AMADEUS Leading the digital revolution - 2018 BTA AWARDS - Business Traveller Africa
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2018 BTA AWARDS All the winners TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY Keep up! AMADEUS Leading the digital revolution ISSUE 133: NOVEMBER 2018 www.businesstravellerafrica.co.za
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Contents
14 40
34 35 28
12 Amadeus
Amadeus’ solutions connect travellers to the journeys
they want through travel agents, search engines, tour
operators, airlines, airports, hotels, cars and railways.
Its technology has been developed in partnership with
the travel industry, combining an understanding of
how people travel with the ability to design and deliver
the most complex, trusted, and critical systems. With
a purpose of shaping the future of travel, Amadeus is
passionate in its pursuit of better technology.
FEATURES REGULARS
14 Travel Technology
Technology and service innovations are
04 Message from the Team 34 Tried and Tested
What’s the editor ranting about now? Hotel Check
making it easier and cheaper to discover, • InterContinental ORTIA
reach and enjoy travel destinations,
regardless of whether you’re a business 06 News Airline, hotel and other travel news
Car Check
• Secure Drive
or leisure traveller. While deals, specials
and promotions are driving desire and from Africa and beyond
36 Q & A Interviews
10 W Hospitality Column
action, visually enriched and personalized
• Carla da Silva – Air Mauritius
digital content channels and services, are
• Chris Nassetta – Hilton
making travel a more efficient industry. Managing Director Trevor Ward gives
28 Blockchain us his take on the West African hotel
industry 38 People on the Move
The movers and shakers –
Blockchain technology has generated
significant excitement in many industries
11 ASATA Column what they’re up to now
40 Bite with the Editor
and fields, largely because it has the
The latest from Chief Executive Officer
potential to dramatically change the way
Otto de Vries
in which information or data is stored Tim Cordon – Radisson Hotel Group
and used. No surprise, then, that the
travel industry has taken notice and is
exploring how best to make use of this
ground-breaking technology.
Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 3
ED’S LETTER
T
he original thinking behind the launch of the
Business Traveller Africa Conference & Awards
PUBLISHER
event in 2012 was that the South African Richard Lendrum
business travel industry didn’t have anything like it.
Further to that, as the publishers of Business Traveller
Africa magazine, Future Group wanted another EDITOR
platform on which to engage with its clients and the Dylan Rogers
dylan@thefuture.co.za
broader industry as a whole.
We also wanted to grow the event, year on
year, and we’re incredibly proud to have done that CONTRIBUTORS
between 2012 and 2017, settling on a breakfast Kate Kennedy
format that worked, evolving our voting procedure,
strengthening the morning’s content, and generally JOURNALIST
laying on an event that we believe was of great value Kate Kennedy
to the South African business travel community.
Sadly, the South African media and events
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
industry is not immune to the challenges presented Nadette Voogd
by an economy struggling for growth, and, as a
result, 2018 will not see a Business Traveller Africa
Conference & Awards event. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PRODUCTION
Mabel Ramafoko
However, that doesn’t mean we are not going to mabel@thefuture.co.za
honour those brands and entities that performed
with distinction over the past year. As such, we’ve
employed the same voting procedure and have just SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICE
decided to announce the winners on page 9 of this Postal Address:
PO Box 1746, Saxonwold, 2132
issue. Physical Address:
At its core, the Business Traveller Africa Awards 6 Rodwiella Rd, Edenberg
must have a robust and independent research Telephone: +27 11 327 6107
mechanism to ensure its credibility, and we’re
grateful to our partners ASATA, ABTA, SA ACI and NIGERIAN OFFICE
SATSA for adding their weight and support to the 3rd Floor, EuniBrown House195,
voting process by enlisting their members to vote Ikorodu Road, Palmgrove,Lagos, Nigeria
and come up with the winners in each category, Tel: +234 1 740 3236
supplementing the votes garnered from the broader Mobile: +234 803 963 0155
South African business travel community.
Lastly, we’re incredibly grateful to all those PUBLISHER – NORTH & WEST AFRICA
companies that very kindly donated lucky draw Tope Ogbeni-Awe
prizes as an incentive for the business travel tope.ogbeni-awe@topcommng.com
community to vote, namely: Air Mauritius for the
two flights to Mauritius; fastjet for the two flights to EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Vic Falls; Africa Albida Tourism for the Victoria Falls Mohammed Abdullahi
Safari Lodge accommodation; Thornybush Luxury
Game Lodge Collection for the stunning three-night
stay; Airlink for the two flights to Phalaborwa;
Bushveld Terrace Hotel for the accompanying
accommodation; kulula for the two flights to
Cape Town; Avis for the accompanying car rental; Business Traveller Africa is published under licence from Perry
Publications Limited.
Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence Cape Town for the Warwick House, 25 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0PP.
accommodation; Emperors Palace for the one-night Tel: +44 20 7821 2740
stay at the D’oreale Grande; aha Hotels & Lodges www.businesstraveller.com
for the two-night stay at Makalali Lodge; Faircity
Hotels for the two nights at Roodevalley Faircity;
and Protea Hotel by Marriott Johannesburg Balalaika
Sandton for the generous R1,000 Bull Run voucher.
Your support is hugely appreciated.
Follow us on:
Dylan Rogers
Editor
dylan@thefuture.co.za
4 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za
NEWS
Airlink Adds Third
Dbn-EL Flight
Following the successful introduction of Airlink’s
double daily services between Durban and East
London in June, the airline introduced a third
daily flight operating at midday, Monday to Friday,
from 22 October. The airline has also added a
business class service between Cape Town and Vic
Falls (Zimbabwe), and Johannesburg and Walvis
Bay (Namibia).
