Amadeus expands portfolio with hotel IT
The technology provider has diversified its offerings with its foray into hospitality and is aiding future investments through its latest white paper ‘Online Travel 2020’.
The industry nears a new age of online travel with rapid evolution and innovation taking place in every sector. Newer business models have come into play and digital payments are getting increasingly popular indicating that the country is certainly on the path to a digital revolution, and Amadeus intends to empower travel players with the latest in technology leveraging for success.
The spotlight is currently on APAC which has come to be known as the fastest growing region for travel where a number of developments and consolidations have been in play in recent times. Albert Pozo, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific, says that APAC has been the growth region for Amadeus where the highest growth has been observed in air transactions.
He says, “It is also the region where innovations are being adopted quickly; where the young generation is embracing change at a faster rate than the rest of the world. Particularly in India, there has been a lot of development in domestic travel which has been fostered by the LCCs and domestic carriers. The incremental capacity that has been brought into the market with aircrafts coming in, airport evolution, as well as the digital transformation is what makes the country one to watch out for.” Active investments
Last year, the travel technology provider incorporated Navitaire as a low-cost carrier platform into its IT solutions portfolio while already boasting of a formidable presence in the airlines sector. Pozo informs that Amadeus has also been investing in airport IT and is actively building platforms, property management systems to be precise, for hotels as well, which is one of its latest ventures. InterContinental Hospitality Group is currently one of the biggest hospitality players that Amadeus has gotten on board. He comments, “We see opportunities to invest and grow not only from our own basis but also to acquire companies which are already well positioned. These elements definitely help us continue to connect the travel ecosystem by providing efficient technology.” Amadeus Next, a programme that supports tech start-ups is also something the company sees big potential in, he adds. Aiding future strategies
To aid future investments in a rapidly changing sector, Amadeus has released a white paper termed Online Travel 2020 that maps trends based on scenario planning and paints a picture of what the future may hold for OTA customers. It highlights four trends – mega online travel retailers, mobile travel retailers, travel marketplace and digital tour operators. With India containing a large number of traditional tour operators, digital tour operators — a merger of traditional tour operators and OTAs to form the ultimate travel seller, is perhaps the most relevant trend the industry will see down the line. Sebastien Gibergues, Head of Leisure & Online Travel, Amadeus IT Group, says, “Digital tour operators will be an influential aspect in travel selling because it provides a good mix of both human and digital interaction. This will, in turn, lead to more personalised services as well as the emergence of unconventional travel stores to enable travel agents by combining physical, digital and human aspects.”