The Wrap is a round-up of travel and technology industry news to keep track of developments in these sectors as the green shoots of recovery slowly take root.
NEC and SITA form a global partnership to enable “safe transit” to the airport
Safe and automated airport travel for passengers
Japan NEC Corporation and SITA work together to develop solutions that enable passengers to have “safe passage” and automated airport travel.
SITA said in a media statement that it hopes the partnership will “unlock the potential of seamless next-generation passenger processing solutions and make mobile and contactless airport processes a reality”. Passengers can use their digital identity on their mobile phone every step of the journey – they simply scan their face to check in, make payments, drop their bags, and go through security, immigration, and boarding.
The two companies will develop the solutions by leveraging the global presence of both companies in the marketplace and the combination of technology and artificial intelligence including NECs Me: joy Identity Management Platform and SITA Smart Path and SITA Flex.
With NEC’s I: Delight platform, passengers who have decided to use the service can be identified quickly and with high accuracy while on the move. The digital identity solutions “use biometric technologies to provide a unified customer experience across a wide range of services,” said Masakazu Yamashina, executive vice president of NEC.
Barbara Dalibard, CEO of SITA, noted that by leveraging the Common Use Footprint in 460+ airports worldwide and NEC’s identity management technology, the company is “well positioned” to help customers deliver an efficient airport experience , especially in these challenging times, with increasing speed focus on passenger health and safety.
According to SITA, the partnership is timely, as airports and airlines are increasingly relying on contactless and automated passenger processing to meet the new hygiene requirements during the current Covid-19 pandemic and comply with the recommendations of the Airports Council International and International Air Transport Association (IATA).
CWT introduces new data-driven solutions to help companies resume travel
CWT’s resources are designed to help companies and their employees resume business travel. (Image credit: Rawpixel Ltd / Getty Images)
Business travel management company CWT has made two new additions to its return to travel resources to help businesses and their employees resume travel in a developing landscape.
The Return to Travel dashboard brings together comprehensive information on Covid-19-related global destinations as well as customized travel and location details to help travel managers assess risks and restrictions during business trips.
The second option, CWT Travel Essentials, allows travelers to search for information on relevant restrictions, procedures and travel requirements based on specific itinerary details such as travel start date, destination, travel dates and nationality of the traveler. The tool is available on a public page on the company’s website and through myCWT mobile and web channels.
“These services are central to CWT’s commitment to making travel easier. They add to the rich content we already offer customers and their employees, and make it easier to incorporate their own risks and constraints,” said Erica Antony, chief product officer by CWT.
“Our new dashboards and search functions provide travel managers and travelers with curated information relevant to their individual programs and itineraries. We will continue to increase our resources to support the wellbeing of our customers during the pandemic and when they return to travel. ”
CWT’s return to travel information services is consolidated from multiple third-party sources, including government and health advisory sites, travel providers and universities, which are aggregated through API connections.
Virtual tours that inspire you to travel to Malaysia
Mah Meri’s virtual tour gives visitors a glimpse into the center of indigenous heritage.
Despite the slowdown in the pandemic and the fact that some countries are opening their borders, many travelers are still cautious when it comes to jumping on the virtual platform to encourage potential travelers to explore their destinations.
Kuala Lumpur-based travel tech platform, LokaLocaldoes just that – using virtual reality technology “to change the way people discover destinations in Malaysia”.
According to LokaLocal, the virtual tours built into stories, videos and audio provide interactive 360-degree experiences that can be viewed on any device from anywhere in the world.
Chin Yoon Khen, CEO of LokaLocal said, “We empower companies to take their stories and marketing messages to a new dimension. Virtual walking makes content discovery easier for venues and activities, drives engagement, and offers real value. ”
Currently the platform creates virtual tours for hotels, resorts, real estate developers, museums, e-commerce, educational institutions and travel attractions. The custom virtual experiences can be integrated into the booking system and used for guided online tours and lead management.
The company’s virtual tours include the Mah Meri cultural village in sound, Selangor, The Edison George town and KLoé Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
According to LokaLocal, the digital initiative aims to lay the groundwork for the recreation of travel and inspire travelers to visit Malaysia when the country lifts its restrictions and opens the borders to foreign visitors.
The new tool from Skyscanner offers free access to flight search data
According to Skyscanners, flight search data can provide insights into travelers’ early intentions and changed behavior. (Image credit: Santypan / Getty Images)
Skyscanner provides free access to flight search data with its new data visualization tool to aid travel industry recovery.
The tool, part of the company Travel Insight The offering combines Skyscanner’s global flight search data with major Covid-19 events and announcements from governments in multiple countries.
According to Skyscanner, the tool should “help companies in the travel and tourism sector to identify trends and make strategic decisions for the future”.
Flight search data is visualized in a simple and intuitive interface that shows the volume of 2020 searches over time. Searches are indexed based on the highest volume over a period of time and can easily be compared to 2019 volume.
According to the travel company, flight search data can provide “unmatched insight into early intentions and changed behavior of travelers” when compared to other aviation data sources.
“With the travel landscape fundamentally changing, collaboration and innovation have never been more important to ensuring a sustainable path to recreation. That’s what we’re bringing to market with this new tool, the latest in our line of Travel Insight products, ”commented Michael Docherty, Head of Data Partnerships at Skyscanner.
“Understanding demand trends and being able to plan accordingly will undoubtedly help airlines and other organizations implement their recovery strategies more effectively and efficiently. We continue to invest in data innovation and want to introduce even more products to help our partners later this year. “
The new tool is part of Skyscanner’s strategy to help the travel industry on its way to recovery. Other offers are the Tariff families Functionality that enables airlines to maximize fare revenue and conduct free trials Travel Insight API enables companies to analyze global search and booking data to identify shifts in market and route demand.
• Recommended picture credit (passenger with digital identity at the airport): SITA
