The weekly news roundup: Visit Finland’s partnership with Travelport, Sabre’s new Traveler Experience Platform, more perks for Malaysia Airlines loyalty programme members
DESTINATIONS: Finland enlists the help of Travelport to boost Asian tourist arrivals
Visit Finland targets Asian travellers on stopover programmes to Europe. (Image credit: Visit Finland flickr page)
Finland is looking to Asia for growth and has turned to Travelport’s technology to achieve that, as well as to generate more awareness and growth for the destination.
The new marketing partnership between Visit Finland and the travel commerce platform aims to target Asian travellers visiting Europe via its stopover programme.
Under the first stage of the agreement Visit Finland will leverage Travelport’s Digital Media Solutions to promote the country as a key stopover destination through an integrated digital media campaign.
The two partners will also be hosting an online competition, as part of the awareness programme, by inviting travel agents to share how they can better promote Finland as a stopover destination to their friends or clients.
Winners of the competition will receive two round trip tickets and experience Finland’s stopover offering.
“Attracting more stopover visitors from Asia is key to our growth strategy. We are excited to be promoting the vibrancy and stunning beauty of Finland to Travelport’s extensive network of travel agents worldwide,” said Kaisa Kosonen, programme manager for StopOver Finland by Visit Finland.
Travelport’s Digital Media Solutions is one of the core elements of Travelport’s Beyond Air initiatives, consisting of payments, hospitality, advertising and mobile commerce. Its objective is to help travel providers and organisations increase revenue by maximising communications across Travelport’s global network
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Sabre redefines business travel with new mobile empowered corporate platform
Traveler Experience Platform from Sabre for corporate travellers. (Image credit: Kritchanut/iStock)
Sabre has launched the Traveler Experience Platform that it says “brings together the critical aspects of travel management into a single mobile app that will manage the whole trip for business travellers.”
This suite of travel technology products in a consumer-grade mobile experience combines the online booking capabilities of GetThere for air and hotel, and the itinerary management and messaging features of TripCase.
Sabre has also introduced a travel risk management solution to the platform, SafePoint, which helps travellers to check-in with their employer via a GPS location and request assistance if an emergency arises.
Early next year the Traveler Experience Platform will also offer e-payment solutions via Sabre Virtual Payments to corporations in APAC.
The platform, available to travellers through their employer’s travel programme, integrates multiple products and solutions, providing corporations a single mobile app.
The solution also ensures corporate policies are automatically adhered to when business travellers book or rebook trips, and expenses are automatically captured and stored with a detailed expense report auto-filed when the trip is complete – all from the traveller’s mobile device.
“With personalisation becoming an expectation for travellers, and mobile as an enabler of a true personalised experience, the future of travel is in the collaboration and execution of the traveller’s experience with a corporation’s travel programme,” said Florian Tinnus, vice president of Traveler Experience at Sabre.
According to a recent survey, The Digital Business Traveller, by Sabre Corporation and the GBTA Foundation, 77% of business travellers in some of the largest corporations around the world prefer using self-service technology to manage their travel. However, on average they use nine different apps to manage their business travel with the most popular apps being airline, hotel, booking, car and restaurant apps.
TRAVEL: More of the world to explore for Malaysia Airlines Enrich members
More activities and cities to visit for Malaysia Airlines guests with EnrichExplore
Members of Malaysia Airlines Enrich frequent flyer programme can now discover more of the world with over 50,000 activities in 1,500 cities with EnrichExplore.
This is made possible in a tie-up between Enrich and Travelling Connect|DealBroker, described as “the largest B2B tours and activities provider.”
Khairul Nisa Ismail, the airline’s head of loyalty, said Enrich was the first frequent flyer partner to partner Travelling Connect|DealBroker, giving its guest access to numerous activities, from relaxing retreats to action-packed thrills, while earning miles.
“With EnrichExplore our members will be able to earn Enrich miles when they book a London Eye and Thames river cruise, or even a Kecak show in Bali in addition to the miles accrual via flights,” she added.
Marcel Wientjen, CEO of Travelling Connect|DealBroker, said the new service would enable Malaysia Airlines Enrich members to have a smoother travel experience and, at the same time, earn miles points.
• Featured image credit (Helsinki): Mikhail Markovskiy/iStock
