive and personalized experience.” “We are delighted to be working with a technology- driven customer like ITL World, whichthat recogniszes the role that advanced technology can play in its success,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, vice president, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “By offering customers a highly intelligent and tailored shopping experience, ITL World will be able to tap into recovery growth and win back the trust of travellers. I therefore believe that Sabre’s increased innovation and investment into advanced technological development will position agencies like ITL World for long-term success well …

Travelport announced a multi-year agreement with Business Travel Partners, through e-Business Travel, one of the largest consortiums of independent IATA travel agencies in the Netherlands. The win will see Business Travel Partners members migrate to Travelport+, Travelport’s newly-launched next-generation platform that creates a simplified, capability-rich, marketplace for travel retailing. The coalition of 11 specialist travel agencies which form Business Travel Partners has wide-ranging expertise in business, marine travel and individual travelers. Travelport is providing tailored solutions for each member, catered to their individual needs and, crucially, integrated into various existing third-party software already in use. These solutions will all be built on the Travelport+ platform, which will see the agencies benefiting from a broad range of multi-source travel content, an ever-broadening array of new merchandising capabilities designed to improve the traveler experience while maximizing revenue and customer loyalty, and enhanced value generation. To date, more than half of the Business Travel Partners agencies have migrated or are in the final stages of migrating to Travelport+, with other consortium members set to migrate in the coming months. “We found Travelport offered the best combination of advanced and agile solutions, along with dedicated consultancy and support that really made a difference to a consortium with diverse needs,” said Cees Bas, Chairman of Business Travel Partners and CEO of e-Business Travel. “Major technology upgrades are seldom easy, but Travelport’s implementation process was a remarkably seamless transition, with their team effectively acting as an extension of our own.” Alistair Rodger, Group Vice President of Agency Sales for Europe at Travelport said, “Being able to meet the needs of such a diverse collection of agencies really showcases the strength of the Travelport+ platform, as well …