Category Archives: Technology

Sabre Corporation has launched its 2017 Technology Day series in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, offering a view into the top technology trends and innovations impacting the travel industry and what Sabre is investing in for the future.  The series started off with two dedicated sessions for travel companies in Riyadh, which were offered the opportunity to hear and discuss trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of travel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region, including the important role of online, mobile, and personalisation. Other sessions were conducted around the Kingdom in Jeddah and Khobar. “Diversifying economies and investing in different industries are the best strategies to overcome the economic challenges we are facing in the Middle East,” said Daniel Naoumovitch, CEO, Saber Travel Network, Middle East. “The Saudi vision 2030 realizes the importance of the travel and tourism sector and its role to support the country’s GDP. Our investments and efforts in Saudi Arabia will continue to be aligned with the Saudi directions and it remains a priority for us to provide the industry’s stakeholders with latest solutions and innovations that will enable them to attract more customers, increase revenue and compete on a global level which will result in contributing to the success of this vision.” Naoumovitch also spoke about the latest trends, emerging technologies and Sabre’s investments in this field. He said:  “Mobile, online and emerging technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligent are having a profound impact on travel, and in the next few years, we’re going to see a lot of changes to how traveler’s needs are met. Saudi travelers are fast adaptors of latest technologies and they are leading the …

Travelport announced a new, multi-year agreement with Bin Ham Travel Group. The Bin Ham Travel Group will leverage Travelport’s innovative technology through the Travel Commerce Platform to gain access to the fares and ancillaries of approximately 400 of the world’s leading airlines. Also, through Travelport Smartpoint, travel agents have the capability to upsell more hotel rooms and car rentals with access to over 650,000 unique hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations all through their preferred work flows. Established in 1979, Bin Ham Travel Group comprises three leading travel management companies: Al Amaan Travel and Holidays, Al Ain Express Travel and Bin Ham Travel. His Highness Sheikh Mubarak Bin Ham, CEO at Bin Ham Travel Group, remarked: “We are delighted to have signed this new partnership with Travelport. We have invested in their unique travel technology and wide range of tailor made solutions to strengthen our online presence and provide our travellers with the most travel options and the best traveller booking experience available.  Having superior travel booking technology and content is an important part of our growth strategy across the region.” Matthew Powell, Managing Director, Middle East & South Asia at Travelport, commented: “This new partnership with Bin Ham Travel Group, a celebrated travel industry leader in the UAE, is a great testimony to how our industry-leading Travel Commerce Platform, which offers unrivalled technology and travel content, is supporting the needs of our customers across the region as they target growth in their businesses.  We look forward to partnering with the Bin Ham Travel Group and helping them do exactly this.”

Tink Labs Limited, Hong Kong-based start-up, is bringing its mobile travel solution handy to the GCC as part of its global expansion. handy is an innovative smartphone provided as a complimentary amenity in partner hotel rooms, integrating with hotel services and offering travellers unlimited connectivity on the go, as well as tailored travel guides. The hand-held device helps to deliver hassle-free travels and meet a growing demand for Internet connection services from hotel guests. In the GCC, handy engaged in a pilot project with luxury hoteliers in Dubai with plans to launch in the rest of the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among other markets in the region. In each market, handy helps to connect travellers with their destination by revealing local gems while on the go and tools they need to travel like locals. handy’s mission to make travel easier and destinations more accessible means it perfectly complements the smart tourism projects underway in gateway GCC cities, such as Dubai. “After proven success in international markets from Hong Kong to London, we see a tremendous opportunity to create more travel-friendly experiences and help boost tourism in key destinations in the GCC,” said Terence Kwok, Founder and CEO, Tink Labs. “Facilitating enduring, fun connections between tourists and their host cities plays a crucial role in creating an enriched experience for travellers and hoteliers and in boosting the city’s reputation as a must-visit tourist destination. This is why, in 2017, we plan to offer handy to travellers in dozens of new markets, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha among others,” he said. Spearheading launch operations in new markets and responsible for the business in the Middle East is Tink Labs Limited …

