Category Archives: Technology

HBX Group launched its Marketing Suite, a combination of marketing services designed to inspire, convert, and drive growth in the travel space. With this launch, HBX Group aspires to become the primary retail media network within the travel industry, serving as a point of reference for hotels, DMOs, airlines, mobility providers and any business seeking to engage with travellers and travel distributors. HBX Group Marketing Suite is composed of two key solutions: Travel Media Solutions and a Digital Marketing Agency. HBX Group’s Travel Media Solutions offers a suite of complete advertising products in an extensive network of hard-to-reach digital spaces, with the potential to reach over 50.000 travel agencies and 3.500 tour operators across 65 countries, as well as travellers from over 100 booking websites and strategic partners. These advertising solutions include digital banners on B2B and B2C websites, social media marketing, bespoke newsletters, email sponsorships, and landing pages. On the other hand, the Digital Marketing Agency is focused on tailor-made strategies developed by expert travel marketers to accelerate business growth within the B2C audience. Services include B2C digital campaign management, marketing advisory, insights, creative services, brand management, and more. HBX Group brings years of experience in the travel sector, giving the company a deep understanding of its unique needs and challenges. This knowledge allows HBX Group to design its services specifically to the demands of travel businesses, ensuring more effective and relevant marketing strategies. Its team of digital marketing experts, specialised in the travel industry, ensure that clients receive thorough, personalised support and guidance, from strategy development to execution and optimisation. The company also has access to the latest technologies to implement and refine marketing strategies. This includes advanced analytics, innovative advertising platforms, …

Furthering its commitment to sustainable tourism, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) unveiled the ‘Sustainable Tourism AI Assistant,’ an innovative virtual assistant designed to empower travellers, businesses, and institutions to make informed eco-friendly decisions. Launched at GITEX Global, one of the world’s largest and most influential tech exhibitions, this forward-thinking initiative highlights Sharjah’s dedication to environmental preservation while reinforcing its position as a leader in sustainable tourism. Supporting more than 40 languages, it offers tailored insights that promote responsible travel choices and support environmental stewardship on a global scale. Commenting on the project, HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, stated: “Sharjah, through its practices, emphasises the importance of sustainability as a key pillar of its developmental operations, particularly in the tourism sector, which is one of the most vibrant sectors contributing to national economy. Amid global challenges related to climate change, the ‘Sustainable Tourism Smart Assistant’ comes as a practical model for applying global sustainable development goals, aligning with the UN World Tourism Organisation’s initiative ‘Towards a Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainability’. The application provides comprehensive information for travellers, tourists, and stakeholders to adopt the best sustainable travel practices, enabling them to make informed decisions that protect the environment and reduce the ecological footprint.” He added: “This project is an advanced technological tool that integrates the concept of sustainable tourism into daily practices. Its objectives are an integral part of Sharjah’s identity, and we are confident that it will contribute to enhancing cooperation between the public and private sectors, attracting sustainable investments, and encouraging civil society to adopt environmentally friendly behaviours, thereby reinforcing the emirate’s status as a global sustainable tourism destination.” The Sustainable Tourism AI Assistant …

Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) unveiled a suite of new digital services aimed at enhancing and supporting the tourism sector in the emirate of Ajman during its participation at GITEX Global 2024. Among the highlights is the launch of the Department’s revamped website and updated digital services system, alongside the AI-powered ‘Plan Your Trip’ service. These innovative offerings reflect the department’s ongoing commitment to delivering smart and proactive government services that leverage the latest advancements in AI technology and data analytics. The aim is to assist visitors in planning tailored trips to Ajman, offering a flexible and personalised experience. The Department also seeks to enhance the experience of visitors, starting with the website and digital services system, and extending to the emirate’s rich tourism offerings. The newly launched ATDD website and digital services system offer a more interactive and user-friendly interface, designed to meet the highest government quality standards. The updated website features an AI-powered smart personal assistant that can handle customer inquiries, service procedures, requirements, and fees, in addition to tourist guidance services such as information about the emirate, tourist sites, museums, and activities. The new website’s smart personal assistant allows users to make direct calls to customers via audio, video, or screen sharing, allowing them to talk and share their screen with the customer happiness and service staff, catering to their requirements in record time without having to visit the department headquarters. Additionally, the website provides access to all government services and tourism information, such as reports, decrees, and resolutions, along with quick services and open data. ATDD launched the ‘Plan Your Trip’ platform, another innovation showcased at GITEX, which is fully AI-based and designed to help visitors customise …