BA Doubles On
Marriott’s Expansion Plans Business Rewards
Marriott International announced a host of new signings at the British Airways is offering small and medium-
Africa Hotel Investment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. These include sized enterprises that are part of its On Business
the Marriott Marrakech Hotel in Morocco; Protea Hotel by programme an opportunity to double their
Marriott Accra Kotoka Airport; Protea Hotel by Marriott Nairobi; rewards. Members who travel on BA international
Protea Hotel by Marriott Pretoria Loftus Park, South Africa; Four flights or BA operated by Comair domestic and
Points by Sheraton Nampula, Mozambique; AC by Marriott Cape regional services between now and 31 December
Town, Waterfront; and AC by Marriott Umhlanga Ridge, KwaZulu- will collect double points on up to five return
Natal, Durban. flights or 10 one-way sectors.
Hilton’s African
Footprint to More than
Double
Hilton has opened the Legend Hotel Lagos
Airport, Curio Collection by Hilton – the
company’s first Curio Collection by Hilton
hotel in Africa. Legend Hotel Lagos Airport is
adjacent to Murtala Muhammed International
Airport’s private jet terminal, with an exclusive
immigrations and customs desk in the hotel
for private jet passengers. This is Hilton’s first
hotel in Lagos and its second in Nigeria, with
an additional seven hotels in its development
pipeline for the country. Hilton expects to
open eight hotels in total across Africa this
year, three of which will fly under the ‘select
services’ Hilton Garden Inn flag. The company
expects to open at least 16 Hilton Garden
Inn hotels in the coming five years, including
brand entries in Uganda, Ghana, Malawi, and
eSwatini (formerly Swaziland).
Virgin Atlantic Achieves World
Pullman Comes to First in Fuel Space
Ghana Virgin Atlantic believes the aviation industry has taken a landmark
AccorHotels has signed an agreement for the step towards making commercially-viable sustainable aviation fuel a
development of the Pullman Accra Airport City, reality, thanks to the airline’s world first flight with LanzaTech. The
the country’s first Pullman-branded hotel and first batch of LanzaTech jet fuel was used on a commercial flight for the
Pullman Living serviced apartments located in very first time – Virgin Atlantic’s VS16 flight from Orlando to London
the heart of Accra’s Airport City. The agreement Gatwick, operated by a Boeing 747. LanzaTech produces next generation
will result in a 363-key hotel and serviced ‘advanced’ fuels by recycling waste industrial gases like those produced
apartments, making it the largest hotel and the from steel making and other heavy industrial processes and turning
first dual hospitality offering in Ghana. It is set it into ethanol. The ethanol can be used for a range of low carbon
to open in 2021. products, including jet fuel.
6 | NOVEMBER2018 For more news, visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za
Radisson SkyTeam and
Expands African Hertz Partner Up
portfolio SkyTeam has partnered with global car
rental company Hertz, becoming the first
Radisson Hotels will be adding airline alliance to offer car hire benefits
over 1,300 rooms to its portfolio to frequent flyers, plus the opportunity
in Africa, with the announcement to earn miles when renting a vehicle.
of eight new hotel signings at Frequent flyers of all 20 SkyTeam member
the Africa Hotel Investment airlines can enjoy a variety of benefits
Forum in Nairobi: the Radisson on Hertz rentals while notching up miles
Collection Ikoyi Lagos, Nigeria; towards air travel when they hit the
the Radisson Hotel Lagos Ikeja, road. For contractual reasons, frequent
Nigeria; the Park Inn by Radisson flyer mileage accrual is not available
Serviced Apartment Lagos VI, to members of Alitalia/MilleMiglia or
Nigeria; the Radisson RED Hotel Aerolineas Argentinas/Aerolineas Plus.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast; the Radisson
Blu Hotel Casablanca (Morocco);
the Park Inn by Radisson Tunis
(Tunisia); the Radisson Blu Hotel
Accor Enters Mozambique
AccorHotels has signed an agreement with developer Matreal Property Services to
Niamey, Niger; and the Radisson
operate Mövenpick Hotel Maputo, a modern upscale property located next to Maputo
Blu Hotel Conakry, Guinea.
International Airport and five kilometres from the centre of the capital city. Set to
open in 2021, the 150-room hotel will cater to the growing number of corporate and
government-related travellers, as well as local companies looking to stage meetings
Upgrades to and events.
Nairobi Serena
Nairobi Serena Hotel in Kenya
has completed phase one of
Ethiopian Increases Frequency to
its ongoing refurbishment.
Upgrades to the North Wing
Norway
Ethiopian Airlines will soon increase its frequency between Addis Ababa and Avinor
include new high-speed lifts, Oslo Airport in Norway. From 11 December, the airline will operate six weekly flights
energ y-efficient mood lighting, using Ethiopian’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Word from the airline suggests that this
modern air-conditioning, and route will soon become a daily operation. There are also plans to add new services to
an executive lounge on the Oslo from Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, in December. Meanwhile, the airline will
seventh floor with two private recommence operations to Mogadishu (Somalia) with three weekly flights, effective
meeting rooms. There is also a 2 November.
new 450m 2 ballroom and two
additional meeting rooms. A
parking silo with a capacity for
120 cars has been constructed,
and a new fusion restaurant is
scheduled to open this month.
BON Adds
Third East
African
Property
BON Hotels has extended its
Ethiopian presence by adding
BON Hotel German Square in
Addis Ababa – the group’s third
property in the capital. The
115-room hotel will include two President Hotel Unveils Refurb
restaurants, three conference The President Hotel in Cape Town (South Africa) has unveiled its recently-completed
rooms with a capacity to host refurbishment. It includes a new kid’s play area, a new reception area, The Point Lounge
400 delegates, a swimming & Deck, the Owners’ Lounge & Deck Bar, and refurbished rooms. There are also now
pool, bars and sufficient wireless chargers in the waiting area, and a new group’s arrival area that can double up
parking, and is expected to be as a cinema room, where HotelFlix, the hotel’s new in-room streaming service, can be
completed in early-2020. cast onto a screen.