Dubai Airports has launched the world’s fastest free Wi-Fi connection at an airport to millions of passengers that travel through DXB each month. Named WOW-Fi, the service provides Internet connection up to 100mbps. This follows Dubai Airports’ launch of an upgraded free unlimited high-speed Wi-Fi connection across Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) in December last year. Commenting on DXB’s latest offering, Michael Ibbitson, Executive Vice President of Technology and Infrastructure at Dubai Airports said, “As the biggest international airport in the world, we are at the heart of many journeys across the globe. To support these travellers, late last year we have launched unlimited free high-speed Wi-Fi for our customers across our airports but our goal was to offer something they have never experienced at an airport before. With WOW-Fi, passengers will get a speed of up to 100mbps to enable them to quickly download or upload emails, pictures, videos and social media updates and then get on with enjoying the airport or connecting to their friends and family across the world.” “We are always looking at ways to enhance airport experience for our customers by introducing the latest and best in technology and constantly making improvements to our existing services and facilities. During the two months since the soft launch of WOW-Fi, the service has been enjoyed by an average of over 100,000 unique users per day. We are certain the WOW-Fi experience will impress the 89 million passengers we expect to welcome at DXB in 2017,” he added. The unlimited free Wi-Fi at DXB connects with just one click and offers speed that sets a new benchmark for airports globally. To ensure the speed and …

Sabre Corporation has announced an expanded agreement to make The Hertz Corporation’s full inventory of car rental rates, including those available via Hertz.com and its mobile app, available to more than 425,000 travel agents, hundreds of corporations and the world’s largest online travel agencies powered by Sabre’s APIs. A longstanding user of Sabre’s e-commerce technology, The Hertz Corporation chose Sabre as the first GDS provider to distribute its worldwide rental vehicle inventory – including Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands – to shop and book by travel agents, business travellers and online travel agency (OTA) websites using Sabre technology. With the renewed agreement, The Hertz Corporation is now positioned to market and offer its global car rental inventory through the Sabre travel marketplace, including popular prepay options previously available only on Hertz.com. The strategic collaboration will benefit Sabre-connected travel agents with a global network of car rental pickup locations, and additional payment options to shop and book one of the world’s largest vehicle fleets. Business travelers and online shoppers will also see immediate benefits, as corporate booking tools and OTA websites using Sabre technology will now display the full range of Hertz car rental inventory worldwide along with all available pricing options. Through the enhanced and additional car product offering, travel agents have access to all Hertz rates worldwide, seamlessly integrated into the Sabre Red platform which includes the Sabre Red Workspace and full set of APIs. “Sabre and Hertz have reached a landmark agreement that will maximize retailing opportunities through a mix of digital channels,” said Traci Mercer, SVP of hotel, car, cruise and rail in Sabre Travel Network. “We continue to offer Hertz seamless connectivity to the largest …

Cozmo Travel has launched a B2B trade portal, www.travtrolley.com for local travel and tourism industry operators in the UAE. This new online booking system offers a single login and account to manage the complete tour package which includes airlines, hotels and car rentals worldwide. It is a user-friendly interface developed to empower both travel agencies and corporates in the UAE and the GCC region. Commenting on the initiative, Jamal Abdul Nazar, CEO of Cozmo Travel, said, “We are proud to launch the B2B trade portal for the travel sector operators in the UAE. This is another milestone achievement for Cozmo Travel that allows us to spearhead the industry by incorporating online innovations to serve our customers well. Our new B2B online platform will be a pioneering initiative in the UAE’s travel and tourism industry. We also plan to expand this initiative to other GCC countries. The B2B portal provides both inbound and outbound holiday packages across the globe based on various seasons and interests.” Deepa Rajesh, Head of Sales at Cozmo Travel, said, “We are happy to launch the B2B portal, which is a one-of-a-kind initiative in the UAE’s travel industry. We introduced this considering the evolution of new business models in the travel industry to provide travellers more choices and assist them in making more informed decisions in the digital age. We firmly believe that technology and digital sector is the way forward and with dedication and hard work we want to be one of the best service providers in the travel and tourism industry. This portal is at the forefront both technologically and in terms of services offered. We are offering hundreds of airline fares and thousands of …

FCS Computer Systems (FCS) and NEC Enterprise Solutions EMEA, providers of advanced ICT solutions to the hospitality sector, have inked a partnership agreement that incorporates FCS solutions into the NEC Hospitality offering for the Hotel sector in EMEA. Under the new agreement, NEC Enterprise Solutions, NEC partners and their hotel clients will have access to FCS’ full suite of hotel operations management applications. The multi-language, web-based applications streamline a multitude of back-of-house and guest-facing hotel operation needs, from real-time maintenance requirements to housekeeping management to guest issue tracking and a comprehensive customer relationship management platform. The FCS suite of hospitality interface and operational solutions, encompassing billing interface, voicemail, job dispatch, engineering, housekeeping, glitch management and more, are fully tested and integrated to work with NEC’s range of IT and communications servers, and will be available directly to order through NEC’s business partners in EMEA. Eric Rogers, FCS’ Vice President EMEA, will be working closely with his team to support NEC partners in their rollout of these solutions. “This partnership is not just only about call accounting and voicemail, but also about providing NEC partners a fully featured range of new solutions to offer their hotel partners, thereby enhancing the value and relationship of new and existing customers,” said Rogers. “I have been working closely with Kees Van Donk (director of hospitality EMEA for NEC) and his team to make this a reality and am delighted to say that today the partnership is now in full effect, and I am looking forward to working closely with NEC’s Hospitality team, and the wider NEC partner family to support this new agreement.”

