Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group has acquired Umapped, a Toronto-based technology company that provides travel documentation, communication and itinerary management software to the travel industry.
Flight Centre will take 100% ownership of Umapped and will use general cash to fund the acquisition. “The purchase price is immaterial to the company and has not been disclosed,” it added.
The Australian travel company said the purchase would boost its digital transformation, as well as enhanced its web and mobile services to deliver upgraded documentation, better templates and seamless, real-time communication between consultants and customers.
“This acquisition will deliver immediate improvements to several of our businesses, including interactive, media-rich enhanced itineraries that feature personalised offers and content, live updates, two-way messaging, real-time chat, and much more,” commented Atle Skalleberg, Flight Centre chief digital officer.
Umapped was founded in 2012 by Lisa Israelovitch, CEO, and Thierry Wong, its chief technology officer, and has a team of 16. Its products include the Trip Publisher itinerary builder and TripLinQ API services, which consolidate bookings, curated content and real-time location data into a single interface. Travellers’ quotes and documents are transformed from static emails and PDFs to a collaborative, living itinerary experience.
The company will continue operating as an independent business unit run by Israelovitch and Wong, and they will report to Skalleberg.
A boost for Flight Centre;s digital transformation with purchase of Umapped.
Umapped’s products, which are already being used by Flight Centre’’s GOGO wholesale business in the US, will now be rolled out in its other businesses globally. They will also a key feature of FCB 2.0, the next generation Flight Centre brand offering in Australia.
“We have been impressed with the platform and believe it can have a positive impact on our consultants’ productivity and on our customers’ travel experiences.,” said Flight Centre CEO Graham “Skroo” Turner. “We continue to invest in systems and teams that can surface our expertise, but also make millions of engagements with our customers easier and more personal. We hope to deploy Umapped software in several countries within a year.”
Israelovitch described both Flight Centre and Umapped as “pioneers when it comes to technology in the travel industry.”
Additionally, “both companies share similar values and a deep commitment to empower travel advisors and suppliers with technology that adds significant value throughout the customer journey. We are very excited to work alongside the talented FLT team to develop new product offerings with a continued commitment to customer service,” she remarked.
