Category Archives: Technology

Marmul Travel and Tours has renewed its agreement with Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), to support its strategic plans and help overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This agreement provides Marmul Travel and Tours with continued access to Sabre’s portfolio of innovative technology. Its intelligent platform, Sabre Red 360 will allow the travel agency to effectively harness travel supplier’s data and deliver superior content to its travellers. This unique technology will help enable Marmul Travel and Tours to differentiate its offering and provide relevant personalised travel experiences, while regaining travellers’ trust in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “More than ever, travellers today are expecting a high level of customer service and tailor-made travel itineraries, which include sufficient safety and health measures,” said Mebal Pinto, General Manager, Marmul Travel and Tours. “Our renewed partnership with Sabre will help us leverage its rich market place, gain insights into global travel demand and provide tailored travel insight and itineraries to help people start travelling again.” “Travel agents contribute significantly to helping people regain the confidence to travel again, which is crucial for our industry’s recovery,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “Personalisation will become even more essential for travellers, who are expecting and relying upon a new level of expertise from their travel agents. Our Sabre Red 360 helps travel agents become true consultants, providing access to real-time travel data, information and trends. Our technology will help Marmul Travel and Tours respond to new market conditions and demands, reduce the costs of its operations and help generate revenue in the midst of a global crisis.”

Travelport signed a new multi-year content agreement with Air New Zealand. The agreement also includes the continued use of Travelport Rich Content and Branding, the company’s leading airline merchandising tool.Under the agreement, Travelport will continue to support Air New Zealand by providing more than 68,000 Travelport-connected agencies around the world with real-time access to search, sell and book the airline’s content and inventory. With Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding solution, worldwide agencies will also be enjoying greater access and a graphically rich experience when searching and booking the branded fares and ancillary products of Air New Zealand.Commenting on the new agreement, Andrew Dale, Regional General Manager Sales & Alliances said, “We are looking to the future with this new agreement. Putting Air New Zealand’s award-winning and innovative products in front of the world’s travel agents, in a manner which does them full justice, will play a crucial role in the recovery of travel. Travelport has been a trusted partner with a proven track record for years, and we are happy to extend our partnership.” Sue Carter, Head of Asia Pacific, Air Partners at Travelport, commented: “In 2015, Air New Zealand was the 100th carrier to launch Travelport Rich Content and Branding, which is now being used by more than 300 airlines globally to differentiate their branded fares and increase upselling. Retailing excellence is more important now than it has ever been, and we are delighted to build on our partnership with Air New Zealand.”

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has partnered with Microsoft to further streamline data-driven services offered to stakeholders, enhance the e-learning platform for Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and adopt an innovative approach towards showcasing the city as a must-visit destination. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, commented, “As we plan for future scenarios, cloud based solutions have emerged as a crucial element of Dubai Tourism’s digital transformation strategy because of the secure, sustainable and scalable nature of the technology. The diversity of our partnership with Microsoft will add to our efforts to embed world class technology solutions to our business systems and further enhance the scope of cutting-edge digital services that we provide our stakeholders in real-time, to help ensure Dubai stays ahead of the curve and also maintain its position at the forefront of the world’s leading travel destinations.” “Microsoft Azure has been at the heart of the company’s efforts to form several strategic partnerships across UAE’s public and private businesses and accelerate their digital transformation agendas by migrating to the cloud,” said Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE. “Our partnership with Dubai Tourism enables their platform to seek better customer engagement, empower its workforce, optimise operations and reinvent products and services. This is made possible by our two cloud regions in the UAE serving customers across the region to innovate and grow.” Essa Bin Hadher, General Manager, Dubai College of Tourism, said, “Dubai College of Tourism established a strong online learning platform even before the pandemic and today the advantages of using such a system have become more important than ever. Indeed, in this challenging environment, we are able …

Travelport announced the launch of the Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker, in response to demand from travellers and travel agents for information on airline health and safety measures. The tool, which is free of charge and available to both Travelport customers and the wider industry, highlights the safety measures being undertaken by more than 80 of the world’s largest airlines – all available at a glance. It is delivered to both online and offline travel agencies through the recently launched Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin, Travelport’s API-based merchandising solution, Branded Fares Data File, and the company’s COVID-19 Resource Hub, which is also available to the general public. Kyle Moore, Global Head of Customer Strategy and Marketing, Travelport said, “In recent months, the travel industry has introduced a wide array of robust health and safety measures to enable a safe and responsible return for travel. As we sit at the heart of the industry, both aggregating, and enabling the merchandising of, travel content from all corners of the world, we are in a natural position to bring this information into a single place and deliver it to travel agents and travellers. Using our leading technology, we believe this tool will help travellers to match their travel needs with the safety measures they expect, bringing back confidence in travel and supporting a strong industry recovery.” The Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker 1 monitors the use of seven sought-after safety measures: mandated use of face masks, socially distanced seating, temperature checks before boarding, improved air filtration, enhanced cleaning programs, reduced onboard food and beverage services, and mandated traveler health certification or declaration. The data is presented in a simple visual format and …