Travelport announced that it has become the first GDS to be granted with both ‘Aggregator Level One’ certification and ‘IT Provider Level Two’ status by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as part of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) programme. For airlines, this means that Travelport is able to fully integrate with its NDC application programme interface should the airline choose to use NDC-XML messaging to distribute and deliver their fares and products. For travel agencies and travel management companies, this means that when shopping for and booking flights via Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform, they will have even more enhanced travel content and greater access to ancillary offers. In particular, Travelport-connected agents will be able to make ancillary sales post the original flight booking, and through their preferred agency workflows, for the first time. Travelport has also achieved the NDC-capable ‘IT Provider’ Level Two status, making it only the second organisation — and first GDS — ever to be designated as NDC certified and NDC Capable.  This further expands its NDC capabilities and means that Travelport also has the option to distribute IATA NDC offers for fares and prices on behalf of the airlines electing to use IATA’s industry standards. Ian Heywood, Travelport’s Global Head of Product and Marketing, Air Commerce, commented: “We know the industry needs to transform the way flights are sold and IATA’s NDC is an important part of this.  It very much complements the pioneering merchandising technology we launched in 2014 with our Rich Content and Branding solution which enables airlines to retail their full range of products, and extensively promote their brand, to the travel trade and corporate bookers.  With this latest industry-first milestone, we …

Travelport has announced a new multi-year agreement with Astra Travel, the first dedicated travel management company in Egypt. This new partnership will provide Astra Travel with access to Travelport’s travel content – including the branded fares and ancillaries from the world’s leading airlines and low cost carriers, as well as over 650,000 hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations in nearly 180 countries across the globe. Astra Travel will access this consumer-ready content via Travelport Smartpoint, Travelport’s industry leading point of sale solution for travel agents that provides rich, graphical detail in a fast and accurate single workflow. Established in 1990, Astra Travel provides integrated travel services as well as event management services to large local and international firms. Fatma Nosseir, Managing Director, Astra Travel commented: “Considering the constant changes and customer needs of the travel industry, all of us at Astra Travel, are fully dedicated to customer satisfaction and devoted to serving our clients efficiently. Our investment in Travelport’s industry leading technology solutions is an innovative move for us to grow our business in the region. Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform will provide our business with opportunities to work smarter and improve our productivity and profitability, helping us to stand out from the competition.” Mervat Alfy, Country Manager, Travelport Egypt said: “Astra Travel is a key player in the Egyptian travel industry. This partnership with Astra Travel, is testament to the value that our Travel Commerce Platform brings to travel business and demonstrates how we are working with Egypt’s travel industry leaders to innovate together and support them in growing their businesses. Travelport’s presence in Egypt is steadily growing and we are looking forward to working with Astra Travel over …

UAE based loyalty and payments solutions company Infinia Services and Solutions will be launching its mobile application “Dubuy” during this week. Dubuy is the first one of a kind application in the Middle East with many benefits for tourists to Dubai at any time of the year. It is a smartphone application which can function on both Android and iOS formats for travellers to Dubai. Tourists can browse for merchant categories, apply filters and find locations near them using the simple geo-location tool, which shows all merchant offers nearby. It can be availed through hotels, DMCs or registered travel agents of Dubuy. A tourist visiting Dubai will be provided with a downloadable application link by the travel agent. Once the link is downloaded, entering an authentication code makes the application ready for use. The tourist can then view multiple options of discounts, offers and deals across various categories to explore in Dubai. Dubuy enfolds a number of options to discover Dubai like never before, with valuable discounts, offers and deals across shopping, dining, leisure & attractions, spa & wellness and many more.  The initial launch phase of Dubuy has already brought leading brands on board and plans are to build Dubuy into the ultimate experience for a tourist. With Dubuy, Infinia brings to tourists the ‘great deals more fun’ experience in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations – Dubai. “The driving force for growth at Infinia results from putting the customer at the centre of everything we do. Instead of offering a one-size-fits all model, we invest time and effort in understanding consumer needs and go about devising comprehensive solutions with the help of best-in-class technology and innovation. …