In the news: A Sabre sponsored CoE in Delhi, FASTBOOKING in Japan, Etihad Airways’ new mobile app, top destinations for UAE and Saudi Arabia family travel,
Sabre partners with Indian university incubate to its next QA Centre of Excellence
The Sabre CoE in Delhi is the first of its kind in India. (Image credit: Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women)
Sabre has tied up with Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) in Delhi, India, to build an ecosystem of industry-ready test engineers.
The company will set up a Quality Assurance Centre of Excellence (CoE), which will teach student skills on industry standard test engineering practices.
Successful students will be offered a six-month internship programme at Sabre’s development centre in Bangalore. On completion of the internship Sabre will also facilitate International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) certification for students based on their performance.
Shail Maniar, vice president and managing director of Sabre India, said the incubation centre was the first of its kind in India.
“With complex and mission critical software products being built at Sabre’s development centre in Bangalore we see an increased demand for trained test engineers in automation, performance engineering and big data testing. We believe this programme will benefit IGDTUW, the industry and Sabre.”
IGDTUW started as the Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), the first engineering college for women in India, before being upgraded to a university in 2013. It promotes study, research and innovation among women with a focus on engineering, technology, applied sciences, management and related areas. It currently has about 2,000 students studying various programmes,
Hotels in Japan turns to booking solutions to meet tourism boom
Japan is enjoying a sharp rise in international visitors arrival. (Image credit: HATCH_TK iStock)
Japan is enjoying healthy tourist arrivals, and hotels are turning to boking solutions to handle the influx of international travellers while maintaining its domestic business.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, Japan received about 1.85 million international visitors in January this year, a 52% rise over the same period in 2015.
The country has set an initial target of 20 million visitors by 2020 when Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics, but the positive arrival trend has made the government revised the target to 40 million.
Pierre-Charles Grob, managing director of FASTBOOKING in Asia, have some advice for the hotels that are currently filling their rooms mostly with domestic tours but are looking to tap the growing international market.
“Our message to hotels is to prioritise two tasks – develop a direct booking channel, and create a watertight revenue management strategy that can manage all booking channels with best results. It is important to get these two things right ahead of managing high volumes of international business.”
FASTBOOKING is working with over 300 hotels in Japan including Prince Hotels and Resorts, Fujita Kanko, Tokyu Hotels and Resorts, Hankyu Hanshin, Century Southern Tower, and Park Hotel Tokyo.
The company recently signed contracts with the Ishin Group and Okura Nikko Hotel Management. The latter, with 74 hotels in its portfolio, is working with FASTBOOKING to redesign its website for international appeal and to make it user-friendly across all types of devices.
Ishin Group, with 16 hotels in Japan, is also developing its corporate and property-level websites to incorporate a distribution platform with a booking engine that handles both domestic and international markets. It is doing this with the help of FASTBOOKING.
Reimagine the flying experience with Etihad Airways’ new mobile app
Eithad Airways’ new iOS app
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, promises its guests “a seamless world-class service” with its new mobile app for the iPhone.
The app was launched in partnership with MTT, a leading provider of digital solutions to the airline industry.
Guests using the app can pay for their tickets by scanning their credit card. They can also check in for their flight by using their mobile phone to simply scan their passport page. Boarding passes can be viewed from the app or downloaded directly to iOS Wallet.
With the app the airline’s guests can navigate their way around Abu Dhabi International Airport using indoor maps – a first in the Middle East.
It also incorporates high resolution enhanced seat maps, giving passengers a detailed layout of the cabin and their chosen seat.
The app is a free download at the Apple App Store.
Top family destinations for UAE and Saudi Arabia travellers
Dubai is a popular family destination. (Image credit of textile souq Bur Dubai: TasfotoNL/iStock)
Family comes first for travellers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with about 50% of them holidaying with their extended family.
This was revealed by Wego from data of its searches by these travellers.
Mamoun Hmedan, managing director of Wego Middle East, North Africa, and India, said: “Very often the responsibility of arranging the family’s travel plans falls on one person. At Wego, we regularly see large searches for more than four travellers from both countries, with huge surges during major holiday periods such as Ramadan (Muslim holy month of fasting).”
Data trails on Wego showed that group travel planning correlates with popular family destinations, each providing unique getaways with something for everyone in the family to enjoy.
The top 10 family destinations from Saudi Arabia are, according to popularity, Istanbul, Dubai, Jakarta, Cairo, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Trabzon, Dammam, and Casablanca.
Travellers from UAE rated Cairo as their top family destination followed by Istanbul, Jeddah, Amman, Bangkok, Dubai, Munich, Kuala Lumpur, Tbilisi, and Kuwait City
“Many of the accommodation options at these destinations also cater to large families, with sofa bed and connecting room options to suit large family groups,” said Hmeda.
Added appeal of these destinations include options and packages such as complimentary kids meals, extra beds, activities, and group transfers.