Riyadh Air has entered into a strategic agreement with Sabre Corporation where the airline will adopt comprehensive SabreMosaic Offer Optimization technology that provides the intelligence to enable the airline’s ambition to be the first carrier to operate on offer- and order-based technology across the entire retail spectrum from its first day of operations in 2025. With a bold vision to create personalized offers across a broad range of customer touchpoints, Sabre and Riyadh Air are co-innovating in the realm of offer optimization to create industry-first technologies to fuel the future of airline retailing. Powered by Sabre Travel AITM and utilizing Google’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) toolkit, this innovative approach enhances offer construction with smart customer segmentation and intelligent bundling – enabling Riyadh Air to unlock value and benefits from effective offer optimization capabilities. As it begins operations in a highly competitive regional environment, Riyadh Air will deploy SabreMosaic Air Price IQ, Ancillary IQ, Bundle IQ, and Upgrade IQ to generate and manage dynamic offers. Riyadh Air will also deploy SabreMosaic Continuous Revenue Optimizer for true continuous pricing, making it the first airline in the world to operate without traditional fare filing and booking classes in the direct channel. This revolutionary technology enables Riyadh Air to offer diverse and customized travel options, delivering tailored experiences to customers while optimizing revenue. “We are excited to partner with Riyadh Air as they become the first airline to operate entirely on offer- and order-based technology,” said Darren Rickey, Senior Vice President, Global Airline Sales and Account Management, Sabre Travel Solutions. “Riyadh Air’s forward-thinking approach and vision to be a digital-first airline align seamlessly with Sabre’s commitment to leading the transformation of airline …

Travelport announced it has signed a multi-year renewal agreement with Delta Air Lines, including NDC content. The top U.S. airline is collaborating with Travelport on the integration of its NDC solution into Travelport+ to support Delta’s selling and servicing transformation. “We value our long-term partnership with Travelport and are pleased to extend our full content agreement, as well as make Delta’s NDC technology solution available to all of Travelport’s agency customers,” said Jeff Lobl, Managing Director, Distribution Strategy and Agency Sales Programs at Delta Air Lines. “Together, we aim to create value by ensuring customers are presented with the best options to fit their needs for a better, more personalized shopping experience.” To help agencies solve challenges with comparing NDC offers alongside traditional content, Travelport recently debuted its Content Curation Layer (CCL). Travelport’s CCL uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) to sift through aggregated, multi-source content and return the right range of accurate, highly intuitive search results that are normalized and easier for agents and travelers to understand. CCL is the latest enhancement to the Travelport+ platform, simplifying the delivery of retail-ready content from partners like Delta and presenting tailored options to agency customers and the end-traveler. “Our renewed agreement with Delta underscores our shared commitment to modernizing travel retail for agents and travelers with a seamless, personalized shopping and servicing experience,” said Damian Hickey, Global Head of Travel Partners at Travelport. “As we prepare for the future delivery of Delta’s NDC content, our ability to deliver multi-source content in a retail-ready way ensures that agents and travelers will be able to easily shop and compare all of Delta’s product offerings in one place.”

Sabre Corporation and Virgin Australia announced a strategic partnership to modernize the airline’s retailing capabilities through the phased implementation of SabreMosaic, the revolutionary AI-driven platform built to transform airline retailing. This establishes Virgin Australia as the flagship customer and will enable the airline over time to adopt the broad suite of solutions within SabreMosaic, marking a significant milestone in the airline’s journey towards modern retailing and the general market availability of the SabreMosaic solutions. The collaboration underscores the companies’ commitment to innovation and industry leadership, as well as the airline’s aim to be an early mover in the industry transition to offer-and-order based modern retailing. “Building on our decades-long partnership, Sabre is proud to collaborate with Virgin Australia as our launch partner for SabreMosaic, which is our revolutionary platform designed to transform airline retailing,” said Roshan Mendis, Chief Commercial Officer, Sabre Travel Solutions. “We aim to empower Virgin Australia to deliver a personalized, dynamic travel experience that will set a new standard in the industry. This collaboration marks the beginning of a new era, as SabreMosaic is now available to airlines worldwide.” Virgin Australia’s path to modern retailing “We are excited to partner with Sabre to lead the industry in modern airline retailing,” said David Hogarth, Chief Information Officer of Virgin Australia. “This partnership supports our mission of being Australia’s most loved airline by offering our customers choice and a wonderful guest experience. The SabreMosaic platform will over time enable us to optimize our offers, enhance guest interactions, and build a competitive advantage in the market.” Sabre designed the SabreMosaic platform and related solutions with a modular approach, giving Virgin Australia the ability to easily operate in a hybrid environment …

Sabre Corporation partnered with Diwan of Royal Court, Royal Court Affairs, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Sultanate of Oman to deliver a series of workshops. These sessions are designed to support the Omani government’s broader digital transformation initiative by upskilling the travel management departments within these entities, enhancing operational efficiency, and automating manual processes. Held at Sabre’s regional headquarters in Bahrain, these two weeks of training sessions represent the first collaboration of this kind between Sabre and the Omani government, reaffirming Sabre’s leadership in Oman’s government travel sector. Building on a 15-year partnership, Sabre has supported these key Omani government entities with advanced solutions to elevate their travel management capabilities. This collaboration is the latest milestone, offering a training program that equips teams with the skills to use advanced tools like Sabre 360 Graphical View and New Distribution Capability (NDC). It also emphasizes best practices to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance operational excellence. “We are proud to be partnering with the Omani government on this initiative, which is a testament to our commitment to empowering governments with advanced technology, tools and training,” said Ramzi Al Qassab, Managing Director, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “By equipping the Omani government with the skills to leverage our advanced tools, we are not only enhancing their operational efficiency but also reinforcing the trust and reliability that have been the foundation of our partnership for over a decade. This collaboration exemplifies Sabre’s role in helping governments achieve their strategic goals, including cost savings and operational excellence.” As Oman pioneers its ambitious digital transformation, it is the first government in the region to launch such a strategic training program to modernize the travel …

