TRAVELPORT and Axess International Network have joined forces to release an enhanced desktop version of their global travel commerce platform, Axess Crea Advance, for travel consultants across Japan.
The two companies have been partners on the project since April 2012, with the newest version of their Axess agency desktop platform incorporating a range of new functions and services.
Powered by Travelport Smartpoint, the upgraded system offers a broad range of additional data on flights, hotels and hire cars, as well as user-friendly merchandising features designed to make communicating with the customer easier and more powerful.
The Rich Content and Branding options on flight sales, for example, permit airlines to display and promote their entire product range – from entertainment options to meals and details on the aircraft operating the route – saving time on searching the airline’s website for the same information.
Travelport also delivers details on more than 650,000 hotels around the world, including photographs, with an additional function showing ratings of properties from Tripadvisor.
“We have invested US$475 million into our travel commerce platform since 2012, so we’re very serious about what we do,” Mark Meehan, managing director for Travelport Asia-Pacific told TTG Asia e-Daily at the Visit Japan Travel and MICE Mart 2015 in Tokyo.
“Agencies can’t just offer a seat on a flight anymore,” he said. “It’s increasingly about the efficiency and data available to the consultant and communicating that to the consumer.
“The system has also been shown to have economic benefits to agencies, so it is improving their bottom lines as well,” he added.
Travel consultants already connected to the Axess system can undergo training with the new platform scheduled to be operational in 2017.
In addition to delivering a new agency desktop, Axess has also partnered with Travelport to launch Locomote, a smart technology platform that gives Japanese companies complete control and visibility of their corporate travel on any device anywhere in the world.