Mindsay and Sabre Corporation announced the official launch of a customer service automation solution for airlines, OTAs, and TMCs. As the only conversational AI technology to integrate seamlessly with Sabre, Mindsay’s intelligent virtual agents are fully connected with Sabre’s APIs, giving them the ability to automatically resolve a variety of requests, from simple FAQs to complex booking modifications. This unique integration allows travel companies to automatically resolve up to 70% of customer requests, significantly reducing call and live chat volumes. With bots handling the majority of common customer requests, travel agents can focus on solving the most urgent and complex requests. “We partnered with Mindsay because of its seamless integration with Sabre and ability to quickly deliver a chatbot to assist our travellers, who now get instant answers and avoid wait times. The aim is not only to increase efficiency but even more so to improve customer satisfaction by providing quick answers to their needs ,” said Pernille Vaupel, Director, Air and Online Sales at KILROY International. “Our unique integration with Sabre’s leading GDS allows airlines, OTAs, TMCs, and hotels to deliver better service at a fraction of the cost, by providing the perfect mix of self-service and human interaction,” said Guillaume Laporte CEO at Mindsay. “Sabre is committed to providing our OTA customers with the differentiated products they need to exceed their customers’ expectations, and this begins with our APIs,” said Madhavan Kasthuri, Managing Director EMEA Online Business at Sabre. “We are excited to partner with such a committed, forward-thinking partner who clearly understands the role technology plays in delivering a seamless experience that today’s travellers are increasingly expecting, especially when dealing with the online channel.” “The new chatbot …

According to the latest Sojern report; there will undoubtedly be a continued increase in demand for inbound travel over the coming weeks as more restrictions have been lifted in UAE, Saudi Arabia, & Egypt. The reopening of recreational activities, summer camps, spas and massage centres, indoor theme parks, and sports facilities; and with a wealth of activities available to locals, residents, and tourists, and the country now being branded as ‘open’ will facilitate more tourists in the coming months. Saudi Arabia has recently announced Hajj health measures for pilgrims (domestic only), and travel to Abu Dhabi is still restricted, with proof of a negative COVID-19 test required to enter the Emirate. That said, global flight bookings to key MEA markets remain down year-over-year. However, we are beginning to see steady growth for Saudi bookings, and improvement in travel confidence to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt. Commercial flights are set to resume from Kuwait International Airport from 1st August. Over the coming weeks and months, this will likely have a considerable impact on intent and confidence to travel to the country, as well as on outbound travel. It is important to note that although searches are increasing for trips in August, they are still down 39% on searches made at the same time last year. Locals are taking advantage of hotel facilities, and turning their 2020 trips into staycations. Domestic searches have risen by 32 points when indexed to 12th April – a low point in search and booking levels to the region. Domestic bookings have also grown considerably since this period. Unsurprisingly, international searches for UAE hotels continue to decline, but bookings have risen above the levels experienced …

Cvent announced that it has trained and certified more than 20,000 marketers, event planners, and hospitality professionals (2,100+ in the APAC MEA) through its free training and certification program, helping them sharpen their skills, expand their industry expertise, enhance their resumes, and prepare for the future. The company is temporarily offering all of its Cvent Certifications and training programmes to anyone in the industry free of charge. Certifications typically have been offered only to Cvent customers, and it can cost up to Dh 6,600 for an individual to get certified and trained across the entire Cvent platform. Also included in the program are hundreds of free live, virtual training sessions and certification study groups, hosted by Cvent experts. “In early March, when the global pandemic really began to impact those in the meetings, events, and hospitality industries, we were looking for opportunities to not just give back, but provide support in a way that could facilitate an even stronger industry post-pandemic,” said Patrick Smith, CMO, Cvent. “In times like these, it’s critical that we all find ways to lift each other up, support our communities, and work towards a brighter future, and we’re committed to doing exactly that. Our goal is to train and certify tens of thousands of industry professionals, giving them the tools and skills they need to more quickly bounce back once things start to go back to normal – boosting not only their confidence and careers, but also the industry at-large.”

