Following its launch in the EMEA region, Travelport’s new mobile product Trip Assist will be rolled out in Asia-Pacific, with a showcase at the annual Travelport LIVE event in Sydney this week.
The technology is touted for allowing travel service providers to engage with customers at various stages of their journey, through mobile travel capabilities such as flexible itinerary management; real-time communications; day of travel assistance; push-notification reminders; real-time alerts; and the option to call an agent from within the app.
One key element is Travelport Engage, a mobile messaging tool which delivers personalised travel updates during and after every trip.
More features are being planned to encourage user control via the ability to request flight changes, select preferred seating and the ability to synch trip information with personal calendars from within the app.
Fergal Kelly, CCO of Travelport Digital, commented: “The increasingly connected traveller expects support throughout their trip. Customer engagement via mobile is now critical for agencies of all sizes and we believe that the business travel industry and business travellers are not yet well-served.”
The Asia-Pacific launch comes as growth in mobile bookings in the region outpace that in any other region, according to Travelport. Mobile travel sales have seen double-digit growth in markets like South Korea (58.7 per cent), Australia (52.2 per cent) and China (49.9 per cent) in the past five years. It is estimated that by 2020, 76 per cent of the growth of online travel will come from mobile sale.
