Category Archives: Technology

RwandAir has announced its expansion through partnership with Amadeus to adopt technology that will allow its customers to benefit from improved efficiency, better experience and increased convenience. This is in line with further boosting Rwanda as a travel destination. Last year Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali was ranked the third most popular destination in Africa to host international conferences. RwandAir was recently named the 10th most-improved airline in the world by Skytrax and has built a reputation for excellent on-time performance. Having previously provided RwandAir with distribution services, Amadeus will now roll out solutions across passenger systems, revenue management, loyalty management, payments, and data and analytics. The extended partnership intends to support RwandAir’s plans of expanding its network and fleet. Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO, RwandAir said, “RwandAir is committed to providing an impeccable customer experience that will fuel our continued expansion in the years to come. We look forward to an extended partnership with Amadeus that will provide us with the world-class passenger services solution with an upgrade of our reservations, ticketing, departure control, e-commerce, market intelligence and loyalty systems”. The benefits of using the Amadeus’s Passenger System (Altéa) also extend to Amadeus’ global travel seller network. Maher Koubaa, VP META, Amadeus, said, “Amadeus uses industry insights combined with smart technology to build the technology that empowers airlines, travel agents and their customers alike to streamline processes, boost convenience, build reputation and loyalty, and more. We’re proud that our partnership with RwandAir has grown so that we can continue to contribute to its growth story.”

Travelport strengthened its partnership with Qantas on a new agreement that includes a commitment to continued collaboration on the future of distribution. Following the recent announcement of the launch of Qantas Channel on August 1, 2019, which will allow agents to access content sourced from the NDC-enabled Qantas Distribution Platform, Travelport’s Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Scott Barber, said, “We are delighted to support Qantas as it develops its new channel and introduces the NDC standard. As the first GDS operator with an NDC booking solution available to a small group of customers, we have proven our capability to deliver this new standard. We are supporting our customers as they prepare for this new distribution era to ensure it provides seamless, integrated travel choice through access to the broadest range of content. I’d like to thank our customers for collaborating with us as we deliver the new Qantas Channel and NDC solutions which make the process of buying and managing travel better for everyone.” Commenting on the airline’s new distribution model, Vanessa Hudson, Chief Customer Officer, Qantas said the airline was pleased to be working with Travelport to make the Qantas Channel available to their agents globally. “The digital environment has changed the way we need to work with our trade partners, and our new technology paired with this new Qantas Channel agreement will support us on the journey to delivering our vision for our mutual customers. We’re excited to continue to innovate with our trade partners and share in the benefits of this new technology.” Travelport recently outlined its 2019 NDC roadmap after the successful onboarding of the first group of travel agencies to receive access to NDC content …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is strengthening its bilateral ties with the China market by endorsing Alipay, a mobile payment and lifestyle platform, through a series of activations and promotions during the upcoming Chinese New Year. The inaugural campaign, launched to mark Dubai’s growing popularity among Chinese tourists and Alipay’s continuous efforts to connect them with overseas merchants, will take place annually across the city with the goal to transform the emirate into a cashless destination for Chinese travellers. As part of the ongoing partnership, Dubai Tourism will continue to amplify Alipay’s prominent role in the market to bring further awareness to the industry’s network of stakeholders, facilitating future collaborations with a wide range of retail partners. Underlining the remarkable growth and the importance of tourism from China to the emirate, the city welcomed 779,000 visitors between January and November 2018, representing a 12 per cent increase on the year before. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Our ongoing partnership with Alipay is testament to our commitment to providing seamless payment and travel experiences to our guests, and is underpinned by the emirate’s China Readiness Strategy with the shared goal of further enhancing the visitor experience of Chinese tourists in Dubai.” Li Wang, Director, Alipay, said, “Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese as well as the biggest campaign for Alipay. We are keen to work with Dubai Tourism to provide seamless payment and travel experiences to Chinese tourists. Together with our partners in Dubai, we are committed to create value for merchants and retailers in Dubai, better connecting them with Chinese tourists.”

