TRAVELPORT READY FOR TECH OFF IN 2020

TTG Media | December 18, 2019

There have been some exciting developments at Travelport. A $4.4 billion privatisation deal in May and several additions to senior management including a new chief executive, Greg Webb, promise to breathe new life into the UK-headquartered travel technology company. TTG speaks to Alistair Rodger, global vice-president of agency sales for Europe, to find out more about the company’s plans for the trade as well as the latest tech innovations it is embracing in 2020.

Spotlight

RDU passengers can now confirm their identities with eyes or fingers.

Spotlight

RDU passengers can now confirm their identities with eyes or fingers.

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BUSINESS TRAVEL

Internova Travel Group Elevates Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts

Internova Travel Group | March 03, 2023

Internova Travel Group, a travel services company, elevated its exclusive Internova SELECT Hotels and Resorts Program for 2023 with additional luxury properties, offering more client options and benefits. Its travel advisors can introduce their clients to these elevated properties and benefits. With selected hotels and resorts, their clients would affiliate with Internova and utilize the special amenities during their stay. These new partners would enhance the Internova SELECT Hotels and Resorts footprint in popular global tourist destinations. The hotels and resorts are unique in the market with historical significance and awesome surroundings, located in the United States, Italy, France, Greece and Spain. With special amenities, it also provides early check-in and late check-out facility, room upgrade based on availability, hotel amenity, daily complimentary breakfast for two, and in-room Wi-Fi. Consumers can book their stay at the Internova SELECT properties through the travel advisor at Global Travel Collection or Travel Leaders Network and ALTOUR. Executive Vice President of Partner Relations at Internova, Albert Herrera said, "We continue to strategically evolve the Internova SELECT Hotels & Resorts collection, always fine-tuning our search for properties that represent the best in luxury travel." He added, "Our Internova travel advisors can feel confident that hotels and resorts included in the Internova SELECT brand will provide their clients with an intimate and luxurious vacation experience, meeting the highest standards for comfort and service combined with the most sought-after amenities." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Internova Travel Group Headquartered in New York City, Internova Travel Group, a travel services company, connects travel brands for comfortable personal travel and corporate events with enhanced travel experience. With its services, it manages the business, franchise firms and leisure. It has a network of travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations in the U.S., the U.K., Mexico, and Canada, and a presence in about 80 countries. Through its huge network of over 100,000 travel advisors, it reaches travelers worldwide. Its expert travel advisors and executives have transformed the travel experience since 2008. As a result, it received recognition for innovation in digital, print and social marketing in the travel industry.

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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY,INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

battleface Launch Robin Assist, a Tech Platform for Travel Insurance Service

battleface | January 12, 2023

battleface, a travel insurance provider, recently announced the launch of Robin Assist, a new tech-based platform as a service. It is designed for brokers, carriers, managing general agents (MGAs), and self-employed businesses. Robin Assist is supported by the global application programming interface-driven (API) insurtech platform through round-the-clock customer service, emergency medical assistance services, and claims. battleface's founders come from a travel insurance background, having worked in the roles of underwriting, claims, customer service, compliance, and emergency medical treatment. battleface has expanded distribution globally since its foundational days. The company is in the UK, EU, US, Canada, and Australia because of its adaptive technology and network of medical, travel, and security partners. The Robin Assist platform offers a variety of services, including round-the-clock service in multiple languages, insurance claims management, aid in transit and evacuation in case of medical emergencies, management of medical cases, international systems for controlling healthcare costs, and instant remittances in over 140 currencies. battleface intends to make its API-driven insurtech platform publicly available for easy product creation, rate administration, policy fulfillment, nation- and state-specific compliance, global distribution, out-of-the-box affiliation, and relationship management. "battleface was born out of emergency travel and medical assistance, where we saw the need for tech-driven products to deliver relevant services for today's travelers," said Sasha Gainullin, CEO, battleface. He further added, "With the launch of Robin Assist, our team will continue to deliver the same level of excellent service that our customers currently experience, supporting travel insurance brands globally." (Source: PR Newswire) About battleface battleface, Inc., founded in 2017, is headquartered in Columbus (Ohio). It is a global full-stack firm that makes it simple for clients and partners to get the right travel insurance for them. Its custom-built embedded goods, location-independent access to essential benefits, and attentive, around-the-clock customer assistance are only the beginning.

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BUSINESS TRAVEL

WTTC unveils world-first global Travel & Tourism's water footprint

prnewswire | March 24, 2023

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center have unveiled groundbreaking new data detailing the total water usage of the global Travel & Tourism sector. In one of the largest research projects of its kind, WTTC can for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact the sector has on the environment. The findings were launched today at the United Nations in New York at the UN 2023 Water Conference. Direct Water Use Speaking at the UN Headquarters, Chris Imbsen, Director of Sustainability at WTTC, revealed that Travel & Tourism's entire water footprint is just 0.6% of the global water use according to the latest figures (2021). In 2019, when the sector was at its peak, the sector's total water footprint was only 50% higher, but still less than 1% of the global total at 0.9%. Travel & Tourism's direct water use is significantly lower – in 2019 it was 0.2% of the global total and has fallen by half to just 0.1% of the global total. Much of the sector's water use is indirect, through its supply chain, with agriculture and food production accounting for two-thirds of Travel & Tourism's entire water footprint. Between 2010 and 2019, the Travel & Tourism sector in Europe and Africa reduced direct water use. In Europe, direct water use fell by 8% and in Africa, direct water use by the sector fell by 6%. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "This ground-breaking new data reveals our sector's water consumption for the first time ever, revealing that Travel & Tourism uses less than 1% of the water used around the world, with the overwhelming majority of that usage coming from the sector's supply chain. "The data also shows that whilst the sector has grown economically around the world, its direct-use water intensity has decreased. "The data is the most in depth study of the sector's water use, and like the world-first climate footprint data we released at our Global Summit in Riyadh last year, we can also reveal individual countries' Travel & Tourism sector's water footprints. This will enable governments to work with the sector to further reduce water usage." Water Intensity The water intensity of Travel & Tourism per unit of GDP has also fallen since 2010, across both direct and indirect use. In 2010, the sector used 0.57m³ of water for every $1 contributed to the global economy. In 2019 this fell by 19% to reach 0.46m³ of water for every $1 contributed to the global economy. In a world-first, this comprehensive research covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with revised figures. This research was made possible thanks to the partnership between WTTC and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center. Under the Saudi green Initiative, more than 60 initiatives have been launched in the past year, representing more than $186 billion of investment in the green economy. About the World Travel & Tourism Council The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector.

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