Category Archives: Technology

In leveraging the latest in digital technology to provide superior guest experiences, Emaar Hospitality Group marked its industry leadership with the addition of Apple Pay, a new way to pay. A transformational leader in mobile payments, Apple Pay is an easy, secure and private way to make transactions that are fast and convenient. The new service is available for guests across all three hotel brands of Emaar Hospitality Group, covering all 11 operational hotels and three serviced residences in Dubai. Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When guests use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is securely stored in the Secure Element on their device. Guests using Apple Pay at check-in can simply use an iPhone or Apple Watch to pay at the contactless reader at the front desk. There will be no additional need to provide a physical credit card upon check-in.

Emirates and Thales have signed a new agreement to equip its Boeing 777X fleet with the next generation broadband inflight connectivity using Inmarsat GX global network. The partnership will give Emirates’ customers the best-in-class connectivity due for delivery in 2020. Emirates and Thales already have an existing multi-million dollar deal to fit its Boeing 777X fleet with a next generation Thales AVANT inflight entertainment system. The new agreement is part of the Emirates and Thales’ plans to enhance the state-of-the-art inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) on the 777X fleet. Emirates offers all its customers 20MB of complimentary Wi-Fi data on board while Emirates Skywards members in First Class and Business Class enjoy unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi and discounted plans in Economy Class. Emirates, Thales and Inmarsat will work together to meet the increasing demand for Wi-Fi on board. Broadband connectivity speeds coupled with Thales’ AVANT innovative and customisable IFE system will further boost Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system.

The world’s largest outsourcing and technology services, VFS Global specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, conducted the 4th global edition of its annual innovation workshop ‘iConnect’ for the outsourced government services industry in Dubai. The event brought together 129 delegates from 55 countries to discuss the most significant technology trends and cutting-edge solutions offered by VFS Global in visa, consular and citizen services. The delegates were predominantly senior officials from the central government ministries and from various embassies and consulates in the UAE. At the workshop, governments and private stakeholders discussed the importance of cyber-security in in the context of the recent escalation in cyber-attacks worldwide. Guest speakers, domain experts and global leaders in cyber security, highlighted potential risks and discussed measures to mitigate the risks. The speakers at iConnect spoke about how customers today wanted easy access to information and convenient service fulfillment. The growing relevance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform customer experience was also a topic of discussion, with technology now making inroads into various sectors from assisting in travel across airlines to enhancing the customer experience.

Over 100 experts gathered at the recent Amadeus Fly by Digital Summit in Dubai to improve the travel experience in what is one of the world’s fastest growing tourism and passenger hubs. The conference focused on supporting industry players to better attract, showcase, sell and service travellers in the region as more and more commerce moves into the digital realm. Keynote speakers included executives from Google, PayFort, Musafir, Souqalmal.com and Amadeus, amongst others. “By connecting the industry, harnessing bold technologies and finding new ways to make travel more rewarding, the Middle East’s online travel industry can sustain its recent momentum. It will also be prepared for the future Arab traveller, born in the Internet era, who demands different approaches across devices,” says Antoine Medawar, Vice President for Middle East and North Africa at Amadeus. Amadeus also previewed findings from the third edition of the Middle East Online Travel Overview study—a special project conducted by Phocuswright and co-sponsored by Amadeus—which provides an overall assessment on the health of the Middle East digital travel market.

As part of its efforts to make travel simple for its customers, Cleartrip, a leading online travel company in the Middle East, announced the integration of Apple Pay on its mobile application. With the launch of Apple’s digital wallet in the UAE, Cleartrip customers can now look forward to a quicker and safer way to check out on the Cleartrip mobile app. Apple Pay supports all devices running iOS 11 and works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and later and Apple Watch. “As the preferred travel partner of consumers in the UAE as well as the wider region, we are dedicated to building industry-leading travel solutions. Addressing our customers’ needs, like easy payment options, is at the heart of why we launched Apple Pay on the Cleartrip app,” said Stuart Crighton, Founder & CEO of Cleartrip. Customers using Apple Pay to purchase on the Cleartrip iOS app will benefit from an instant discount of AED 100 on flights. Apple rolled out Apple Pay in the UAE from October 24, 2017 in a move that is expected to revolutionise the country’s digital economy.

Etihad Airways is now providing its customers Apple Pay, transforming mobile payments with a fast, secure and convenient way to pay for flights and travel. Available on the Etihad Airways mobile app, Apple Pay allows customers, for the first time in the UAE, to pay securely with just a touch of a finger. Etihad Airways’ customers can now buy flights and other products such as ‘Extra Legroom Seats’, ‘Preferred Seats’ and excess baggage with their iPhone or iPad by simply touching a button. Each transaction is authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code. Justin Warby, Vice President Digital Strategy and Innovation, Etihad Airways, said, “We are proud to partner with Apple Pay to bring the latest mobile payment and technology innovations to our guests in the UAE and around the world. We were able to quickly adjust the release cycle of our mobile app to ensure we coincided our launch with Apple in the UAE.” Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by credit and debit cards.

