Category Archives: Technology

Wego and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority are partnering to promote Bahrain as a leading travel destination. This strategic partnership combines Wego’s cutting-edge travel technology with Bahrain’s abundant cultural heritage and diverse attractions, promising an unmatched experience for travelers worldwide. Wego, renowned for connecting millions of users to a wide array of travel options, is excited to join forces with the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to showcase the Kingdom’s unique attractions, historical landmarks, and warm hospitality. This collaboration signifies a shared commitment to enhancing Bahrain’s visibility on the global stage and driving tourism growth for the Kingdom. The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, recognizing Wego’s extensive reach and user-friendly platform as key assets to promote Bahrain’s beauty and charm. With its blend of modernity and tradition, Bahrain has much to offer, from vibrant markets and cultural festivals to historical sites and pristine beaches. “Wego is delighted to collaborate once again with the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to spotlight the incredible offerings of Bahrain,” said Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer of Wego. “Our platform is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating travel experiences, and we are eager to showcase Bahrain’s rich tapestry to our global audience. This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to promoting exceptional destinations and creating memorable journeys.” The co-marketing initiative will leverage Wego’s digital platform to feature dedicated sections highlighting Bahrain’s key attractions, travel tips, and exclusive promotions. The collaboration aims to position Bahrain as a top destination for travelers seeking a blend of culture, adventure, and relaxation. Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority is confident that this partnership will contribute to the Kingdom’s tourism goals and foster positive …

Travelport and Qatar Airways  announced that Qatar’s NDC content and enhanced servicing capabilities are now available in the Travelport+ platform. Travelport customers can easily search and compare NDC offers from Qatar Airways, as well as service NDC bookings, which includes modifications and cancellations. Travelport+ enables agency customers to access a wide range of rich content, fares, and unique offerings from Qatar Airways all in one place, enhanced by the Content Curation Layer (CCL). This Travelport+ feature minimizes manual tasks using powerful artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) capabilities to provide agents and travelers a more modern retailing experience with faster search response times, highly relevant results, and greater accuracy. “Our NDC collaboration with Travelport ensures that travel agents around the globe can effortlessly shop and book our growing repertoire of NDC offers and provide exceptional service to our customers, including post-ticketing,” said Matt Raos, Senior Vice President, Global Sales at Qatar Airways. “Qatar Airways has long been committed to bringing our agency partners along on the NDC journey, so we’re pleased to extend our NDC offers to Travelport subscribers.” “Now that Qatar’s NDC content is available on Travelport+, our agency customers will have the ability to view and compare more dynamic offers and ancillaries from Qatar Airways so they can create a more streamlined, personalized experience for travelers,” said Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport. “We’ve built our NDC solution to empower travel agents to operate as modern retailers and provide the level of service that travelers need beyond the point of booking, so that our partners benefit from more upsells and greater loyalty from their customers.” Travelport’s NDC content and servicing solution for Qatar Airways has …

Seed Group has taken a significant step towards revolutionising the travel industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through its strategic partnership with Seoul-based hospitality tech startup ONDA. With a strong presence in South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, ONDA is transforming the labor-intensive hospitality industry with digital and data. ONDA supports the continuous growth of the hospitality industry, providing both digital transformation solutions and B2B platforms that enable properties around the world to increase their online sales and operational efficiency. Hisham Al Gurg, CEO of Seed Group, expressed his excitement about this partnership, saying, “We are delighted to collaborate with ONDA, a forward-thinking hospitality technology company with an impressive track record. Seed Group is committed to identifying and partnering with innovative companies that can bring positive changes to the Middle East market. ONDA’s expertise and technology will undoubtedly redefine the landscape of the MENA travel industry, enhancing the guest experience and operational efficiency for accommodations across the region.” “We are incredibly enthusiastic about our partnership with Seed Group, a pivotal advancement in ONDA’s global journey. This venture not only symbolises a significant opportunity for us to showcase our leading-edge hospitality technology but also marks the beginning of providing our innovative solutions to newly launching hotels in the MENA region. We are confident that this collaboration will redefine the hospitality landscape, underscoring ONDA’s commitment as a key driver behind the industry’s technological evolution.” Established in 2016, ONDA embarked on its journey as a B2B hospitality tech startup. ONDA now distributes 700,000 properties from vacation rentals to luxury hotels and resorts across 60 online channels globally. ONDA also drives digital transformation in the hospitality industry, providing operational solutions to …

