TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY,DESTINATION AND TOURISM
GigNet | August 16, 2022
GigNet, a Digital Infrastructure company with an extensive regional fiber optic broadband network from Costa Mujeres, North of Cancun, through the Hotel Zone of Tulum, announced today it has signed an agreement to provide high speed Internet and Managed Services to Aquaworld marina located in Cancun's Hotel Zone. Aquaworld has been the “Fun Leader” for water activities in Cancun since 1986 and is a 2022 Tripadvisor “Travelers’ Choice” award recipient.Aquaworld’s main facilities are a marina in the Hotel Zone of Cancun, with the capacity to receive hundreds of boats, wave runners, and aquatic equipment. The facility also features the only pool to teach diving courses and training at the PADI certification level. Popular tours include an Isla Mujeres cruise and snorkeling trip and the “Paradise Subsee” – a cross between a yellow submarine and a glass bottomed boat – found only at Aquaworld, with tours of the Punta Nizuc Reef and the Cancun Underwater Museum.
“As the ‘Fun Experts’ in Cancun, our Mission is to offer our guests an exciting, entertaining, and safe experience,Our customers’ experience begins at the Marina before they leave the dock, and this includes allowing them to stay connected to friends and family. Once their adventure begins, capturing the experience in a digital photograph to share and keep for years to come is an important part of the Aquaworld encounter. High-speed Internet helps us deliver this keepsake in a timely, high-quality fashion.”
-Andrea Orozco, General Manager.
Mark Carney, OBE and President of GigNet Mexico, commented, The incredible blue waters of the Caribbean Sea are at the center of the Cancun travel experience. Whether it is a relaxing and interesting boat tour or an exhilarating hands-on activity, Aquaworld helps travelers of all ages enjoy a water adventure while visiting the Cancun region. Our fiber-optic network and strong Wi-Fi services in the Cancun Hotel Zone help leading businesses such as Aquaworld earn top ratings from clients and from travel websites. The best ocean activities and the best Internet are a powerful combination. Together, Aquaworld and GigNet are a reason Cancun is the best destination in the world for travelers, adventurers, families, conferences, and digital nomads.
ABOUT AQUAWORLD
Founded in 1986, Aquaworld is located in Cancun and in Cozumel and is known globally as a leading company specializing in aquatic entertainment and activities. In addition to being the “Fun Experts” in Cancun for over 35 years, Aquaworld also prides itself on its contributions to preserving the delicate ecological balance of the reefs and ocean life of Cancun and Riviera Maya. Aquaworld has earned the prestigious “ESR” Badge from the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI) for Environmental and Social Responsibility. This places Aquaworld among the elite companies in Mexico who share the distinguished ESR label. Aquaworld is part of the Ultramar family of companies. https://aquaworld.com.mx/en/
ABOUT GIGNET
GigNet is the Mexican Caribbean brand of GigNet, Inc., a U.S. based international Digital Infrastructure company specializing in Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) and Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) for enterprise customers including hotels, resorts, retailers, offices, large commercial operations, governmental offices, and medical and educational facilities, as well as fiber-optic transport services for mobile phone operators in the region. Through its Mexico operating subsidiaries, GigNet, S.A. de C.V., and Sanalto Redes Peninsular, S.A.P.I. de C.V., the Company is a fully licensed telecommunications provider in Mexico. GigNet is actively adding customers to its extensive regional broadband network in the Mexican Caribbean, one of the largest and fastest growing tourism and new residential development destinations in the world, with over 25 million annual airport visitors. GigNet is a leader in the Digital Transformation of the region.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY,INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Trip.com | August 10, 2022
The global travel rebound continues apace this summer, with global air traffic reaching almost 70% of pre-pandemic levels in May and international hotel occupancy rates achieving the same in April. Yet, against the backdrop of an increased appetite for travel driven by more than two years of pent-up demand, getaways over the summer months are likely to be affected by supply chain issues at airlines and airports, fully booked hotels and rising costs of accommodation and car hire.In the UK, travel chaos has dominated the headlines since springtime, with flight cancellations and long wait times, passenger caps and even a suspension on short-haul ticket sales threatening the chance of a summer holiday. In the US and Europe, the picture is equally fraught, and in Asia, recovery is fractured, with Southeast Asia and the Middle East recovering well, where China and South Korea are recovering at just 15% of pre-pandemic levels due to travel restrictions and COVID-19 outbreaks alike. As such, when customers should be getting excited about quality time with friends or family, relaxation and culture, they are now braced for uncertainty.
