Travelstart to acquire Club Travel Group in bid to create full-service African travel entity
Following its change in investor from MTN to HarbourVest in late May, Amadeus Capital Partners-backed Travelstart has made the first of an expected series of acquisitions in its bid to own Africa – this week, it announced it is buying 100% of the Club Travel Group.
Travelstart’s CEO Stephan [...]
Customisation and education needed to drive traveller adoption of online booking tool
The rise in the adoption of online booking shows a growing trend among many business travellers to book flights, accommodations, transfers and other travel services through an easy-to-use online portal, with online booking tools (OBTs), phone and email as the most widely used methods.
While 92% [...]
Amadeus invests in tech startup Volantio, forms partnership to help airlines optimise capacity
Volantio, a technology services company focused on increasing asset utilisation and optimise bookings for airlines and their customers, has secured an investment and a partnership from travel technology giant, Amadeus.
The Atlanta-based startup will receive funding from Amadeus’ startup invest [...]
To win in corporate travel today, you need a tech edge
FCM's chief for Asia Bertrand Saillet speaks to Yeoh Siew Hoon on how it is blending best of online and offline in Asia by investing in new tech to enhance the traveller experience and taking lessons from its parent company's retail model.
There was a time in corporate travel that when you asked [...]
The Wrap: Travelport offers new booking code for non-binary gender travellers
News Roundup: Taking a look at what’s happening in the travel and hotel sector – a new code for non-binary gender air travellers, dynamic hotel pricing for wholesale distribution, Melbourne Airport preparing for growth
Air Travel: Travelport offers new booking code for non-binary gende [...]
Meet the man who wants to change the way governments look at tourism in Asia
Ang Choo Pin left the world of politics and diplomacy to join travel because he saw an opportunity to make an impact in an industry that he believes is truly a force for good. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Expedia Group’s senior director for government and corporate affairs for Asia to find out [...]
VIDEOS: WiT Europe 2019 – Through the Looking Glass
This year’s WiT Europe @ Phocuswright Europe on May 16 in Amsterdam took a peek "Through The Looking Glass" at the key trends driving and influencing two of the world’s largest and fastest changing travel markets – Asia Pacific and the Middle East. The discussions went deep into the opportuni [...]
A Bird’s Eye View: What will OTA 4.0 look like?
I guess if someone had been asked 20 years ago what an OTA 1.0 might look like, few people would have the answer – until Booking.com and Expedia did it in 1996 and Ctrip followed in 1999, and showed the way.
It’s a testament to these three that two decades on, they are still on top of their [...]
New investor in Travelstart gives it access to funds to own Africa
"We can now do the deals we want to do," says CEO Stephan Ekbergh
Travelstart, Africa’s leading online travel company, has taken on a new investor in the form of global private markets investment firm HarbourVest in a move that CEO Stephan Ekbergh says gives it access to capital to realise it [...]
The Wrap: Malaysia Airlines, JAL pursue joint business partnership to boost traffic, enhance services
In the news: Partnerships make the travel world go round, or so it seems judging from the number of agreements and MoUs inked almost daily between companies to increase product offerings, expand accommodation choices and more. Latest to join forces are Malaysia Airlines /Japan Airlines, Amadeus/Boo [...]