Sabre Corporation announces an enhanced partnership with one of India’s largest travel companies, Akbar Travels of India, cementing a valued two-decade long relationship between the two firms as Akbar forges ahead with plans for domestic and overseas growth. “Sabre and Akbar Travels have had a long, valued and productive relationship, and we’re excited to be again expanding our partnership by using Sabre’s Content Services for Lodging technologies to provide further choice and even better service for our travellers,” said K.V. Abdul Nazar, Chairman & Managing Director of Akbar Travels of India. “There are already clear signs of a pent-up demand for travel post Covid-19 and we needed technological solutions which provide us with the most intuitive way to shop and book for our travellers in order to provide truly personalised options for our clients.” Sabre’s Content Services for Lodging powers agency and corporate booking tools, integrating traditional GDS content from hoteliers, alongside content from the likes of Booking.com, Beds online and Expedia Partner Solutions. The Sabre-led Content Services for Lodging has been integrated into Akbar Travels’ operations through Sabre Red 360, allowing agents access to real-time, rich content on an intuitive graphical interface to make it easier for agents to comparison shop business and leisure options for travellers. “Sabre has a strong presence in India through our valued travel partners, our own office branches, and our large-scale technology base in Bengaluru,” said Traci Mercer, Senior Vice President, Global Lodging, Ground and Sea, Sabre. “Akbar needed robust, intuitive and scalable solutions to provide its branches with one easy-to-navigate, real-time and full-view lodging content solution and interface to ensure that it is able to create highly-personalised offers for clients as it looks …

Finnair and Sabre Corporation announced a new worldwide distribution partnership. Under the new agreement, Sabre will resume distributing competitive global Finnair content to hundreds of thousands of travel agents and thousands of corporations worldwide through its travel marketplace. Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair said, “We are delighted to promote our products and services through Sabre’s extraordinary network of travel agents worldwide as we rebuild our network and operations following the COVID-19 pandemic.” He added, “Travel agents continue to play a key role in the travel industry value chain and, together with Sabre, we will work to deliver the benefits of NDC technology. Ultimately, travel agents and their customers will enjoy more relevant and comprehensive travel solutions. As we ramp up our operations globally, it is imperative that customers have choice and flexibility in booking through their preferred direct or indirect channel. Travel agents contribute significantly to helping people regain the confidence to travel, which is absolutely essential for our industry.” “We are fortunate to enter this unprecedented period with new opportunities that will drive incremental revenue for both agencies and airlines”, said Wade Jones, President, Sabre Travel Network. “Consumers want the best offers, agencies want to present the most relevant content to their customers, and airlines want to distribute their fares and products so that travellers can access them wherever they choose to shop. Sabre remains committed to helping all parties achieve their goals. We are confident that our content serves the needs of travel agents in a truly optimal way.”

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) gave a global audience of over 2500 industry leaders and stakeholders insight into AlUla’s journey to become an international tourism destination with arts, culture and community at its heart, in a virtual conference. The panel, titled ‘Arts and Culture: Inspiring a future of tourism development in ancient landscapes,’ saw a team from RCU join former Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova; Jean-François Charnier, Scientific Director at AgenceFrançaise pour le Développementd’AlUla (AFALULA); Neville Wakefield, Creator and Artistic Director at Desert X; and Callum Lee of BOP Consulting. During the panel, Abdulrahman AlSuhaibani, Director of Museums and Exhibitions at RCU, who conducted research into AlUla’s ancient civilisations as part of his doctorate at the Sorbonne University in France, said, “The human presence in AlUla began more than 200,000 years ago and continues until our time. This has left a diversity and richness in the archaeological remains, and also in the community today. There is a huge story that we are going to share with the world, but the most important thing is how we can preserve and protect it.” Nora AlDabal, Arts and Culture Programming Director at RCU, said, “It’s really important to us to establish AlUla as a cultural hub for creativity and artistic exchange. We’ve developed multiple arts workshops, including with Desert X: We had the artists work not only on the exhibition itself but also within the community.” Neville Wakefield, Curator, Desert X supported this, saying, “Indeed, one of the joys of working in AlUla was making the community part of the artistic experience. We had so much involvement because everyone had a point of entry. Everyone has a sense of what the desert …