The 7th edition of the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) is set to take place in Dubai this year. One of the world’s most influential knowledge-sharing platforms for the airports industry, agenda for GALF 2019 taking place from April 29 to May 1 alongside the 19th edition of Airport Show reflects the changing aviation landscape and future technologies. Airport Show and its co-located events will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman, Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group. The knowledge-enhancement initiative is themed ‘Leading Collaborative Sustainable Aviation Growth’, reflecting the future growth path of the industry which supports US$2.7 trillion of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and carries over four billion passengers and 62 million tonnes of freight a year. At GALF, industry leaders and experts from around the world will gather to discuss common challenges, partnership opportunities and chart the way forward for the region’s aviation growth. The three-day event will feature pressing topics including smart airports and sustainability, airport privatisation models,  building non- aeronautical revenue systems and the future of blockchain in aviation, amongst other topics. Dubai has ambitious plans to be the world’s first city fully powered by blockchain by 2020 and the emirate is making persistent efforts to be a global leader in blockchain adoption. Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of Airport Show said, “The agenda for GALF 2019 undoubtedly reflects the direction the industry is going in and we are looking forward to seeing what interesting discussions take place to ensure our industry is at the forefront of digital transformation.”

Abu Dhabi Airports has announced its airport-wide rollout of ‘Super-Fi’ that will increase internet upload and download speeds to a maximum of 200 mbps per user at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH). The Super-Fi internet access, the fastest airport Wi-Fi service in the world, has been installed and tested throughout all three terminals. The move comes as part of Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment to enhanced passenger experiences, as well as its journey of digitalisation and innovation. It will now provide millions of travellers with improved online connectivity. Bryan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “We understand just how important WiFi has become to the travelling public. At Abu Dhabi Airports, we value our customers first and foremost, placing a primary focus on their experiences while coming and going from the UAE’s capital. Access to fast internet is a crucial factor that makes a big difference for our travellers. Providing our customers with enhanced connectively services is in line with our vision of becoming the world’s leading airports group. We are proud to have rolled out ‘Super-Fi’ across the entirety of Abu Dhabi International Airport, free for all of our travellers. It is fast and reliable and allows our customers to keep in touch.  Technology is at the heart of our digital transformation strategy, and this improved internet infrastructure will open the door to further smart services and connected solutions.” In October 2018, Abu Dhabi Airports and Cisco signed an agreement that provides AUH with cutting-edge solutions that will support its digital transformation strategy, including operational efficiency, digital capacity and customer experience.

Emaar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities with TikTok, the leading global destination for short-form mobile videos. The partnership represents a major milestone for TikTok in the Middle East and a commitment by both parties to deliver Emaar’s memorable, world-class lifestyle experiences to TikTok’s global community of users. On New Year’s Eve, TikTok will mark its official launch in the UAE with a 1-minute exclusive dynamic lighting show on Burj Khalifa, preceding Emaar’s majestic fireworks display, where it will be witnessed by thousands of spectators as well as millions more online. Following the MoU, Emaar can unlock the immense potential of TikTok and access its highly engaged, international audience via destination marketing, digital content creation, and other innovative and interactive touchpoints. As a global platform available in over 150 markets with 75 languages, TikTok offers a vibrant atmosphere that celebrates trends and embraces creativity and diversity. With the ability to engage with a global audience, TikTok has attracted a variety of creators using the platform to connect with others and build a diverse community. Emaar is offering TikTok users the opportunity to visit Dubai and take part in the Emaar New Year’s Eve Gala 2019. Through the exclusive campaign for TikTok users, five lucky couples from China, India and the Middle East will be flown in to Dubai for the event. Accordingly, TikTok has created and activated an in-app challenge and is promoting the Emaar NYE 2019 gala with a home-screen display and banners in China, India and the Middle East. Further, Emaar will fly in 55 top global influencers from TikTok for a VIP event in Dubai to coincide with the year-end gala.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced an “e-hail” taxi joint venture with Careem Networks recently at a press conference held under the patronage of His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer; Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA; Mudassir Sheikha, Co- founder and CEO, Careem, along with other senior officials and CEOs from the RTA and senior executives of Careem. HE Al Tayer stated that this partnership was the first in the world between a government transport authority and the private sector. “This initiative stems from RTA’s keenness to implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world. It also aims to bring happiness to people, deliver classy services to tourists and enrich customer’s experience. This partnership is the first-of-its-kind worldwide between a government transport authority and a private entity specialised in taxi e-hail business. “Through this new company, the RTA intends to leverage the taxi sector in Dubai. It involves raising the efficiency of taxis in Dubai through enhanced accessibility of vehicles and their online booking and reducing the expected waiting time for the vehicle. It also entails a host of advantages to clients such as making a direct online payment via the app, charting the most suitable journey route, sharing the ride with others, displaying details of the vehicle and driver, in addition to an option for providing the service with a chauffeur. Five of the big e-hail taxi companies operating in the global market submitted technical and financial proposals but Careem was selected as it caters to the provision of …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has introduced business to business (B2B) online platform that offers a white-label reservation and ticketing solution for attractions and experiences to operate more efficiently, allowing better connection to their customers. Attractions will be able to create personalised ticketing systems under their own brand name, while expanding their reach and increasing their customer base to a diversified audience. Additionally, the Attractions Marketplace will equip partners with sophisticated reporting tools, with an integrated back-end system that allows analysis of ticket sales and key distribution channels, with the system also providing an interactive dashboard summarising bookings made via each sales channel, sales target performance and inventory and capacity occupancy. Launching in January 2019, the B2B ‘Attractions Marketplace’ has been designed to create a seamless technological framework to further stimulate industry cohesion through the connectivity of the city’s attractions and experiences with the global industry’s network of B2B resellers. Guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai, and the government’s 10X Initiative, the online marketplace will give the city’s diverse portfolio of attractions and experiences a higher level of digital maturity through robust technology, mobile transactions and timely bookings by industry resellers. Developed by Dubai-based technology provider, PrioHub, an entity under the dnata group, in partnership with PrioTicket technology, the Attractions Marketplace has been designed after conducting in-depth research into the local travel sphere and interaction with sector stakeholders to identify key challenges faced by the emirate’s attractions in marketing themselves to a global audience. Providing attractions and experiences with a world-class platform to automate their operations instead of manual …

