Tag Archives: technology

Sav announced a groundbreaking partnership with Desert Adventures. This alliance is set to redefine destination experiences, offering Sav users unparalleled access to a diverse array of leisure and adventure services. With over 75% of residents prioritizing spending on new and memorable experiences, Sav and Desert Adventures are well-positioned to capitalize on this expanding market. Through this partnership, Sav users can now explore the range of Desert Adventures’ offerings directly from the Sav app. This includes guided city tours in multiple languages, desert safaris, attraction and theme park tickets, sea cruises, aerial tours, dining experiences, and exciting sports and adventure activities. Additionally, users will benefit from exclusive discounts and offers when booking Desert Adventures experiences through the Sav app. “We are thrilled to join forces with Desert Adventures to redefine destination experiences for our users”, said Purvi Munot, Co-founder and CEO at Sav. “At Sav, we believe in empowering our users not just financially but also in every aspect of their lives. This collaboration is a significant stride towards enhancing our users’ leisure experiences, offering them unique opportunities to explore the destinations and save.” “As one of the most reputable Destination Management Companies in the region, we are very excited to combine our services with Sav’s innovative platform. ” said Samir Mehta, COO at Desert Adventures. ” This collaboration allows us to effectively distribute our wide range of destination services to the local UAE market, offering unique value propositions for ‘must-do’ experiences.” The integration of Desert Adventures’ offerings into the Sav app is now live, allowing users to explore a diverse range of experiences with ease. Both companies are committed to deepening their collaboration, promising users even more innovative features, broader …

IBM announced their collaboration with Riyadh Air, the digital-native airline currently scheduled to commence operations in early 2025, to revolutionize the airline’s travel experiences. The airline plans to introduce next-generation, channel-fluid guest and traveler interactions, tapping into IBM Consulting’s open ecosystem of business partners and deep industry expertise spanning strategy, experience design, technology and operations. Today, IBM hosted a signing ceremony, announcing the collaboration at the 3rd edition of LEAP 2024, the international technology conference held annually in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; in the presence of Tony Douglas (Chief Executive Officer, Riyadh Air) and Arvind Krishna (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM) and executive management from both entities. “We’re on a mission to shape the future of air travel at Riyadh Air,” said Tony Douglas, CEO at Riyadh Air. “By teaming up with IBM, we’re pushing the boundaries of innovation to create a transformed passenger experience that is more seamless, personalized and sustainable. From AI-powered check-in systems to immersive in-flight entertainment, we’re leveraging the latest technologies to make air travel more enjoyable and accessible for everyone.” Committed to delivering unique, intelligent and hyper-personalized guest journeys, Riyadh Air will harness IBM Consulting’s expertise across generative AI, experience orchestration, marketing and customer engagement platforms, mobile, web and in-flight applications. All of these capabilities will be accelerated through the proven, collaborative engagement model of IBM Garage, to help craft guest experiences that are culturally enriching across the travel journey, on ground or in the air. “We’re excited to extend our collaboration with Riyadh Air, working together to revolutionize the way people experience travel,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO at IBM. “We will combine user-friendly design, cutting-edge technology, and a shared commitment …

At a recent exclusive interview with TravelTV Middle East, Alan William Chief Strategy Officer Satguru Travel shared that upskilling the staff is important with new technologies such as AI and NDC. He reiterated, “Travel is a very personal business irrespective of what AI pops out today if you do a ChatGPT and what it pops out today, do you really believe it? I think there is a lot more for AI to go and if you read all the management books they always say to take AI with a pinch of salt and that’s what we are also doing. We are very much aware that technology will be there but when packages are formed they still need human intervention. I come from a generation when computers were introduced they didn’t kill jobs but the skills of the people need to change to adapt to the new requirements it’s a service industry people are needed but it’s a different breed of people that are needed. Upskilling is very important take for example a travel consultant five years ago his job was to issue a ticket and ensure those tickets were issued but today with NDC coming in and the amount of ancillaries the staff has to know.”

At the recently concluded International Women’s Day celebrations by TravTalkME, panellist Aga Khatib, General Manager Panworld Travel spoke on the importance of attracting next generation to join the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. She reiterated, “I can see shifting values. I think its also important to recognise that the values are changing and how we can close the gap between the generations and how we can attract the young generation to join our industry by increasing the net revenue which industries generate. Next, we need to create for them the surroundings or conditions that speak to their values by offering flexible timings, attracting them by pointing how the tourism and hospitality industry has a great positive impact in terms of the income, revenue, connections, learning about different culture and travelling the world and also focus on personal benefits like building confidence there are many points that we need to link the benefits by source of inspiration like social media or internet.”

