In the news: ECA International’s Daily Rates research report, IATA’s NDC aggregator certification for Travelport, CarTrawler and Justfly team up, H.I.S. Travel and Amadeus’ expense management solution
MARKET INTELLIGENCE: TOKYO OVERTAKES HONG KONG AS MOST EXPENSIVE CITY FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL
Hong Kong is the second most expensive city in APAC for business travel. (Image credit: Gang Zhou/iStock)
Tokyo has dislodged Hong Kong from its position as the most expensive destination in Asia Pacific for business travel this year.
The appreciation of the Japanese yen, in which all business travel costs in Tokyo are incurred (relative to the US dollar), has led to the city taking first place in the region, according to findings of the latest Daily Rates research by global mobility solutions provider ECA International.
Last year the Japanese capital city was in the fourth place.
ECA’s Daily Rates reports provide average costs for hotel accommodation, meals, drinks, laundry, taxi transport and daily essentials. This information is used by companies to determine daily expense allowances for staff who undertake business travel.
Lee Quane, regional director – Asia for ECA International, said the cost of four star hotel accommodation in Hong Kong fell about 6% last year.
“Declines in tourism and business travel to the city, factors associated with the current regional economic malaise, are the main drivers behind this fall. They are producing lower occupancy rates, forcing hoteliers in the city to reduce prices from the previous year.”
Singapore is in fourth position in this year’s regional rankings.
Cost of a typical business trip to Hong Kong is US$508 per day on average, excluding travel to and from the city, and US$472 in Singapore (see chart below).
Shanghai, with hotel rates 32% cheaper than Hong Kong’s, has fallen to 15th position. Beijing follows in 25th position with rates 7% lower than in Shanghai, largely due to the latter’s higher hotel rates.
ECA found Johor Bahru in Malaysia as the cheapest location in Asia Pacific for business travel, while Kuala Lumpur is the only capital city ranked within the top 10 cheapest locations in Asia.
“Hotel accommodation rates have been depressed in the past 12 months owing to the impact of the fall in oil and gas prices on the Malaysian economy and subsequent reduction in business travel to and within the country,” said Quane.
“This has been further accentuated by the continued depreciation of the ringgit versus the US dollar to leave business travel costs in Malaysia low in comparison to elsewhere in the region.”
TECHNOLOGY: TRAVELPORT GETS IATA NDC CERTIFICATION
Travelport can distribute IATA NDC fares and prices offers on behalf of the airlines. (Image credit: Cebas/iStock)
Travelport has become the first GDS to receive both ‘Aggregator Level One’ certification and ‘IT Provider Level Two’ status from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as part of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) programme.
According to Travelport, the certification means that it is now able to fully integrate its NDC application programme interface with airlines should they 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,” it added,
Travelport said its connected agents, for the first time, are able to make ancillary sales post the original flight booking and through their preferred agency workflows.
The NDC-capable ‘IT Provider’ Level Two status also made Travelport “the second organisation, and first GDS, ever to be designated as NDC certified and NDC Capable”. This enables the company to distribute IATA NDC offers for fares and prices on behalf of airlines that choose to use IATA’s industry standards.
“We know the industry needs to transform the way flights are sold and IATA’s NDC is an important part of this,” said Ian Heywood, Travelport’s global head of product and marketing, air commerce.
“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.”
Travelport is an active participant in IATA’s NDC planning and has been a member of various working groups and steering and committees focused on NDC development.
TRANSPORTATION: CARTRAWLER SIGNS OTA JUSTFLY
More options for ground transportation for Justfly’s customers. (Image credit: CarTrawler)
Online global car rental platform CarTrawler has formed a partnership with Justfly.com (Justfly), a North American online travel agency (OTA) specialising in affordable travel solutions.
With this deal Justfly, which was launched in 2014, now have direct online access “to the best value and widest choice of car rental, taxi, private transfer, shuttle, rail and pre-paid airport shuttle and intercity bus transfers,” said CarTrawler.
“This new partnership will provide JustFly customer with an efficient, integrated and end-to-end car hire and ground transportation solution,” added Aileen O’Mahony, chief commercial officer of CarTrawler.
Ryan Branston, CEO of Iustfly, believes the collaboration “can only help improve our services, and allow us to continue bringing forward a perfectly intuitive, comprehensive and seamless travel solution.”
BUSINESS TRAVEL: H.I.S. ENHANCES TRAVELLER EXPERIENCE WITH AMADEUS SOLUTION
Amadeus solution helps corporation save on cost. (Image credit: ojogabonitooiStock)
Japanese travel agency H.I.S. International Travel (H.I.S.) is adopting Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense to better serve its corporate customers’ evolving travel demands.
According to a statement for H.I.S., the mobile-first end-to-end booking and expense management solution helps corporations save more through better cost control, as well keep their employees focused and engaged while travelling.
“Business travellers can plan and book their travel seamlessly, and easily compile and generate expense reports on their mobile devices, eliminating the need to manually account for costs incurred throughout their journey,” it added.
The solution also give corporations access to an employee’s travel expenses, increasing compliance with policies and streamlining financial processes.
H.I.S. will first use Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense in Singapore, where it anticipates a high and growing demand for business travel management services. It will leverage itin other markets across the region at a later stage.
Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense was launched in Singapore at the end of last year.
• Featured image credit (Toyko street scene): TwilightShow/iStock