For more news, visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 7
2018 BUSINESS TRAVELLER AFRICA AWARDS
2018 BUSINESS TRAVELLER AFRICA AWARDS
Emirates leads industry winners
Emirates was once again the big winner in the seventh annual Business
Traveller Africa Awards.
years now; Global Distribution
L
aunched in 2012 in categor y for its overall offering System winner Travelport, which
association with Business covering Kulula and British held off the challenge of rival
Traveller Africa magazine, Airways in Southern Africa. Amadeus; Comair Flight Ser vices,
the awards programme is targeted Tsogo Sun came out on top in which defended its title in the
at the South African business the ‘Best Business Hotel Group in ‘Best Private Aviation Operator’
travel trade and the broader SA’ categor y and the ‘Best South categor y; and Champagne Sports
business travel communit y. African Hotel Group’ categor y, Resort, a first-time winner in
Emirates picked up three edging out competitors Cit y the ‘Best Small Hotel Conference
awards, coming out tops in the Lodge and Sun International in Venue’ categor y.
‘Best Airport Business Lounge’, the latter. In the former categor y, Programme organisers
‘Best International Long-Haul Tsogo Sun was able to break Future Group once again
Airline’ and ‘Best Business Class’ the stranglehold that Marriott engaged ASATA (Association
categories. The lounge award was International – through it ’s Protea of Southern African Travel
for the airline’s offering in the Hotels by Marriott brand – has Agents), ABTA (African Business
international departures terminal held on this categor y over the Travel Association), and SA ACI
at O.R. Tambo International past few years. (Southern African Association for
Airport in Johannesburg. HRG Rennies Travel was the Conference Industr y), with
Comair, Tsogo Sun and HRG awarded in the ‘Best Travel their members casting votes in
Rennies Travel were the other Management Company’ and ‘Best the relevant categories, and this
multiple winners, with two Travel Sales Team’ categories – year also broadened the voting
awards each. Comair claimed the both awards the TMC has claimed scope to the wider South African
‘Best African Low-Cost Airline’ before. business industr y, along with
award for Kulula, to go with the Other notable winners included engaging the Southern Africa
top prize in the ‘Best African Avis, which has dominated the Tourism Ser vices Association
Regional Short-Haul Airline’ car rental categor y for some (SATSA) and their members. C
8 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaFULL LIST OF NOMINEES AND WINNERS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER):
African Long-Haul Airline • Marriott Large Conference Venue • Emperors Palace
• Air Mauritius • Tsogo Sun (winner) • Birchwood Hotel & OR • The Westin Cape Town
• Ethiopian Airlines Tambo Conference Centre
• SA A (winner) Car Rental Company • Cape Town ICC South African Hotel Group
• Avis (winner) • Sandton Convention • City Lodge
African Low-Cost Airline • Bidvest Centre (winner) • Sun International
• FlySafair • Europcar • Tsogo Sun (winner)
• Kulula (winner) Large Hotel Conference
• Mango Cruise Operator Venue Travel Credit Card
• Cruises International • Birchwood Hotel & OR Provider
African Regional Short- • MSC Cruises (winner) Tambo Conference Centre • Amex
Haul Airline (winner) • MasterCard
• Airlink Forex Supplier • Century City Conference • Visa (winner)
• C omair (Kulula & BA) • Amex Foreign Exchange Centre
(winner) • Bidvest Bank (winner) • Sun City Travel Management
• SA A • Travelex Company
Luxury Hotel in SA • BCD Travel
Airport Business Lounge Global Distribution System • Michelangelo • Flight Centre Business
• Bidvest Premier (ORTIA – • Amadeus • One&Only Cape Town Travel
International) • Sabre (joint winner) • HRG Rennies (winner)
• E mirates (ORTIA – • Travelport (winner) • The Oyster Box (joint
International) (winner) winner) Travel Sales Team
• SLOW Lounge (ORTIA – International Hotel Group • BCD Travel
International) • Hilton Private Aviation Operator • ExecuJet
• Marriott (winner) • Comair Flight Services • HRG Rennies (winner)
Business Class • Radisson Hotels (winner)
• Emirates (winner) • ExecuJet Visa Service Provider
• Qatar International Long-Haul • Federal Airlines • Visas & Passports
• Virgin Atlantic Airline Unlimited
• BA Small Hotel Conference • Visa Express
Business Hotel Group in • Emirates (winner) Venue • Visa International
SA • Qatar • Champagne Sports Resort (winner)
• City Lodge (winner)
Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 9COMMENT
An Eye on
West Africa
I
was at the annual Africa Hotel Investment Forum The conclusion was that developing human capital in
in Nairobi in early October. Organised by Bench Africa requires a concerted effort between investors,
Trevor Ward Events, which also holds similar conferences operators, governments and educational institutions.
MD: W Hospitality
in the Middle East, South America and North
Group
Africa, it’s the premier forum in Africa, attended by Laurent Schatzmann of the Swiss Education
investors, operators and, of course, consultants such Group, one of the round table leaders, opined that
as me. human capital development strategies need to be
incorporated into the investment strategies of hotel
There are many such ‘talking shops’ held across companies (investors and operators). “Without this,
the continent, but AHIF really is the tops, not only the risk of running aground is much higher” he said.
because it gets a good number of delegates and
speakers (around 600 this year), but also because the
As a follow-on, there was a Student Workshop with
quality of those delegates is the best.
the subject ‘Developing a Career in Hospitality
& Tourism’, with close to 200 students attending
The support of the Kenyan government, including
from Utalii College, Boma International Hospitality
the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife, the Kenya
College and Strathmore University, all in Nairobi.
