Starfish Travel Corporation Team

Tourism Cares, a well-known nonprofit organisation devoted to promoting sustainable tourism, is commemorating 20 years of working with the travel industry to improve social and environmental conditions in local communities all over the world.  The group organised a volunteer clean-up event on New York City’s Ellis Island in 2003, which ultimately laid the groundwork for what Tourism Cares is today—a mission-driven international non-profit devoted to assisting travel and tourism businesses in their pursuit of sustainability by offering tools, training, and programming. Tourism Cares is pleased to announce the launch of its new Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map as part of the organization’s 20-year anniversary celebration. This marks an important step in converting the industry into a group that is dedicated to using travel as a force for good.  The recently relaunched Meaningful Travel Map is a B2B tool that makes it simple for the travel industry and environmentally conscious tourists to find real, community-led experiences, goods, services, lodgings, and tours that can be added to itineraries.  This gives the industry a competitive edge against the rising consumer demand for responsible travel and has a positive impact on the people and places of travel. The site is hosted by Tourism Cares partner Wander, which equips travel locations with cutting-edge mapping technology. Source- travel daily

The fulfilment of a new multi-year distribution agreement, which gives Sabre-connected agencies long-term access to Air Canada’s whole content across NDC channels, was announced by Sabre Corporation. According to the contract, Sabre will be able to provide agencies much better Air Canada content and offers, including the airline’s dynamically priced rates and additional ancillary services. Air Canada, the national carrier of Canada, and Sabre are actively collaborating on the introduction of the airline’s NDC offers into the Sabre travel marketplace. Within the next few months, the two businesses plan to activate Air Canada’s NDC content in Sabre. The Distribution Cost Recovery originally announced by Air Canada will be waived for Sabre-connected travel companies employing this channel once Air Canada’s NDC connection to Sabre is operational. Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital for Air Canada, said, “We’re proud to be taking this next step with Sabre, providing the broadest range of rich Air Canada content, travel options, and services to our customers and agency partners.” “Air Canada recognises and values Sabre’s forward-thinking strategy and the enormous technological investments they’re making, which, when combined, will benefit all parties involved in the travel industry. This new alliance is the outcome of extensive conversations, and it represents an important next step in fulfilling Air Canada’s distribution promise: a seamless transition for agencies and travel purchasers of all sizes. NDC is a pillar of Air Canada’s distribution modernization strategy and focuses on giving customers access to more personalised content and the best rates available across channels. The airline’s plans for fleet modernisation and expansion, which include investments in dozens of brand-new, fuel-efficient Airbus A220 and A321XLR aircraft, will be supported by improved distribution capabilities. As a facilitator of contemporary retailing, NDC is a corporate priority for Sabre. Roshan Mendis, Chief Commercial Officer for Sabre Travel Solutions, stated, “We share this vision with Air Canada and support its ambitious retailing and distribution goals, while guaranteeing agencies will benefit from the wealth of choice, efficiency, and transparency of the Sabre Travel Marketplace.  “This agreement demonstrates Sabre’s deep commitment to generating value and serving the diverse interests of the global travel marketplace, including airlines, travel agencies, and the travellers they serve,” said the company. Source- travel daily

Survitec, a provider of global survival technology solutions, has opened a new service centre in the Port of Southampton, completing a significant expansion of its UK servicing expertise. The 10,000 square foot building will provide increased capacity and quicker turnaround times when serving the needs of clients in the cruise, defence, Border Force, and commercial shipping sectors. It has recently been outfitted with tools and facilities for the servicing and repair of liferafts, lifejackets, immersion suits, and other safety equipment. According to Iain Allan, Southampton-based Operations Manager for Survitec, “Our new Service Centre is strategically located in Southampton to be closer to our customers in the port – it will allow us swift access in and out of the docks to provide an enhanced service to ships.” “We looked for and furnished the ideal venue in Southampton for many months. With space in our new site to grow, we can now service more than 2,000 liferafts annually and cater to customer needs.Survitec has boosted its personnel by 20% to accommodate the needs of the new Service Centre while also cutting servicing turnaround time by up to 50%. A 3,000-liter water tank with a davit launch frame for load testing has been installed for the purpose of testing liferafts and rescue boats. The facility also has a specific room for lifejacket servicing and repair, a particular platform for 151-man liferafts, an inflating compressor, and calibrated tools. According to Ronnie Vettese, Managing Director, UK Marine of Survitec, “the location of this new Service Centre effectively allows us to manage and build upon our offering to support our customers in the region.”In the long run, the new facility will allow us to increase our client offering and offer services for fire, lifeboats, and mooring equipment. This week, the newest Survitec Service Centre opened in Southampton to coincide with Seawork, the biggest commercial maritime and workboat expo in Europe. With the addition of the new Service Centre to its existing global network of more than 400 service centres serving 2,000 ports worldwide, Survitec is further cemented in its position as a global leader in the supply, inspection, testing, servicing, and repair of safety and survival equipment. Source- travel daily