AI and technology seem to make waves in the industry, speaking at the recently concluded TTME’s International Women’s Day celebrations,  Mona Faraj Managing Director – HSMAI ME, CEO – ExploreTECH and Founder of Insight Out Consultancy shared the importance of technology and how it makes our work more efficient. A question she asked the audience was “how many of you came without using the google maps to the venue” to which she answered that a few years ago there may have been only a few hands but today in order to make our journey smoother we use the maps. “AI is there to make us better people, that’s what its all about and that’s my opinion. I think hospitality and travel industry, we are typically slow adopters of technology. Airline does it way before us and so does other industries but when it comes to hospitality and travel we are slow adopters. Yes, we are all about the human interaction and we are all about being hospitable as a human but AI or technology in general is there to make us spend our time on serving the guest versus doing all the transactional, time consuming activities that we do day in day out. Did anyone come here without using google maps? If we would have asked this question 15 or 20 years ago a few hands would have gone up.” She further reiterated that a recent article shared that even the watch industry is transforming so AI is moving in the same way but faster than we adopted to internet of things. She opined that in hospitality and travel there are so many technology providers that can help in different …

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 …

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 …

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in Saudi Arabia initiative, developed by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), is an ambitious roadmap to make the Saudi air transport sector the safest and most developed in the Middle East region. This includes a wide range of innovative solutions ranging from small unmanned aircraft to aircraft with vertical take-off and landing. These technologies will be able to provide safe, sound, sustainable and faster means of transport for people and goods, characterized by high technical capabilities that contribute to alleviating congestion on the roads and facilitating easy access to remote areas in the country, and thus contributing to achieving overall economic and social development. Capt. Sulaiman Al-Muhaymedi, executive vice president of GACA for aviation safety and environmental sustainability, said the AAM initiative in Saudi Arabia includes the steps that must be taken to draw a comprehensive road map that places AAM at the forefront of the aviation industry. The AAM is transforming the future of the transportation sector, offering innovative solutions, from small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. He stated that these developments contribute to revolutionizing the movement of passengers, transportation of goods, emergency response, medical evacuation, and disaster relief. He drew attention to environmental sustainability, in addition to the initiative’s inclusion of the foundations for building a successful system for advanced air transport. Al-Muhaymedi indicated that tests were conducted in the Kingdom that included diverse terrain and multiple climatic conditions, which resulted in positive results that can be achieved in various transportation sectors thanks to reliance on advanced air transport, such as reducing traffic congestion and road accidents, as well as contributing to the Kingdom’s achievement of …

Jazeera Airways announced the signing of a new facilities management contract with Kuwait-based Intelligent Management Solutions (IMS). Under the terms of the contract, IMS will utilize its Computerized Aided Facilities Management System (CAFM IMS) to digitize operations systems and maintenance at Jazeera Terminal 5 (T5) and other facilities. This contract is a part Jazeera Airways’ commitment to support local businesses. Speaking about the contract, Naser Al Obaid, Chief Executive Officer, Jazeera Terminal 5, highlighted: “We are pleased to partner with Intelligent Management Solutions and benefit from their comprehensive digital operations and maintenance system to manage our facilities. It is also a matter of pride to be working with a Kuwaiti startup that has seen many successes in providing its services to local and regional companies.” Jazeera Terminal 5 (T5), fully owned and operated by Jazeera Airways aims to make the passenger journey faster and smoother. The recently upgraded terminal includes 24 check-in desks, five boarding gates, transit areas, food, and beverage options, Duty Free and retail outlets as well as service provider desks for the convenience of all passengers. A 350-vehicle parking building across the road is connected to the Terminal by a walking bridge making it easier to cross over or transfer luggage, especially during the summer months. With just one security check to be cleared for departures, passengers can relax till it’s time to board their flight. IMS is a startup company founded by Kuwaiti entrepreneur Faleh Alajmi. The company developed its proprietary Computerized Aided Facilities Management System (CAFM IMS) to enable companies to efficiently manage facilities, reduce maintenance costs and preserve asset values. The system, alongside the company’s services and solutions, has benefited government-owned and private companies …