At Trip.com Group, we are committed to helping our customers take the perfect trip, and this summer is no different. In a world where the travel landscape is increasingly complicated, our Trip.com platform has a range of products and partnerships in place to ease traveller concerns. Combined with our leading customer service, Trip.com aims to ensure everyone has a summer holiday to remember – for all the right reasons – this year.
Trip.com Group's Pre-Travel Protection and Cost-Saving Products
Earlier this year, Trip.com expanded on its travel insurance product offering in collaboration with AXA Partners. Made available to UK customers since September last year, this insurance product was extended to travellers across Europe earlier this year and can be easily selected when booking a flight on Trip.com. This travel insurance option provides a variety of benefits including medical, cancellation and baggage cover, as well as protection against cancellation and medical costs if a customer contracts COVID-19. With travel restrictions in place in many countries across Asia and beyond, this product is still incredibly useful in terms of providing ample traveller protection and peace of mind.
In mainland China, our Ctrip platform introduced its TripTour2Day upgrade service, offering free refunds on group tour products cancelled up to two days before departure. Users simply click on the order details page to obtain a one-click refund in as little as one minute on products with the TripTour2Day label.
A week after the TripTour2Day product was launched, sales exceeded 20 million, which proves how vital these products are in terms of offering customers total peace of mind. With many travellers in China harbouring concerns about whether COVID-19 measures would interfere with their plans, this allows users an increased level of flexibility when booking their next trip.
"The TripTour2Day service upgrade shortens the threshold of a free refund from seven days or longer to just two days, giving every Ctrip user a better experience in terms of both booking and opportunity to refund. You can customise your travel needs at your own pace and join a tour with peace of mind,"
-Trip.com Group Tour Business CEO Wen Jiang.
In addition to providing protection-based products, Trip.com is also helping guests to get the best value on their next getaway. As the costs of travel rapidly increase, customers are frequently looking for the best deals in order to maximise the return on their investment. By partnering with Hopper Price Freeze on our European and US sites, Trip.com is offering customers added protection against travel price volatility. For a small upfront fee, Trip.com users can freeze a flight price for up to 14 days, giving them the chance to confirm plans with their travel companions before booking without having to worry about an unnecessary price rise. Price Freeze ensures that customers never lose out, because if a Trip.com user freezes a flight and the prices go up, the difference is covered up to a set amount. If the price goes down, the user pays that lower price.
Yudong Tan, CEO of the Flight Business Group, Trip.com Group commented, At Trip.com Group we are constantly seeking out ways to bring benefits to travellers. With this new Price Freeze feature, powered by Hopper, we are giving our customers more ways to save money when they book flights.
Dedicated Customer Service
Since the beginning of 2020, Trip.com's Customer Service team has been put through its paces, handling complex requests to support our users during some of the most testing times - and we continue to develop tech-focused Customer Service solutions today.
Our intelligent storage auto-expansion technology has been upgraded to allow our systems to manage call levels more than 10 times higher than our average, and we developed an AI-centric mechanism to recognise and prioritise the most urgent customer cases, directing these calls to a staff member as quickly as possible. While speaking with a Customer Service agent, our assistant tool helps agents by automatically labelling and categorising requests in real time, saving customers time and energy while solving problems quicker than ever before.
Our chatbot service also makes use of AI technology to automatically identify trending information in real time based on the most up to date COVID-19 policies and frequently asked questions, updating the FAQs on a daily basis and allowing customers to self-solve over 70% problems without having to hold for a Customer Service agent. The chatbot can also route requests directly to your hotel or airline, helping customers do everything from requesting a confirmation email to rescheduling a flight in the event of extreme weather conditions.