Travelport announced a new global agreement with Al Tayyar Travel Group. As a result of this multi-year agreement with Travelport, Al Tayyar and its subsidiaries will continue to use Travelport’s open platform and benefit from its Universal API technology. This enables the Group’s agencies to develop and connect their systems to the widest choice of content and provide the integrated, personalized travel experiences that the connected traveller of today demands. Travelport’s industry leading point of sale tool, Travelport Smartpoint, also helps Al Tayyar’s agencies optimize services and develop their business globally. Commenting on the renewed agreement, Mr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al Dawood, Chief Executive Officer & Board Director at Al Tayyar Travel Group, said: “The renewal of our agreement with Travelport demonstrates our commitment to serve the end traveler even better, by providing our agency partners with a rich choice of content.  We are delighted to continue building on the success we have enjoyed already from this fruitful partnership as we continue to develop our business.” Gordon Wilson, President and CEO of Travelport, added: “We are delighted that Al Tayyar Travel Group has chosen our platform once again to drive its agencies’ effectiveness and global expansion. The Group is a great partner and an impressive user of our technology. So, we are proud to play a major role in supporting its goals.”

ITL World signed a new agreement with Sabre Corporation according to which Sabre will enable the TMC to continue fuelling its global expansion strategy. The TMC will also benefit from the new version of the Sabre Red Workspace, which was designed to help agents offer a greater experience and more personalisation to travellers. “We chose Sabre as its innovative technology has proven to better support our objectives, which include delivering the highest level of service to our customers,” said Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman and Managing Director, Eram Group/ITL World. “Sabre’s understanding of the latest technology trends and traveller behaviours has been essential in our expansion in the Middle East. It has helped us to truly understand the needs of the Middle Eastern traveller, enabling us to deliver an unrivalled service to our large customer base. Sabre’s new platform will help us to meet the growing demands of our travellers globally, who demand and expect increasingly personalised itineraries and a seamless travel experience.” With 39 fully-owned/operated offices across Asia, Middle East & Europe, ITL World, a member of the Eram Group already enjoys a successful relationship with Sabre, will continue to access Sabre’s broad portfolio of technology solutions, including the latest mobile, data analytics, personalisation and automation capabilities. Sabre plays a critical role in enabling ITL World to increase productivity and achieve its growth objectives. Its new Sabre Red workspace was developed to meet the changing needs and expectations of travellers – a modern technology platform built around its core GDS infrastructure that provides a greater choice of services to customers. Sabre has also integrated its Dev Studio APIs – which provide market data, fare trend information, travel seasonality and alternative …

The first edition of the Travel Tech ME Congress concluded at Marriot Al Jaddaf in Dubai, UAE. The event gathered 100 technology experts, travel agents, airline operators and airport officials to provide a forum of exchange on the current technologies in tourism. Organised by Verve Management, the two-day congress started with Diego Lofeudo, Director of Business Unit, Corporate, Yas Marina Circuit, UAE who made the official welcome address. Conference Chairman, Albert Fernando, COO, Travelwings opened day two of Travel Tech ME Congress, where he said, “A great initiative for Verve Management, that has helped tourism stakeholders better understand and share future trends in travel technology. The industry looks forward to the congress next year, bringing in even more experts in travel technology.”Several presentations over two days shed light on the latest innovations happening across the world in terms of travel and tourism. Albert Dias, Co-founder & CTO, Musafir discussed the importance of sub-second search speed and its effect on a travelers’ decision-making process.Juan Iván Martín, Head of Innovation, FDS, from IATA discussed travel blockchain, the introduction of the IATA coin as payment methods and how hackathons such as the IATA-NDC Hackathon-2016 in Dubai have helped the airline industry as well as the hotel and travel industries by introducing innovative ideas, and applications that have been implemented and increased revenue in the travel and tourism industry in the region. From blockchain, IATA coins being implemented, disruption, the importance of sub-second search speed, web technologies challenging today’s relevance and the future existence of mobile apps. The two-day conference was concluded with a panel discussion of the lessons learned and the way forward, on the evolution in the hotel distribution system.

Travel management company, ITL World signed a new agreement with technology provider Sabre Corporation.  Under the new agreement, Sabre will enable the TMC to continue fuelling its global expansion strategy. With 39 fully owned/operated offices across Asia, Middle East & Europe, ITL World, a member of the Eram Group already enjoys a successful relationship with Sabre, will continue to access Sabre’s broad portfolio of technology solutions, including the latest mobile, data analytics, personalisation and automation capabilities.  The TMC will also benefit from the new version of the Sabre Red Workspace, which was designed to help agents offer a greater experience and more personalisation to travellers. “We chose Sabre as its innovative technology has proven to better support our objectives, which include delivering the highest level of service to our customers,” said Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman and Managing Director, Eram Group/ITL World. “Sabre’s understanding of the latest technology trends and traveller behaviours has been essential in our expansion in the Middle East. It has helped us to truly understand the needs of the Middle Eastern traveller, enabling us to deliver an unrivalled service to our large customer base. Sabre’s new platform will help us to meet the growing demands of our travellers globally, who demand and expect increasingly personalised itineraries and a seamless travel experience.” “ITL World has proven its position as a global player in a very short time,” said Ramzi Al Qassab, Commercial Director for GCC and global partners. “This agreement highlights the confidence ITL World has in Sabre’s expertise and technology to support its objectives and meet its diverse customer needs.”