Riyadh Air and Adobe announced a strategic technology partnership. Riyadh Air will integrate with a broad range of travel partners, both in the Kingdom and globally, allowing guests to manage their entire travel experience through its digital properties. As the lead systems integrator, IBM Consulting will employ Adobe’s Experience Cloud technologies to create a cohesive and tailored travel journey for Riyadh Air guests. With plans to carry its first passengers in 2025, Riyadh Air aims to connect the Kingdom to more than 100 destinations around the world, supporting both the National Aviation Strategy’s and National Tourism Strategy ambitions to bring 330 million annual visitors to the Kingdom by 2030. “We’re on a mission to shape the future of travel and meet guest’s expectations of their travel experience,” said Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer at Riyadh Air. “Through our strategic partnership with Adobe, we will be able to create incredible, personalized experiences for our guests at every stage and every moment of their journey, from planning their trips towards booking and boarding their flight and towards the arrival destination across the world.” “As a new digitally native airline, Riyadh Air has an opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to delivering personalized, real-time digital experiences for air travelers,” said Anil Chakravarthy, president, Digital Experience Business at Adobe. “The airline’s vision, combined with the power of Experience Cloud and generative AI, holds the promise of setting entirely new standards for digital experiences in the travel industry and beyond.” Adobe technology will be used by Riyadh Air to offer a seamless, end-to-end travel experience to the guests traveling globally to and from Saudi Arabia, as well as those traveling …

WegoPro announced its collaboration with Circles. This partnership aims to enhance the booking experience for business travelers by integrating data roaming services seamlessly within their booking journey on WegoPro. With this collaboration, businesses can now streamline their business travelers’ experience across both pre and post-booking stages on the same platform, ensuring better control and efficiency while meeting the needs of the travelers. By adding connectivity services, WegoPro not only elevates the convenience for the business traveler but also enables businesses to manage all expenses within the same platform, simplifying the entire travel process. “We are thrilled to partner with Circles to enhance the business travel experience for our users,” said Prashant Kirtane, CEO of WegoPro. “By integrating Jetpac’s eSIM into our platform, we are empowering business travelers with seamless connectivity and exclusive perks, further solidifying WegoPro as the ultimate solution for modern business travel.” One of the key highlights of this collaboration is the introduction of Jetpac’s eSIM, offering users the ultimate convenience of travel roaming services. With a one-time installation of the eSIM, travelers can enjoy connectivity across all destinations covered by Jetpac, eliminating the hassle of SIM swapping forever. This eSIM can be used in over 100 countries and across multiple destinations within 30 days, enabling travelers to connect instantly upon landing without worrying about data roaming charges. Aditya Goyal, Business Head of New Business Build in Circles, said: “We are very excited to partner with WegoPro to bring our award-winning Jetpac Travel eSIM product to Business Travelers. With Jetpac Travel eSim, WegoPro customers will get seamless connectivity around the world. This is a new milestone in revolutionizing the Business Travel across the globe”. Jetpac’s eSIM also comes …

AVIAREPS together with the Shanghai Municipal Government announced the launch of Shanghai’s official online B2B travel platform, SmoothTravel. SmoothTravel serves as the official gateway for the global travel industry to connect with both inbound and outbound Chinese travel agencies, tour wholesalers, online travel agencies (OTAs), and MICE agents in the East China market. SmoothTravel aims to seamlessly link international travel businesses with the thriving Chinese travel market. The platform is designed for all segments of the travel industry around the world, including major destinations, receptive tour operators, hotel groups, retailers, attractions, rental car agencies, cruise lines, and more, all eager to broaden their business outreach to the Chinese market. Key Features of SmoothTravel: • China Partner Search: SmoothTravel empowers overseas members to identify new inbound or outbound China travel trade partners. Members can easily connect with Smooth Travel’s Member Matching Manager, facilitating introductions to highly-qualified Chinese travel trade partners based on their specific requirements. • Risk Mitigation: Addressing differences in payment practices, SmoothTravel provides a unique payment guarantee system to minimize risks associated with new China travel industry partners. A comprehensive travel insurance program is also offered for Chinese members to ensure risk reduction for both outbound and inbound sectors. In addition, a bilingual mediation system to resolve any disputes is provided at no cost to members. • China Outbound Market and Consumer Insights: Leveraging extensive China government and industry resources, SmoothTravel delivers the latest research on China’s outbound travel market, industry trends, and consumer preferences. This includes surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, workshops, and on-site visits. • Training and Support: SmoothTravel offers a comprehensive two-way training platform with specialized courses for both overseas and Chinese members. All members can …

In collaboration with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), H2O Hospitality (H2O) has established its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi. ADIO provided H2O, which operates in the accommodation and leisure sector, with a comprehensive range of growth-enabling support, including financial incentives, setup enablement and connections to the Abu Dhabi ecosystem and international trade opportunities. H2O’s solutions will also contribute to Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector. The company is connected to more than 85 online travel agencies, in addition to managing over 190,000 units and 680 properties. It provides solutions which automate the front and back-end processes of hotels by digitising the process flow, enabling paperless and contactless procedures that improve efficiency and profitability for operators. H2O’s solutions in Abu Dhabi will enhance guest experience with mobile-based booking, check-in, smart locks, in-room services and payments. John Lee, Founder and CEO of H2O, said: “Digital transformation has become an even more pressing matter for the hospitality industry. The move highlights the strong economic cooperation between South Korea and Abu Dhabi, which has become increasingly focussed on innovation and technology. In the past 10 years, South Korea has been ranked as the most innovative nation six times by the Bloomberg Innovation Index. Abu Dhabi was also named the smartest city in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for 2023 in the IMD Smart City Index, released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Badr Al-Olama, Acting Director General of ADIO, said: “Both Abu Dhabi and South Korea are globally known for their approach to innovation, sharing similar visions for digital transformation, and are natural partners to navigate the tech-enabled future. “At the same time, Abu Dhabi has become renowned for its diverse investment climate, …