In addition, Trip.com also launched its Customer Service Pledge in November 2021, committing to six key pillars including 24/7 support and free in-app calls. Grace Ding, Head of Trip.com's Global Customer Support Centre commented We are proud to see one of our companies make a pledge towards maintaining an incredible level of service to ensure people can continue to travel stress-free.
With an average customer satisfaction rate of 90% in 2021, Trip.com is ready to support customers quickly and efficiently with any issues they face while travelling this summer.
Delayed Baggage Protection
As global lost luggage becomes a particularly problematic issue, Trip.com's Blue Ribbon Bags delayed baggage protection service also helps to remove the stress from summer travel. With this initiative, Trip.com users will be able to safeguard their checked luggage against any delays during transit.
Commenting on the new service, Lyrics Zhao, Director of Product and Business Development in the Flights Business at Trip.com said, "Trip.com strives to make travel worry-free and relaxing for all. We want the booking experience to be the beginning of a relaxing trip and to offer value added services to the passenger."
"Our service provides air travellers with confidence that if their checked-in baggage does not arrive at the destination airport, we will coordinate and expedite the swift return. Our clients should be able to enjoy their holiday or focus on their work trip while we locate and expedite the baggage,"
-CD Lazear, Senior Vice President of Blue Ribbon Bags.
Whatever this summer throws at you, Trip.com will be by your side to offer solutions. At every stage throughout your travel journey, from pre-booking to when you land in your chosen destination, Trip.com's supportive staff and customer-focused products are available to support you every step of the way and make sure your next trip offers all the relaxation, fun and good times you've been craving.
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BUSINESS TRAVEL
Cain Travel and Sabre | August 05, 2022
Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, announced a new distribution agreement with Cain Travel, a US-based travel agency. This new agreement will enable Cain Travel to complement services to their customers worldwide, drive efficiencies and support their economic growth by leveraging their proprietary technologies along with Sabre's travel marketplace (GDS).
Cain Travel will have access to Sabre's marketplace of more than 400 airlines, 750,000 hotel properties, and hundreds of tour operators, rail, car rental and cruise providers, to sell customized travel packages from suppliers around the world. Additionally, the travel agency will use their proprietary technologies – powered by Sabre API's – along with the reach represented by the Sabre GDS to differentiate its services among their competitors.
"The key reasons Cain Travel chose Sabre were its technology and strategic vision on NDC. We were looking for a travel technology partner that could help us address many aspects of our business – driving revenue, reducing costs, and improving our efficiency, Sabre's technology strategy including its approach to NDC will make it easier for our staff to find the content and personalized offers that our customers expect. We look forward to a successful and bright future with our new partner."
-Michael Cain, President of Cain Travel Group of Boulder
Founded in 1985, Cain Travel is one of the nation's largest independent travel management companies, providing a unique set of travel solutions.
"As the industry continues to recover, travel companies face the challenge of quickly adapting their business to this dynamic market's changing needs and requirements, We are excited to serve as the strategic technology partner for Cain Travel and to bring them onto the Sabre GDS where they will have full access to Sabre's leading technology and broad travel content."
-Andy Finkelstein, senior vice president, Global Agency Sales and Corporate Solutions for Sabre
Today, thousands of agency points of sale are shopping, booking and servicing NDC offers through the Sabre marketplace. Sabre continues to broaden its NDC capabilities, coverage and content from multiple airlines.
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. For more information visit www.sabre.com.
About Cain Travel
The Cain Travel Group of Boulder, Inc. (Cain) is a certified Woman Owned Small Business founded in 1985. Since our inception, Cain has grown to become among the largest privately held TMCs in the country. Cain has achieved this success through a combination of employing extremely experienced and dedicated staff, enjoying unparalleled employee and customer retention rates and conceptualizing, developing and deploying new technologies designed to enhance traveler experience and facilitate the success of travel programs. The Company is based in Boulder, Colorado.
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