Wildlife Service and the Tourism Finance
The idea of bringing together a group of senior
Corporation was also great. This is a country that
really ‘gets’ tourism, and is totally open – at the end industry practitioners to speak to students about
of the conference the Cabinet Secretary (Minister) their careers, and how they got there, was brilliant.
of the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife not only At the end of the workshop, the enthusiasm on the
extended an invitation to the delegates to drop in students’ faces was truly rewarding.
and see him next time they visited Nairobi, but also
expressed a wish to host the event every year. From the operators, we heard from Chris Nassetta,
the President and CEO of Hilton, that his company
Here are some of the main issues that the speakers is investing $1 million to promote sustainable travel
raised, during the plenary sessions and the various and tourism in Africa. Hilton is in the vanguard
round tables. of sustainability and environmental protection in
Africa, and has launched its ‘Travel with Purpose
Daniel Silke started the proceedings with his usual 2030’ goals, aiming to double its investment in social
quick-fire, passionate and fascinating round-up of impact and halve its environmental footprint.
information and forecasts regarding the environment
in which hotels work, as well as the context of Africa The organisers of the Forum went further than
in ‘a global storm’. The economic growth forecast for just the speeches, and organised an auction at the
the continent is 4.2% in 2019, second globally only evening reception at the Fairmont the Norfolk Hotel,
to Asia, but way ahead of Europe (1.9%) and North hosted by Accor and General Manager Axel Hauser.
America (2.3%). However, these macro figures hide The auction was in aid of the David Sheldrick
big differences between the countries of Africa. Wildlife Trust, and raised $38,000 for baby elephant
adoptions and overnight stays in luxury lodges.
Nigeria doesn’t feature, partly because of the size
of its economy – it doesn’t grow at the rates shown
West Africa’s Mossadeck Bally, the Founder and CEO
– and partly because it has pretty low growth
of Azalaï Hotels, was honoured with the inaugural
currently, with forecasts much lower than the 6%+ of
AHIF 2018 Leadership Award. Mossadeck started in
the Top 10.
the hotel industry in 1993 when he purchased the
Grand Hôtel de Bamako from the Malian government;
I frequently, in this column and elsewhere, speak
there are now seven hotels in the chain, and five
about the need to create jobs, and the ability of
the tourism industry to do so, and Silke provided others in the development pipeline. In his acceptance
the mind-boggling statistic that there is a need speech, he made clear his support for the focus on
for 18 million new jobs every year to keep up with human capital in the hotel industry, with his wish to
population growth – that’s 50,000 per day! One third see a hotel school in every country in Africa.
of those jobs are needed in Nigeria.
It was a three-day conference, and I can only skim
My colleague Belinda Nwosu led a well-attended the surface in this column, drawing out two of the
round table on human resources. main themes – a focus at all levels and by all players
in the industry on human capital development, and
“The elephant in the room,” she said, “is Human on sustainability. C
Capital Development. It’s there, you know it’s there,
and it’s really big, but no one’s talking about it.” www.w-hospitalitygroup.com
10 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaCOMMENT
‘Over- TE
RM RENTA
L
G
•
• LON
IRST
tourism’ W ORL
DF
is a problem
A
lthough it’s not a new phenomenon, over-tourism
has received a lot of attention this year, with popular
destinations and cities across the world flagging
genuine and potentially damaging problems.
Venice is a prime example, with some worrying the
destination is sinking under the weight of its popularity.
According to a report by the UK Telegraph, on Easter Sunday
this year, the Italian city received 125,000 visitors. That’s the
same total number of tourists that visit entire countries, such
as Bangladesh, in a whole year.
Destinations are taking drastic measures to re-distribute
visitor footfalls and limit traffic to popular sites. In Europe,
Dubrovnik (Croatia) has started turning tourists and cruise
ships away, Amsterdam is banning shops aimed at tourists,
while Venice mulls over a ban stopping people from carrying
alcohol in the streets.
Although it may seem the problem of over-tourism fits firmly
in the leisure space, corporate travellers can help to mitigate
the problem by taking small steps towards a more sustainable
travel experience.
Align yourself with ASATA travel brands that strive to
maintain a high level of social responsibility. Speak to your
travel expert on their recommendations for eco-friendly
accommodation, sustainable travel activities and destinations
where you can contribute to conserving the environment.
Many destinations have trouble managing the waste that
travellers leave behind, so make sure to recycle. If you are
recycling at home, why not keep it up while you’re away on a
business trip? Pack a reusable water bottle, avoid taking long
showers and re-use your hotel towels.
Being mindful of cultural sensitivities also goes a long
way. Corporate travellers are probably sensitive to different
cultures in their office, but would they spend time reading
up on the culture of the locals in your holiday destination?
Talk to colleagues from the destination and ask about local
eateries, shops and public transport options.
To quote former United Nations World Tourism Organisation
Secretary-General Taleb Rifai: “Growth is not the enemy
(and) growing numbers are not the enemy – growth is the
eternal story of mankind.”
So, by all means, keep travelling; but remember to travel
sustainably, even when you’re away for business. C
Otto de Vries
ASATA CEO
Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 11ADVERTORIAL
Amadeus
Humans come first…
Even amidst the fourth industrial revolution
There has been much interest, excitement, even trepidation, from illustrates NDC with a leisure
example: “I am a big rugby fan,
industries concerning the arrival of the fourth industrial revolution. and next year the Rugby World
The travel industry is no different. Cup is being held in Japan. I
would love to see some offers that
are personalised to me, saying:
T
he change in landscape NDC REVOLUTION ‘Here is a flight and a ticket for
that is characterised by IATA’s New Distribution one of the matches that you are
technologies that blur the Capability (NDC) has been interested in’.”
line between the physical, digital discussed for a couple of years in Thanks to the NDC framework,
and biological spheres, is driving the travel industry and has led to it will be much easier to receive
automation and disruption, but many heated debates. packages like this. “We can
also progress. In simple terms, NDC is a set of compare it to a shopping cart on
technolog y standards which gives Amazon. We are using modern
We have been introduced to
airlines the ability to distribute all techniques as seen with other
Blockchain, witnessed the arrival
their content in a more visual way retailers in other industries
of Artificial Intelligence interfaces,
through third parties. Through and applying that to travel. In
Biometric Technolog y and even
NDC, the travel industry can move this specific example, the rugby
driverless cars. But what does this
towards creating truly unique, package comes as one document
technological rollercoaster mean
truly personalised experiences for that is all paid at once, and all
for humans?
the business traveller. those payments are passed to
Vicente Bosque, Amadeus “NDC brings richer content at the various participants,” says
Commercial Director Business the time of booking,” says Bosque. Pisanello.
