Fosun to Relaunch Thomas Cook Brand in 2020

Skift | December 13, 2019

Thomas Cook is set to be relaunched by its Chinese owner, who plans to use the 178-year-old British tour operator’s brand on a travel platform targeting European customers. Fosun Tourism Group, the Shanghai-based company that bought Thomas Cook’s trademark following its dramatic collapse in September, will debut the platform in the first half of next year, according to a person familiar with the plans. Some of Fosun’s existing travel offerings will be grouped together and re-branded as Thomas Cook, with the aim to lure travelers — particularly those in Europe familiar with the name — to the company’s resorts around the world, said the person, who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the plan.

Spotlight

Spotlight

Related News

FEATURES AND ADVICE

Sabre launches United Airlines' NDC offers to its global network of travel buyers

prnewswire | April 13, 2023

Sabre Corporation a leading software and technology provider to the global travel industry, and United Airlines, today announced the availability of United's NDC offers through Sabre's global distribution system (GDS). Sabre-connected travel buyers, agencies and developer partners will be able to shop, book, and service United's NDC content through Sabre's Offer and Order APIs, the agency point-of-sale tool, Sabre Red 360, and the online booking tool, GetThere. "We are so pleased to launch United Airlines' NDC content this week, marking the 10th airline with whom we have completed integration and made content available through NDC to agencies around the world," said Kathy Morgan, vice president, NDC and airline supply, Sabre Travel Solutions. "In delivering a suite of NDC solutions and enabling air content in our NDC channels, we are helping airlines go from where they are today to a new modern approach to travel retailing – a key step in the evolution of retailing and distribution in the travel industry." Travel buyers connected to the Sabre GDS will be able to choose enhanced offers from United such as United's continuous pricing content with the lowest fares available in these channels. They will also have access to more descriptive information on United's flight offers as well as seat selection enabled in the booking path. NDC offers from United are currently available in over 70 countries, with more coming soon. Sabre Offer and Order APIs are the foundation of a modern retailing marketplace that allows airlines to dynamically create and distribute tailored offers across any channel, while being seamlessly fulfilled and delivered as orders. Sabre Red 360 unlocks a full spectrum of bookable content and insightful information to efficiently create tailored trip experiences that travel buyers can sell and service. About Sabre Corporation Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, serving a wide range of travel companies including airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and offer personalized traveler experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre's technology platform manages more than $260B worth of global travel spend annually. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world.

Read More

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY

Trip.com and Amazon Web Services sign MOU to build joint innovation lab

prnewswire | April 27, 2023

Trip.com, an international one-stop travel service provider, today announced it will build a joint innovation lab with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. The joint lab aims to use experts from AWS and Trip.com to develop new technologies that will improve the online travel provider's travel and services. Trip.com and AWS will combine technology resources and knowledge in cloud computing and artificial intelligence to identify and develop new ways to support Trip.com customers. Trip.com, with its unique value proposition, offers an all-in-one suite of diversified travel products and industry-leading customer service, via its mobile-first app to users around the world. Chen Zhang, Executive Vice President of Trip.com Group, said: "We are excited to sign an MoU with Amazon Web Services to build the innovation lab. Trip.com has worked hard to consistently develop technology to improve services and offerings for customers. The innovation lab aims to make travel more accessible and provide the ultimate experience for travellers, using the latest technology, renowned experts, and leading researchers from Trip.com and AWS." "Trip.com is the world's leading one-stop travel service provider and a role model of global development," said Gu Fan, General Manager of Growth Acceleration of AWS Greater China. "We are honored to empower Trip.com through the joint innovation lab with our cloud services and successful practices in the fields of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to continuously help Trip.com expand its existing business, uncover new growth opportunities and fulfill its mission to 'achieve the perfect journey' for global travelers." The joint lab will focus on five programmes, including Artificial Intelligence, Flight Business, Hotel Business, International Business, and Cloud Technology. In recent years, Trip.com has strengthened collaborations with AWS to improve marketing capabilities and service qualities through its advanced technology. Trip.com has migrated more than 400 of its international business micro services to AWS, proving the model for more departments and mature business component tools to follow suit. After migrating to AWS, Trip.com saw a significant improvement in its air ticket booking system, and reduced overall total memory consumption by more than 96%, achieving major cost savings. During the pandemic, Trip.com successfully launched its innovative live stream campaign 'DreamNowTripLater'. By leveraging AWS services, Trip.com has a robust, high quality, and engaging live stream to showcase true travel destination experiences to customers. AWS has also allowed Trip.com to improve connections with flight and hotel partners, by providing increasingly reliable service for users with a faster and more stable system that reaches millions of global users. In addition, as part of the collaboration, Trip.com leverages AWS to provide training and AWS Certifications to its employees in various fields, such as cloud computing architecture, development, operations, containers, data analysis, database, security, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, which will help them upskill and innovate using cloud computing. AWS and Trip.com also collaborated to develop a four-year training plan and are expected to train approximately 2,000 employees through comprehensive training courses supported by AWS's customer service team. About Trip.com Headquartered in Singapore, Trip.com, a global online travel agency, offers services for flights tickets, hotels booking, train tickets, and the internet. It enhances the travel experience from a short trip to a nearby city to a long adventure across the continent, helping travelers at every step of the journey. It has connected about 1.2 million hotels and over 500 airlines in approximately 200 countries to travelers. With a committed customer service team, it offers services non-stop 24/7 and assists travelers worldwide. It also provides an all-in-one travel application with features like trip coins, app-inclusive deals, easy trip planning, the latest travel updates, and worldwide coverage.

Read More

DESTINATION AND TOURISM

Bonotel Exclusive Travel Announces Expansion Plans

prnewswire | April 05, 2023

Bonotel Exclusive Travel, the leading aggregator and wholesale distributor of both branded and boutique luxury hotel rooms, has announced plans to expand its hotel offerings. Beginning today, the company will sell luxury hotels out of the Middle East. More than 80 hotels and resorts will be offered to global clients in the first portion of the launch, including such iconic five-star luxury properties as Atlantis, The Palm, Raffles Hotels, Waldorf Astoria and more. "For more than a quarter century, we've worked to refine our portfolio to include most of the world's finest hotels," said Simon Brooks, Bonotel President. "We believe that there is great opportunity for continued growth in the exclusive luxury travel sector, and we will look to expand with more content in the coming weeks." Bonotel, which has a longstanding base of international business-to-business clients, has substantially increased its footprint around the world. Brooks expects that the company's portfolio will continue to grow over time. Bonotel is known for its wide variety of services and high standards. Clients can book show reservations, golf tee times, limousine transfers and tickets to sporting events and Disney theme parks, as well as many other luxury and custom services. About Bonotel Exclusive Travel Founded in 1991, Bonotel Exclusive Travel, part of Travel Leaders Group, a division of Internova Travel Group, is a leading inbound marketing and distribution partner of both branded and boutique luxury hotel rooms to a longstanding base of international B2B clients. The Company works with a network of more than 28,000 hotel partners and provides seamless electronic distribution to more than 1,200 international tour operators through the Company's IT platform.

Read More