The official airline of the UAE, Etihad Airways, will start operating a new daily Airbus A320 service between Kochi (COK) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) starting on October 29. With the addition of the second daily flight on October 29, there will be 20 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Kochi, providing both leisure and business travellers with more flexibility and improved connection to one of South India’s most dynamic cities. “Etihad is thrilled to offer an additional service to Kochi in response to strong travel demand, bringing our operation up to nearly three flights per day,” said Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer. This demonstrates the value of the Indian market for Etihad Airways and the emphasis we are placing on expanding our network to give our guests additional convenience and options, De continued. The flights will increase connection between India and the US via Abu Dhabi in addition to enhancing access to the UAE, where visitors may take use of a US Pre-clearance facility for a smooth entry into the US. The facility, which is the only one of its kind in the Middle East, enables travellers to the US to complete all immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections in Abu Dhabi before boarding their flight, bypassing immigration and lines at the destination. In addition to increasing service to Kochi, Etihad Airways will increase service to seven other Indian cities throughout the winter, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Bookings for the new Kochi flights are now open on etihad.com and the Etihad Airways app. Source- Travel biz

In order to provide its clients with better connectivity while they are traveling throughout Europe, Vistara has increased its codeshare agreement with Lufthansa. Amsterdam (AMS), Stockholm (ARN), Berlin (BER), Budapest (BUD), Copenhagen (CPH), Rome (FCO), Hamburg (HAM), Helsinki (HEL), Lisbon (LIS), Munich (MUC), Oslo (OSL), and Prague (PRG) are the 12 important cities that will now be part of Vistara’s network. Customers will have easier travel options thanks to the bilateral codeshare agreement between Vistara and Lufthansa, which allows both airlines to market and sell flights on each other’s networks. In 2019, Vistara and Lufthansa unilaterally agreed to a codeshare arrangement that allowed Lufthansa to add its designator code (LH) to Vistara flights to 18 Indian destinations. ‘We are happy to further deepen our partnership with Lufthansa, one of the world’s premier airlines,’ said Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer of Vistara. This is evidence of our ongoing dedication to providing our clients with improved connectivity, first-rate service, and a variety of options. This makes it possible for our customers to easily plan their trips and travel around Europe on the joint Vistara and Lufthansa network. “We take pride in our relationships and in India, our partnership with Vistara embodies our strong commitment to the country,” stated Jeffrey James, Head of Communications APAC & Chief Spokesperson, Lufthansa Group. India, the third-largest aviation market in the world, continues to be a top priority for our Group, and we are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Vistara and provide Indian travelers with additional options, options, and connections between Europe and the subcontinent. Source- travel biz

According to a recently published report by the GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel – Global Industry Barometer 2023,” the time has come for the global travel industry to make significant changes for the climate. The results show that “business travel is at a critical juncture” as the sector continues to adapt to new realities and looks ahead to a more resilient future for international travel. The research was presented today at the second GBTA Sustainability Summit in Washington, DC, where Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the GBTA, stressed the value of cooperation in fostering a more environmentally friendly future for business travel. The industry’s readiness to take on the challenge is one of the survey’s significant findings; 92% of respondents believe sustainability is a priority for their organisation, up from 89% in a 2022 GBTA report. According to survey responses, Europe (98%) is in the lead for stating it’s a priority, followed by Asia Pacific (100%) and Latin America (both 100%), with North America (86%) somewhat following the other regions. The Managing Director of the GBTA Foundation, Delphine Millot, stated that the first step in making any type of significant influence is realising that change is required. In order to empower business travellers to choose more environmentally friendly solutions, it will be crucial to engage them and activate the point of sale. Corporate travel managers will play a key role in bringing about this necessary shift. However, in order to get there, she noted, “as an industry we must converge on standards and make the financial commitments required to decarbonize business travel.” According to a worldwide survey of travel customers and suppliers, the following are some of the report’s significant findings: Businesses are putting money into sustainability teams: An increase over the previous year (66%), 71% of travel buyers and suppliers claim to have a sustainability team. However, this number reduces to 59% for the hospitality industry, 58% for travel management companies (TMCs), 55% for ground transportation, and 50% for online booking technology when compared to the 90% of airlines who have such devoted sustainability resources. It all comes down to impact and reputation: The strongest motivators for businesses to adopt sustainability are reputation management (84%) and a sincere desire to have a good impact on the environment (82%). For their programmes, travel managers are responsible for cutting emissions: The majority of respondents (54%) claim that their organisation has established internal or external targets to lower Scope 3 emissions, which includes emissions from business travel. Another 23% intend to establish similar reduction goals. Combining journeys is thought to be a strategy for increasing the return on emissions from travel: 74% of travel managers encourage their staff to combine numerous work trips into one trip (55%) or require it (19%). Travel managers don’t always adhere to their own rules’ stated objectives: According to 38% of those surveyed, justification for same-day business visits is currently requested based on ROI and viable alternatives. Source- Travel daily