SpaceKnow, a New York-based technology company dedicated to transforming space data into actionable intelligence has announced the launch of SpaceGuardian in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. SpaceGuardian is the first approved company dedicated to satellite imagery and AI analysis to launch in Saudi Arabia. Majid Alghaslan, Chairman & CEO of Front End Limited Company and Founder & Partner of SpaceGuardian, and Jerry Javornicky, CEO and Co-Founder of SpaceKnow entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement to launch SpaceGuardian in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2024 that took place in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from February 12-14, 2024. The agreement marks a significant leap forward in leveraging satellite imagery and AI analysis to empower various sectors across the Kingdom. SpaceGuardian specializes in applying machine learning AI on satellite imagery to facilitate economic activities, energy and commodities analysis, environmental assessments, construction progress tracking, and more. Speaking on the occasion, Majid Alghaslan, said, “The historic launch of SpaceGuardian marks a pivotal moment for the entire technological and industrial landscape of Saudi Arabia. As the inaugural company dedicated to satellite imagery and AI analysis, this partnership embraces innovation and progress that will propel Saudi Arabia into a new era of digital transformation.” Jerry Javornicky, CEO and Co-Founder of SpaceKnow remarked, “Majid Alghaslan has a long history of bringing the most innovative companies into the Kingdom, so for us, collaborating with Majid was the ideal way to enter Saudi Arabia. We aim to revolutionize the AI-powered geospatial analytics market and to bring our technology to multiple sectors, starting with infrastructure monitoring, carbon sequestration, and security applications.” SpaceGuardian’s innovative approach to satellite imagery analysis and AI integration offers a myriad …

Wego announced a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) with the goal of positioning Hong Kong as a leading global travel destination for GCC. Wego is eager to collaborate with HKTB to highlight Hong Kong’s distinct attractions, cultural richness, and modern allure. The Hong Kong Tourism Board eagerly welcomes this collaboration, recognizing Wego’s expansive reach and user-friendly platform as instrumental in highlighting the allure and distinctiveness of Hong Kong. From its seamless fusion of modernity and tradition to the plethora of experiences – be it the iconic skyscrapers and bustling markets or the serene landscapes and exquisite cuisine – Hong Kong captivates travelers with its diversity. In expressing his anticipation for the collaboration, Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer of Wego, commented, “Embarking on this exciting venture with the Hong Kong Tourism Board allows us to showcase the extraordinary offerings of this world-class destination. Wego’s commitment to inspiring and facilitating travel experiences aligns seamlessly with our goal of presenting Hong Kong’s diverse tapestry to a global audience. This partnership underscores our joint dedication to promoting exceptional destinations and curating unforgettable journeys.” Utilizing Wego’s digital platform, the co-marketing initiative will spotlight Hong Kong’s key attractions, provide insider travel tips. This collaboration aims to position Hong Kong as the ultimate destination for travelers in search of a harmonious blend of culture, innovation, and unparalleled experiences. Puneet Kumar, Director, South Asia and Middle East of Hong Kong Tourism Board said: “We are excited to partner with Wego Middle East in creatively presenting Hong Kong to all travel enthusiasts in the GCC. Hong Kong has become more accessible for GCC nationals with improved daily air connectivity and visa-free travel. We’re excited to …

Riyadh Air has selected Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite to efficiently manage its core business operations after a competitive bidding process. The services include digitalizing finance, supply chain, and human capital management. The implementation will help Riyadh Air develop a modern, scalable, and secure business platform to enable data driven decision making, reduce costs, enhance employee engagement, and streamline procurement processes. Riyadh Air has chosen Tech Mahindra as the implementation partner for this initiative, which will help Riyadh Air evolve as the world’s first digitally native airline. Tech Mahindra, is a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions. Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer at Riyadh Air, said, “Riyadh Air aims to disrupt the future of air travel and as part of our vision we need to be at the forefront of innovation and technology. A key part of this approach is to partner with world-class experts as we build technical capabilities that enable us to deliver a seamless digital-first experience to our guests”. Since it launched in March 2023, Riyadh Air has signed several technology and engineering partnerships to enhance Riyadh Air’s offerings, services, and operational models, and set new standards in aviation sustainability and innovation. The airline now has major agreements with Lufthansa Systems, IBM Consulting, Accenture, Swiss AS, CAE, and Microsoft respectively. “Riyadh Air represents the true ambition, capability, and global outlook of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s aviation sector is rapidly expanding, and Riyadh Air will play a vital role in helping Saudi Arabia achieve its 2030 aviation goals that aim to outpace global growth”, said Reham AlMusa, Vice President – Cloud Applications, Saudi Arabia, and Managing Director at Oracle Saudi Arabia. “Riyadh …