Travel Africa, believes the “This means more images and
shift augments the potential for information, of course, but also SEAMLESS AIRPORT
more empathetic relationships videos, traveller reviews and even EXPERIENCE
between brands and consumers, Virtual Reality solutions. Not The International Air Transport
as companies have never had such only are fares displayed, but also Association (IATA) recently
access to the brains and feelings of bundles of services; and all of revealed the results of its 2018
their customers. it personalised according to the Global Passenger Survey, which
“Today’s travellers want to be in traveller and the trip.” shows passengers are looking to
control of their travel experience, NDC already allows business new technolog y to give them more
whether travelling for leisure travellers to access services such control, information and improve
or business,” he says. “They as VIP parking, lounge access and efficiency when they travel.
want choice, and expect services priority boarding directly through Overall, passengers said that
tailored to their needs. Technolog y online booking tools, simplifying they wanted more airport processes
can help them achieve this and their journey. to be automated, their bags tracked
create the ultimate personalised Gianni Pisanello, Vice- throughout their journey and wait-
trip.” President of NDC-X at Amadeus, times of less than 10 minutes at
12 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zasecurity and immigration. schedules, waitlist confirmation,
“Blockchain could tick the boxes re-seating, cancellation and many
for each of these pain points,” more, as well as airport changes
explains Bosque. such as boarding gate, baggage
When it comes to luggage, a carousel, terminal change or delay.
shared distributed ledger used by Messages are sent automatically
all actors within an airport and and in real-time, ensuring you
between different airports would receive information quickly.
allow for a bag and its ownership
details to be automatically logged PROVIDE A BETTER SERVICE
on a blockchain. This would make Technolog y has enabled business
it much more straightforward to travel agencies to deliver a door-
track your bags as they move with to-door travel experience to their
you throughout your journey. customers.
Blockchain could also Frequent business travellers algorithms and the assumption that
considerably simplify passenger know that transportation both travellers are solely rational, are
identification. to and from the airport and in- insights flawed with limitations.
“Today, you need to present destination can be costly and Travellers have individual
your ID at booking, when confusing, especially for complex idiosyncrasies and subtle personal
changing a reservation, at trips to unfamiliar destinations. motivations that need to be carefully
security, the boarding gate, duty- Amadeus has introduced understood.
free shopping and at a hotel,” says solutions that allow the travel This is where the travel
Bosque. “Imagine the difference if agent to offer a seamless door-to- management company comes in,
you didn’t need to use a passport door experience by including pre- says Bosque. “The human travel
at each of these points in the arranged transfers, negating the consultant will continue to foster
journey?” need to carry cash for a taxi. No deep, lasting and authentic customer
more waiting in queues at stations relationships with the business
PEACE OF MIND or airports or running the gauntlet traveller. A travel consultant can
IATA’s study also shows that of rogue operators. give you ‘meaningful choice’ to help
passengers want to be kept Free mobile apps like simplify the booking and travel
informed throughout their CheckMyTrip allow travellers the experience and reduce your stress.”
journey, preferably via their freedom to securely book on-the- In the midst of the fourth
personal device. It lists receiving go transfers and services, while industrial revolution, with digital
information on flight status (82%), at the same time providing peace channels continuing to proliferate
baggage (49%) and waiting times of mind with up-to-date itinerary and mobile seeing enormous growth,
at security/immigration (46%) as changes on the go. it’s crucial for travel companies to
passengers’ top three priorities ‘know’ their customers.
after booking a flight. THE HUMAN TOUCH It is only by understanding your
Amadeus has been working on Technolog y has unlocked a deeper needs as a business traveller that
solutions that address all of that. understanding of how people travel companies can deliver the
With Amadeus’ latest notification search, book and experience type of personalised service you
solution, you can keep informed of travel. Big Data analytics and expect. Each corporation, each
any changes to your travel plans machine learning is allowing the traveller and each trip is different.
throughout the entire trip cycle, industry to absorb and utilise This requires greater flexibility and
from the initial booking until your more data than ever before. The agility in adapting to your needs at
arrival back home. ability to ‘anticipate’ and ‘predict’ all times.
The solution provides several what travellers want is now a
different alerts via SMS or email reality. CONTACT
for flight updates affecting your However, insights based on Amadeus.com C
8 Blockchain: harnessing its potential in travel
Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 13FEATURE – TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
Moving
Target
Travelling is a personal and emotional experience, regardless of whether you’re on
a business trip or taking a holiday with the family, and the global travel industry
is currently going through an interesting transformation, as it attempts to find the
balance between automation and human interaction.