Stay, Earn, and Pay with Best Western Reward Points is a brand-new initiative that Best Western Hotels & Resorts has launched for its devoted patrons. When customers don’t have enough points to earn a full free night, this creative programme gives them the option to use their points for partial payments. Members can combine their reward points and cash with Pay with Points to get extra perks and reduce the cost of their hotel stays. Greater freedom when redeeming rewards Members of Best Western Rewards can take advantage of the benefits of their loyalty programme even if they don’t have enough points to get a whole free night by using the Pay with Points function. A minimum of 5,000 reward points can be used to book reservations by using this option. Members who choose this option can pay for their hotel stays with a combination of points and cash, guaranteeing that they get a deal. All Best Western Hotels & Resorts throughout the world now offer Pay with Points, giving tourists a simple and practical redemption alternative. The cash part will also allow them to accrue points, and it qualifies for ongoing Best Western Rewards programmes. Additionally, Best Western Rewards recently increased the availability of its Pay with Points function in Asia. With this launch, the program’s worldwide reach has been further expanded, allowing participants to benefit from their loyalty points at a wide variety of hotels around Asia. If you stay, we’ll pay up to $100. Best Western Hotels & Resorts has unveiled a thrilling new campaign as a way to thank its loyal customers. Guests who stay for a minimum of two nights at participating hotels in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam between May 22 and September 4, 2023, will receive a USD 50 Best Western Gift Card as part of the “Stay and We Will Pay Up to $100” campaign. Any of the Best Western hotels worldwide accept the Best Western Gift Card as payment for stays. Members who register through www.bestwesternasia.com before their stay can take advantage of this promotion. The best part of this promotion is that it allows customers to accrue up to two Best Western Gift Cards, which means they may save even more money on subsequent stays. Source- travel daily

Booking BNSA gives a lot of hotels the chance to differentiate themselves from rival properties on Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline’s destination hotel listings. Hotels can participate in the programme and submit bids utilising a Cost Per Click strategy to increase their visibility in traveller searches. DerbySoft offers automated bidding and intelligence. If a hotel were to run such a programme manually, it would be extremely difficult to keep up with the regular updating of bids necessary to outperform the competition. In order to avoid hotels constantly changing their bids in an effort to improve their ranking and maximise their return on investment, DerbySoft has added clever self-machine learning automation. The hassle of this regularly labor-intensive management duty, which is generally handled by a revenue manager, is also eliminated by automation. Benefits of Sponsored Ads on BookingNetwork Utilise Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline to reach 90.6 million monthly visitors. Increase your presence on Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline Get in touch with travellers on a specific website where your hotel is listed. The first page of the results has a number of premium spots set aside for Booking Network Sponsored Ads.  Depending on the brand, this placement may be at position 1 on Priceline and Agoda or spot 2 on Booking.com. Current offers begin at $0.50, and they compete with other reasonable offers to win the auction. Through intelligent bidding, DerbySoft will make sure hotels receive the most exposure and return on their advertising investment. Source- Travel daily

According to a recent research from Accor, the top hotel company in the world, highly personalised service is increasingly serving as travel consultants’ primary point of differentiation. The paper, titled “Tailor-Made Touch or Digital Efficiency?,” examines the approaches, innovations, and developments affecting leisure travel advisors now and in the future. Developing the services and forging the relationships that can help them delight and connect with their customers on a level that is beyond what alternative intermediary models can achieve is said to be even more crucial than continuously digitally transforming their operations. The report, which is specifically targeted at the European market, describes how the pandemic accelerated the transformation of the leisure travel intermediary market, leading to the widespread adoption of digital technology and the model changes of many key players in an effort to become platform businesses or b2b technology providers. It supports the idea that, when used properly, technology—from messaging platforms to payment systems to artificial intelligence—can be the best friend of travel advisors, enabling them to maximise their capacity with a wide range of inventory, gain access to potent digital distribution channels, gain a deeper understanding of their clients, market themselves more effectively, and offer more sophisticated and effective services. However, it contends that even more crucial to travel planners’ success as they develop is their capacity to connect with their clients and deliver the high-touch, individualised service that tourists now want. “Consumers increasingly value the ability of travel advisors to remove the stress from their trip, tailor it to their preferences, plan every last detail in a flexible way, and be the reassuring presence that takes care of problems when they arise,” said Saskia Gentil, SVP Sales, Europe & North Africa at Accor. Source- travel daily