SIHOT, a customer-centered technology solution managing various aspects of hotel operations, was launched recently at Dubai HITEC 2018. Developed by GUBSE AG in Germany, the solution helps local hoteliers to adopt latest technologies in the fast development and tech progress challenges in the hospitality industry. It combines different modules, from PMS and CRM, to self check-in terminal and web app for the guests, into one manageable application for hoteliers. With Dubai’s high ambitions to attract 25 million tourists by 2025 and the growing numbers of hotel rooms available (additional 155,000 by 2020), local hoteliers are looking for new ways to attract more guests. Having noticed the challenges of hoteliers in the Middle East, SIHOT has partnered with BizGate Marketing & Consultancies to help industry professionals enhance their guest experience. David Warren, Director, International Sales, SIHOT, siad, “We understand the challenges Middle East hoteliers are facing. We want to help them to manage everyday operation using just one complex solution, as well as staying ahead by adopting the latest tech trends.” Mohamad Masri, Managing Director, BizGate Marketing & Consultancies, said, “We’ve been observing the considerable growth of rooms supply this year and it’s the crucial time for hoteliers to optimise their operations and enhance their guest experience.”

Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Saudi Arabia and Agoda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) supporting the Kingdom’s vision of 2030 to increase its capacity for over 30 million pilgrims by utilising Agoda’s technology and travel expertise, marketing platform capabilities, intelligence tools and resources. The agreement was signed by HE Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, Hajj and Umrah Minister, Saudi Arabia, in the presence of Damien Pfirsch, VP — Strategic Partnerships & Programmes, Agoda, during an official ceremony at the office of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. Umrah guests to the Kingdom can now visit a dedicated Agoda portal agoda.com/umrah to access select hotels that have been certified by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for Umrah visitors and pilgrims bookings, as well as the wider reservation site. Pilgrims can easily find an array of accommodation options and securely book through the multi-lingual and multi-currency portal. Under the MoU, the first to be signed by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah with a global OTA, the parties will explore how together they will redefine the future of travel for pilgrims from across the world to the Kingdom, working in collaboration to help to build future services, including guest flow and booking accommodation. The MoU will leverage the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s knowledge and understanding of the pilgrim’s needs to the holy cities and Agoda’s technology expertise, to enable the partners, so that they can explore ways to use technology to manage the anticipated increase in guests to the Kingdom and make accommodation reservations more accessible, easier, faster and secure. According to Saudi Vision 2030 announced in 2016, the last decade has seen the number of Umrah …