14 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaVisit businesstravellerafrica.co.za NOVEMBER2018 | 15
FEATURE – TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
A
recent report from Skift companion to travel assistant to
and Adobe revealed that
personalisation is the most
travel essential - corporations and
TMCs sit on a massive amount
“ AI is the golden ticket that
important factor when it comes of data and should leverage this can unlock insights to create
to the travel customer experience, data as a way to build predictive
and according to additional analysis and benchmarks, and the personalised, tailored
research by Google, alongside to offer relevant and instant and customised experience
the increasing demand for last- information to travellers.”
minute travel is the need for “AI is the golden ticket that travellers crave. ”
artificial intelligence. Apparently, can unlock insights to create
according to the research, 57% of the personalised, tailored and
travellers believe brands should customised experience travellers
tailor information based on crave,” says Guido Verweij, as predicting trends. As social
personal preferences and past Travelport’s Managing Director media dominates the internet and
behaviours, and 36% said they for Africa. “Advanced AI solutions changes consumer behaviour,
would be willing to pay more for eliminate the need to be reactive, analysis of online sentiment and
personalised services. allowing businesses to become demand can help companies
“There’s no doubt that artificial more proactive and strategic identify opportunities and risks,
intelligence is here to stay in through predictive capabilities. as well as tailoring services and
business travel,” says Nicole By constantly informing a travel products based on what consumers
Adonis, GM of FCM Travel AI, training it and providing it are seeking and discussing, both
Solutions South Africa, which with access to the richest, most positively and negatively.
earlier this year rolled out the extensive real-time data sets, Those are just some of the
chatbot Sam. “The volume of data opportunities to deliver personal, examples where technolog y is
held by travel providers, including frictionless travel experience playing an even bigger role in the
TMCs, such as traveller profiles, become seamless.” whole travel process.
transaction history and personal There’s clearly a huge “I think the focus is definitely
preferences, make travel and AI opportunity for travel brands beyond making trips easier
ideal bedfellows. At the highest and entities willing to take the through technolog y,” says
level, AI has the capability to technological ‘plunge’ and open Louis van Zyl, CEO of Carlson
improve customer service, to make themselves up to this sort of Wagonlit Travel South Africa. “It
that service more personal and change. touches on maximizing value,
improve travel planning.” Further to that, automation educating buyers, making them
The technolog y companies – is already helping companies to the experts in their trip planning
and the prominent players in this target and reach customers and and execution processes, but
space – would seemingly agree. deliver better services, but the also keeping them informed
“We are mixing AI (deep change has just started. There is and equipped throughout the
learning) with econometric models still a big opportunity to simplify entire process, from planning
and behavioural economics, customer journeys and personalise to undergoing their trips, to
including the irrational behaviours experiences in the travel and ultimately returning home and
of humans, to better model and hospitality industries. completing the process.”
predict traveller choices,” says In addition, data on consumer Van Zyl, though, is also of the
Andy Hedley, GM of Amadeus demand and market insights are opinion that technolog y shouldn’t
Southern Africa. “Artificial essential to understanding the remain purely “business”.
intelligence and bots – from travel industry and its customers, as well “I think an element we shouldn’t
16 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zayour pocket
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Level 1 BBBEE ContributorFEATURE – TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
More than any other time, I see
a fundamental shift in the way
the industry will operate and
service business travellers, due
to the coming technological
advancements in the next year to
year and a half.”
Whereas once TMCs functioned
primarily to process bookings,
now they must harness data
and tools such as AI, predictive
analytics and chatbots to
provide value to their customers
throughout the travel experience.
These are some of the
conclusions from ‘Harnessing
Technolog y to Empower Your
People’, a report from Advantage
Travel Partnership based on
findings from the 2017 Advantage
Conference and Business Travel
Symposium, and a “Buyer
Research Survey” conducted
by the Institute of Travel
Management.
“Through continuous
discussions with members and
research undertaken with travel
buyers from ITM, we noted that
technolog y strengthens the service
of a TMC,” says Neil Armorgie,
CEO of WIN and Global Product
Director for Advantage.
“Human interaction remains
the vital ingredient that business
travellers and clients are
ultimately looking for. Technolog y
enhances this partnership, making
for a more seamless relationship
and therefore achieving better
productivity for the client, which
ultimately helps them grow their
business.”
So, more a complementary
relationship, as opposed to one
where the two elements are in
conflict, or competition.
lose focus of is the element of to its customers, particularly if According to the research, 87%
fun,” he says. “I think technolog y one delves into the ‘automation v of travel buyers were excited about
can also help in breaking the manpower’ debate. the future of travel technolog y,
monotony of a business trip and “I can’t see TMCs playing but 76% said they were looking
providing options for travellers bigger roles in the development of for help from business partners
to take time to enjoy what their technolog y,” says Van Zyl. “That’s to keep them up-to-date on new
business destinations offer outside the space of the tech companies developments.
of the work commitments.” and it will be increasingly harder So, in contrast to what Van
to compete with the experts. Zyl was saying, this report
TMCs We are getting feedback from recommended that TMCs should
Van Zyl’s views are interesting, our customers that it is not look to fill this role by making
because there’s a discussion to be more technolog y that they want, strategic investments in new
had around how the modern-day but rather technolog y that will technolog y and qualified staff,
travel management company buys assist by channelling them to creating an appropriate balance of
into technological advancement the ultimate space or systems “man and machine.”
and continues to remain relevant that would best suit their needs. The paper went on to say that:
18 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaSolving your travel risk management worldwide To find out how Wings can help with your travel management challenges speak to your Wings contact or email info@wings.travel CORPORATE | OIL & GAS | MARINE www.wings.travel
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T
his statement supports the Philip Katz and Barr y The app is an extension
progression Tour vest has Painting, Travelit ’s CEO and from the online portal, making
made over the last number CIO respectively, believe that it customizable to specific
of years in the online technolog y with their app, they’ve developed corporates and travel policies. It ’s
space. something unique and ground- also been set up for online off line
Travelit, Tour vest ’s online breaking in a South African functionalit y and doesn’t require
technolog y, has evolved from a context. an internet connection.