Hyatt has chosen the Oracle OPERA Cloud hospitality platform as the property management system (PMS) for its global hotel portfolio. With OPERA Cloud, Hyatt properties will be able to standardize its operations and data management across more than 1,000 hotels and all-inclusive properties. With a modern data platform delivering a common user interface and processes across its properties, Hyatt colleagues will have the insights to operate more efficiently and provide an improved, more consistent experience for its guests, members and customers. “As one of the world’s top hospitality companies, Hyatt is committed to caring for people so they can be their best,” said Cameron Hammond, Senior Vice President of Global Field Technology Services at Hyatt. “In today’s evolving environment, technology plays a critical role in empowering our colleagues so they can continue to deliver unforgettable experiences to our guests. By moving to OPERA Cloud and extending our long-standing collaboration with Oracle, we will be able to provide our operators and colleagues with a modern, secure platform to deliver better data insights and elevate their roles with more ease and efficiency.” Built on the high performance and security of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), OPERA Cloud PMS will help centralize data at Hyatt’s global properties for better insights and operational planning, from a holistic perspective down to the individual property level. Hyatt will also benefit from having a better view into the unique preferences of its guests across properties they stay at to deliver more personalized touchpoints over time. With the ability to use OPERA Cloud on mobile devices, colleagues will also have the flexibility to help guests from anywhere and at any time. “With OPERA Cloud as the secure data and …

Sabre Corporation announced that Malaysia Airlines has selected PRISM to power and optimize its corporate segment. By using automated, real-time data insights and trends, PRISM offers advanced data analytics, enabling a more customized travel solution for business customers.  A truly global tool with international customers and data sources, PRISM ingests data from more than 5,000 sources internationally with more than 200 million individual corporate flight bookings in 2023. PRISM provides uniquely valuable insights and analytics, including robust contract profit modelling and performance reporting, along with more than 350 preformatted reports containing thousands of different data configurations. In addition to being fully hosted on Google Cloud, PRISM now supports weekly data submissions from its data sources. Those opting for the API option will benefit from automated daily data submissions. PRISM offers daily corporate booking trend data, enhanced user analytics driven by Google Cloud’s BigQuery and Looker capabilities, API connections to link to airline CRM systems, and enhanced user tools to streamline sales collaboration with partner airlines and commercial clients. “Selecting the right business intelligence solution is essential for enhancing our corporate travel offerings, driving business growth, and boosting revenue while elevating the travel experience for our customers. This is why we’ve chosen Sabre PRISM, to help us achieve these goals by optimizing and streamlining our sales processes,” said Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, Chief Executive Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group. With PRISM, airlines gain a comprehensive view of corporate travel while ensuring compliance with GDPR and other global data privacy regulations. It is the only solution that offers a built-in analytics tool, on-demand reporting, and API connectivity.  Additionally, Sabre offers PRISM customers 24/7 self-service access to analytics and reporting, as well as in-house technical and …

Travalyst has scaled flight emissions information globally, with emissions data appearing in over 65 billion searches1. The search figure, released by Travalyst – the not-for-profit organisation founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex – aggregates data from a number of its coalition partners2, which include Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, and Trip.com Group. Travalyst’s mission is to align the travel industry behind clear, consistent and credible sustainability information to help people make more informed choices. The Travel Impact Model (TIM), which estimates lifecycle emissions for flights at the individual passenger level, was developed by Google and has been scaled through the Travalyst coalition. Platforms using the TIM present flight emissions information at the time of booking, so travellers are able to choose a flight with an estimated lower-than-typical CO2e footprint3. On some platforms, travellers can also sort flight search results by emissions, alongside standard filter options such as cost and arrival/departure time. For example, the typical CO2e per passenger on a one-way economy flight from London (LGW) to New York (JFK) is 466 kg4. Popular travel booking platforms highlight an option that is 12% (57 kg) lower than the typical CO2e for that route. The difference in CO2e is approximately equivalent to a passenger’s flight from London (LGW) to Dublin (DUB) (typically 56 kg CO2e). The TIM takes a variety of attributes into account including flight origin and destination, aircraft type, cabin class and seat configuration, load factors and average aircraft utilisation. With such granular data comes the ability to see emissions at individual airline level, which could pave the way for airlines to compete on reducing their climate impact, as well as price and service. …