THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as businesses adapt and reset to meet challenges in the era of coronavirus.
Travel startup TripAdmit rolls out new solution for tour and activity operators to sell online
Dublin-based travel ticketing start-up TripAdmit has launched a dedicated reservation system and online booking engine, called Thrive, for tour and activity providers.
Founded in April 2019, TripAdmit provides an end-to-end solution for tour and activity providers to sell directly online through their own website to travellers and via distribution partners such as airlines, online travel agents and hotels to “simply and quickly” earn ancillary revenue from tours and activities.
The travel tech startup described Thrive as “a complete full-service reservation system comprising an online booking engine, secure payment gateway and inventory and distribution management.”
Thrive provides tour and activity companies with the tools they need to manage every aspect of their online sales and distribution in one place.
“Tour and activity providers can choose to install the complete suite of products or select each element individually to enhance their online sales and distribution capabilities.” it added.
In June this year TripAdmit raised €500,000 in seed funding from Enterprise Ireland to expand its platform and product enhancement. The company disclosed part of this funding goes to help with the development of Thrive in preparation for when people start travelling again next year.
CEO of TripAdmit John Maguire said the launch of TripAdmit Thrive is “another giant step” in delivering solutions to enable activity providers to be connected digitally to drive up revenues. “Our mission is to connect the world of experiences online through technology that joins the dots between activity providers, travellers and distribution partners.”
TripAdmit’s network currently connects distribution partners with 50,000 experiences in more than 100 countries.
airasia marks 19th anniversary with vow to come back stronger, unveils airasia museum
Nineteen years ago a small airline took off from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur with just two planes, and today airasia has grown to be not only the largest low cost carrier in Asean but has also transformed into a leading all-in-one digital travel and lifestyle super app.
As airasia group executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said: “When we first started off as a low cost carrier many were in doubt of our prospects, and being an underdog in a market dominated by legacy airlines made it all the more challenging.
“Almost two decades on we not only proved our critics wrong; we are now connecting over 160 destinations across Asia and the Pacific, bringing the people of Asean even closer together. With airline operations in four of Asean’s largest economies and plans for more no other carrier can be more Asean than us.”
Added group’s CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes: “Just as there were sceptics towards us as a low cost airline 19 years ago, there is an equal amount of pessimism towards our digital transformation today. What sets us apart from the rest, however, is our clear and deep understanding of value, our customers and the technology itself, and our determination towards making it happen.”
He admitted that while “Covid-19 is a glitch – this is not the end but a new beginning. airasia will be a never ending story that only gets better and better … “
Fernandes said as the group is young and full of great ideas, “we will definitely come back stronger and more powerful post-Covid-19.”
Kamarudin is equally confident as the company has built “a strong foundation for a sustainable future for our airline and digital businesses to not only survive, but to come out more robust and resilient than ever before.”
To commemorate its 19th anniversary this year, airasia launched airasia Museum on December 8. It is an online archive of the group’s images, documents and publications related to the history of the company since its early days from pre-2001 up to 2020.
The virtual museum takes visitors through key milestones in airasia’s digital journey that started in 2002 when it became the first airline in Asia to go ticketless via direct online bookings.
Travelport introduces hotel Stay Safe filter
Travelport has added a new Stay Safe feature for agents connected to its API or Smartpoint agency desktop solution.
The technology company said the filter was designed to give both travellers and agencies confidence that appropriate safety measures have been taken at a hotel.
The Stay Safe filter is a searchable amenity, which enables hotels or chains to highlight to travel agents that they have signed up to industry-wide safety initiatives within the agent’s booking workflow. Agents can then easily share the information, which is important to travellers in their hotel shopping decisions.
Jason Toothman, global head of agency sales at Travelport, said ensuring customers feel safe while travelling was currently one of the “key imperatives” in the industry.
“Adding a way for hotels to clearly communicate with travel agencies, who can then share this information with their customers, is a simple but important way for Travelport to make the agency workflow more efficient and less frustrating. This initiative will also help customers gain confidence in travel.”
Since the start of the pandemic in March several trade and government bodies, including the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), have issued guidelines to support recovery in the hotel sector. Such initiatives focus on enhanced hotel cleaning practices, social interactions and workplace protocols to meet the challenges and expectations for health and safety.
Travelport Stay Safe is now globally available.
• Featured image credit: Jirang Kumnuanta/Getty Images