purely online booking solution Katz and Painting drew on “Ours is that corporate, that
to an end-to-end travel and their own experience as business traveller, that policy group, those
expense management solution. travellers and identified all the vendors,” says Painting. “It ’s the
Expense management forms a different touchpoints along same as Travelit does, and it ’s
critical part of travel, providing the corporate travel journey ver y specific to the individual
companies and travellers with that might require a technical traveller, the company, and the
the transparency and visibilit y solution, and provide for the company’s policy group.”
needed to understand and integration into an app. And then Travelit ’s business strateg y
identif y the true cost of travel. they built a solution that was incorporates and provides
Mobilit y has become a key user-friendly for customers, with solutions for the challenges that
factor for any traveller and a focus on producing something it faces within this ver y dynamic,
company, to ensure ease and that required as fewer ‘clicks’ as unique and ever-changing
convenience for both receiving possible. continent, Africa. Payment
travel documentation and The app begins with the solutions for suppliers, effective
capturing expenses on the go. traveller’s profile, which covers communication to travellers,
Travelit has developed its own ever ything from personal providing the necessar y inventor y
mobile app to cater for this information and contact details and delivering the necessar y
functionalit y, which has been to preferences, loyalt y numbers, savings to clients, is all key to
exceptionally well received within policy group, card in pocket, its success. With over 300,000
the market place. and copies of ID, passport, active users per month, 1,000
Phase one of the app was visa, vaccination and car organisations, over 6,000 travel
launched earlier this year and has licence documents. Additional bookings per day and over 90%
already seen over 5,000 users. functionalit y includes all the online adoption being achieved,
Phase two will be released in late traveller’s trips and itineraries Tour vest Travel Ser vices remains
November and will cater for full and an easy-to-use expense claim the market leader in providing
end-to-end travel bookabilit y. section. travel management ser vices. C
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www.tourvesttravelserviCes.Co.za i a tourvest travel serviCes solutionFEATURE – TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
“As much as new technologies will which technolog y now has a huge to be applied. TMCs simply have
automate process-driven tasks, say. to embrace technolog y to deliver
business travel continues to be an “As the world becomes these services in a world that is
industry dominated by people and increasingly reliant on always online.”
relationships, and the ability to connectivity, the need for
deploy people into more creative technolog y in business becomes NDC
roles should be an excellent vital,” says Nemanja KrstiĆ, Head There’s no doubt that one
opportunity to further personalize of Technolog y at Wings Travel of the hottest topics in the
the travel experience.” Management. “Delivering travel travel industry is IATA’s New
Along similar lines, Wings solutions has had to evolve in Distribution Capability (NDC).
Travel takes the view that the line with these trends and with NDC is a travel industry-
TMC needs to be adaptable and that, new methods of conducting supported program launched by
flexible to meeting the needs of a business, processing client data IATA for the development and
customer and an environment in and sourcing relevant content had market adoption of a new, XML-
based data transmission standard.
The NDC Standard enhances
the capability of communications
between airlines and travel agents
and is open to any third party,
intermediary, IT provider or non-
IATA member, to implement and
use.
According to IATA, the NDC
Standard enables the travel
industry to transform the way
air products are retailed to
corporations, leisure and business
travellers, by addressing the
industry’s current distribution
limitations:
- P roduct differentiation and
time-to-market
- A ccess to full and rich air
content
- Transparent shopping
experience
But NDC has been a long time
in the works, and IATA has had
to work hard to get the travel
industry onboard.
In fact, according to a recent
SELECTED NEW PRODUCTS report by ACTE, many travel
Here’s a look at some of the new products out there, as detailed by some of the managers still feel in the dark
big travel players consulted for this piece on travel technology: about the issue. The report said
that almost a quarter (23%) of
FCM Travel Solutions South Africa – has launched its interactive ‘Smart travel managers said they were
Assistant for Mobile’ (Sam) that supports users with all aspects of travel via a “not at all” confident in their
conversational interface, answering questions, making recommendations, and understanding of NDC and what
performing actions. it means for their programme. A
further 58% said they were only
Delta Air Lines – is launching customized travel sites for corporate accounts “somewhat” confident in their
later this year and will be launching the first biometric terminal in the U.S. at its understanding.
Atlanta hub. “I think we have experienced
the initial euphoria of what it
Amadeus – has further developed its Transfers solution and recently released promises to bring to our industry,
Travel Alerts Notifier (ATAN). With this product, travellers can keep informed of
the despondency of the realization
any changes to their travel plans throughout the entire trip cycle – from the initial
that it is not the ultimate answer
booking up to their arrival back home.
to all our shortcomings, and the
frustration of the initial teething
Travelport – Trip Assist is a mobile engagement platform that allows TMCs to
connect, support and engage end-travellers at every stage of their journey. pains,” says Van Zyl. “As usual,
I think the early adopters have
AccorHotels – is testing the ‘smart’ hotel room concept. felt the most pain, but I have
no doubt that IATA and the
22 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaNDC proponents will ultimately when our NDC-enabled solutions customers even further,” she says.
overcome the initial challenges, are industrialised in 2019, they can “This will ensure that we continue
like dealing with all the be ready to consume new content.” to offer the widest choice of
exceptions in transacting on this “NDC is currently top of mind content that is appropriate for our
platform, including interlining and for TMCs,” says KrstiĆ. “The corporate customers’ needs.”
packaging ancillaries. As with all benefit to airlines of selling
new and disruptive technologies, content via this channel surpasses GDS COMPANIES
once realization sets in, these any current traditional method. The global distribution system
challenges will be dealt with and This point is only reinforced (GDS) companies in the travel
overcome.” by official plans from the GDS industry originated from a
If one speaks to a broad companies embarking on huge traditional legacy business model
cross-section of senior industry development initiatives, ones that that existed to inter-operate
members, one gets the sense that would completely change the between airline vendors and
the tide is turning and that the big traditional GDS business model travel agents. During the early
players understand their role in and see their platforms themselves
driving this process and change. as massive content aggregators.”
