Mastercard is expanding its partnership with Agoda to enhance B2B payments in the travel and tourism industry, making it easier for digital travel platforms to make payments to hotels, airlines, suppliers and vendors globally.
The collaboration will also address the challenges of legacy payment processes and drive innovation beyond traditional card payments.
With B2B payments currently relying on manual and time-consuming processes such as paper invoices, Mastercard and Agoda recognise the urgent need to modernise these payment systems and streamline transactions between digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally.
Through the exclusive issuance of Mastercard virtual credit cards, Agoda will be able to make and receive B2B payments globally wherever Mastercard is accepted. The expanded partnership will also focus on driving smoother and smarter end-to-end travel experiences such as bringing timely and curated offers for Agoda customers using Mastercard’s data insights, joint-marketing propositions to further enhance customer satisfaction, and loyalty rewards when booking with Agoda using a Mastercard card.
Yunsok Chang, executive vice president, market development, Asia-Pacific, Mastercard, said: “Mastercard has been long-time partners with Agoda and is proud to expand on this decade-long partnership that harnesses the power of collaboration to simplify B2B payments and fortify defences against fraud, all while enhancing the customer experience and fostering greater loyalty.”
Mai-Linh Bui, chief financial officer at Agoda added: “Together, we are redefining the landscape of B2B payments within the travel and tourism sector. Recognising the challenges posed by outdated payment processes, our collaboration aims to revolutionise the way digital travel platforms engage with hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors worldwide.”
The 2024 edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) will return to Dubai from May 6 to 9 with the theme, Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship.
Attendees will consider how the segments of leisure, business, luxury and MICE are driving economic growth and sustainable development across destinations, hospitality and aviation, creating fresh opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors from across the Middle East and beyond.
Danielle Curtis, ATM’s exhibition director, said: “Holidaymakers represent a crucial focus for the Middle East’s travel community, but leisure is only one component of a much bigger picture. Business, luxury and MICE travel are also making significant contributions to economic growth and sustainable development, with Statista predicting a global market volume of more than US$1 trillion by 2027.
“It is therefore no surprise that the travel and tourism sector is creating unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors, thousands of whom will showcase their innovations, exchange ideas and forge new partnerships at ATM 2024,” she added.
The travel and tourism sector is on course to contribute US$49.18 billion to the UAE economy alone in 2023, according to figures released by the WTTC. This figure is predicted to reach US$64.12 billion by 2033, accounting for an impressive 10.2 per cent of the nation’s GDP.
As the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry continues to mature, it is expected to create new jobs and income for millions of people from across the globe. The UAE Government, for instance, estimates that the country’s travel and tourism market will support 770,000 jobs by 2027. At the same time, the sector is expected to generate ever-increasing revenues for regional economies – Gulf travellers spending approximately 6.5 times more than tourists from other parts of the world, according to the UN Tourism.
Sustainable development will represent another key focus at ATM 2024. Dubai’s Department for Economy and Tourism (DET), ATM’s Destination Partner, will showcase its ongoing efforts to protect the environment and secure a greener and more sustainable future for the emirate.