“NDC is a top priority for Perhaps Adonis simplifies the
Amadeus and we’re moving fast
to integrate NDC content into the
issue even further, distilling it
down to its core purpose, which
“ As much as new technologies
Amadeus Travel Platform,” says must have the travel customer at will automate process-driven
Hedley. “Leading business travel the centre, because, ultimately, the
agencies including Flight Centre, consumer has to benefit from this tasks, business travel continues
Carlson Wagonlit, American major industry change. to be an industry dominated by
Express Global Business Travel “By integrating NDC content
and BCD Travel have joined our into our core booking systems, people and relationships. ”
NDC-X program to test the new we will be able to personalise
NDC flow of ‘shop, order, pay’, so the booking experience for our
Corporate Travel Management today interacts with so much more technology than a mere
Online Booking Tool. Talk to us about the full spectrum of our technology landscape.
Contact: Phumi Mazibuko
CWT South Africa Tel: 011 628-2300
Your Technology Partner in Corporate Travel Management! Email: pmazibuko@cwtsa.co.zaFEATURE – TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
days of computerized reservations
systems, flight ticket reservations
were not possible without a GDS.
However, as time has gone
on, many airline vendors have
now adopted a strateg y of 'direct
selling' to their wholesale and
retail customers (passengers),
whilst the advancement of
technolog y across the board has
also forced the GDS companies to
re-look their models and offering.
“We are now more than a GDS,”
says Hedley. “We’re a ‘Live Travel
Space’ – an open, dynamic and
connected space where all industry
players can join and collaborate to
deliver memorable journeys. We’re
continually listening to travellers,
business travel agencies, and all
other customers we work with,
whilst keeping a close eye on
trends and behaviours, so we can
develop technologies that benefit
TRAVEL AND BLOCKCHAIN all.”
Blockchain is fast emerging as the priority technology for future exploration What Hedley alludes to and
among airport and airline CIOs globally, attracting the most research attention in what seems to have been a major
2018. That’s according to new research released by SITA. development in the GDS space is
the collaborative nature of this
The 2018 SITA Air Transport IT Insights shows that blockchain offers multiple section of the travel industry.
use cases, ranging from passenger identification to ticketing, asset tracking and “Travelport transformed the
managing frequent flyers programs. traditional GDS concept into
an open platform with XML
“The biggest obstacles standing in the way of a seamless passenger journey and connectivity and a graphically
truly efficient air travel are the siloed processes across the many stakeholders, rich, single user interface to
including airlines, airports, ground handlers and control authorities,” says enable marketing and sales of not
Gustavo Pina, Director of SITA Lab. “They act as significant speed bumps at only full air content, but also full
every step of the way. By collaborating as a single industry, we can smooth that ancillary content,” says Verweij.
journey, and blockchain is one of the technologies that has the potential to make “Our open systems allow
that possible.” business travel agencies to deliver
an end-to-end travel process
One of the key benefits of blockchain technology is the ability to have multi-
– from proposal to booking to
enterprise applications. These work across multiple organizations locking data
expense management – leading
immutably into the blockchain rather than having individual applications running
to improved ROI, efficiencies and
separately and exchanging data on a case-by-case basis. This is how this
cost savings,” says Hedley. “We’re
technology can provide a ‘single source of truth’ to all stakeholders.
freed from legacy mainframe
According to SITA, today, 59% of airlines have pilot or research programs systems and now with the latest
planned around blockchain for implementation by 2021, which is up from technolog y we can approach
42% last year. Similarly, airports also continue to experiment with blockchain, things differently.”
with 34% planning R&D projects by 2021. The most commonly expected use GDS companies have now
of blockchain for both airlines and airports is to streamline the passenger become leaders in the technolog y
identification process, with 40% of airlines and 36% of airports saying this space, conducting research and
would be a major benefit. developing products that benefit
the industry as a whole.
While the focus in the industry is predominately on passenger identity As a result, the big GDS
management, both airlines and airports also see that blockchain could have players – Amadeus, Travelport
major benefits across several other use cases. Airlines stated that they expected and Sabre – have been able to
blockchain technology to provide benefits in the roll-out of passenger tokens position themselves as the ‘go-
for frequent flyer programs (34%) and e-tickets (31%). Airport CIOs have item to’ resource for technological
custody change tracking (such as baggage) (28%) and operational efficiency development, making them an
(24%) as other areas that have potential benefits. even more important and relevant
player in the industry, as suppliers
For more on blockchain in the travel industry, see page 28.
continue to look for solutions,
24 | NOVEMBER2018 Visit businesstravellerafrica.co.zaefficiencies and cost-savings for
their customers.
AVIATION
This year has seen British Airways
trialling biometric technolog y to
speed up boarding and arrivals
processes in Orlando, Los Angeles,
Miami and New York.
BA was the first airline to use
this particular technolog y to board
international flights. Customers in
Orlando have been joining those
flying with BA from Los Angeles
who have been using the boarding
process since November of last
year. The gates at Los Angeles
Airport, used by BA, have resulted
in the airline boarding more than boarding. Customers simply look to pass through by recognising
400 customers in only 22 minutes into a camera prior to boarding, their unique facial features and
– less than half the time it takes wait for their biometric data matching them with the passport,
when not using this technolog y. to be verified, and walk onto visa or immigration photos.
The biometric boarding gates the aircraft. Similar to facial Heathrow has also announced
remove the need for travellers to identification built into mobile recently that it is rolling out
present their boarding pass and phones, the biometric e-Gates an end-to-end biometrics trial
passport at the departure gate, use high-definition camera that will see facial recognition
simplifying and speeding up technolog y and allow customers replacing the need for traditional
Powering
solutions
for the global
travel industry
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