Mark Ross-Smith

The report by CARMA aims to identify the key players in the airline industry, based on their share of voice and overall positioning according to media and customer perspectives. An analysis of social discourse identified customer service and the flight experience as the leading conversation drivers, at 28% and 22% respectively. Andrew Nicholls, managing director at CARMA Asia, said, "We expected to see travellers voicing complaints over social media; but efforts to deliver exceptional customer experiences have clearly turned customers into vocal advocates." #socialmedia #onlinediscussion #asiapacific ------ -[Awards] MARKETECH APAC is launching its inaugural "Marketing Technology Awards" where we recognise the groundbreaking achievements in marketing technology, uniting the brands and tech organisations within the region’s marketing community. Learn how your brand can be a part of it by checking it more details HERE: https://bit.ly/3SVtoIa -[Conferences] Learn about the latest trends, strategies, and technologies that converge to shape the future of commerce and customer marketing with our upcoming "Customer Marketing Asia 2024" conference in Singapore on September 10 [https://bit.ly/3YkKjIw]. -[Report] Discover the latest trends in business communication, and explore how mobile messaging channels are preferred by consumers to seek deeper connections with brands by checking out this report HERE: https://bit.ly/3RckF4z

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New Report: https://lnkd.in/gxwk4TKR This in-depth analysis reveals Indonesia's growing appeal across major markets like the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, offering invaluable insights for #airlines, #revenuemanagers, and #travelcompanies. With actionable intelligence on emerging travel patterns, consumer preferences, and market trends, this report equips industry leaders with the strategic foresight to navigate the competitive landscape successfully. Gain a competitive edge and stay ahead of the curve by accessing this must-have resource for informed decision-making in the dynamic Indonesian travel market. Vinay Varma Amit Vadhera #TravelTrends #IndonesiaTourism #TourismInsights #TravelData #TravelAnalytics #TourismMarketing #TravelIndustry #DestinationMarketing #TravelBusiness #TourismGrowth #EmergingMarkets #AsiaTravel #SoutheastAsiaTravel #InboundTourism #OutboundTourism #TravelForecasting #TravelPlanning #StrategicPlanning #DataDrivenDecisions

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On 9th Dec, I attended an event organised by Travelport The theme of the event was Modernisation of Travel Agencies with Automation & NDC (New Distribution Capability) What is NDC ? NDC is a new system that lets airlines sell tickets and services directly with more personalized options and real-time updates. Later, Industry leaders like John C. Elieson , Alexis Guest, Damian Hickey, and Anil Prashar shared insights on the future of travel tech and NDC advancements. How have we used it ? 1. Nixtour India Private Limited has integrated NDC for over 15 airlines, with several more in progress. It’s a new and modern tool to enhance experience. 2. A few challenges: NDC faces higher financial costs and technological complexities compared to traditional EDIFACT via GDS. 3. While outdated, EDIFACT remains more stable and widely used, making NDC adoption challenging. In the coming years, these issues will be resolved hopefully. What are your views on NDC ? #Travelwithnix

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#Customersupport and #marketing are the two most common business functions generative artificial intelligence (#AI) is being used for in the travel and tourism landscape today, observes Ming Fai Wong, chief technology officer at the Singapore Tourism Board. In this episode of TTG Conversations: Five Questions video news series, Wong discusses other functions of generative AI, motivations for travel and tourism business owners to hop on the the bandwagon, how they can get started with available information resources and assistance through the tourism bureau, and more #digitaltransformation ideas. Watch the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/g7SsK8pN

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Do you see all the airfares available when you search for scheduled flights either for personal or business travel on the internet? The answer is no. Not unless you have access to either the new NDC fares or the GDS (Global Distribution System) There are 4 types of scheduled airfares: 1. Published Fares (either the new NDC fares or on the GDS or the airlines' public website). 2. Consolidator fares (only available to travel agents/tour operators who have access either to either NDC fares or the GDS) 3. ITX Fares. (Again, only available to travel agents/tour operators who have access to either NDC fares or the GDS). 4. Friends and family airfares. So what's the difference between these? Published fares, whether through the airline's website or a travel agent or tour operator are just that - published to the general public. Essentially, to book, you need to pay upfront. Some will have a modicum of flexibility, others none. Consolidator fares, are available if you have an NDC connection or access to the GDS. They are 'seat-only' fares but discounted from the published fares. Either through the inclusion of added services (eg: checked luggage is included) or just a straight discount. ITX fares must be packaged. That is you must have also booked (usually) 3 nights accommodation as a minimum with the flight. They can be significantly discounted, or they may be even slightly higher. But they have one BIG advantage: They can usually be reserved with a deposit; often just a few £100 per flight. Ticketing occurs closer to the departure date, and these fares are often used by tour operators such as myself because they significantly lower the upfront payment. If you're looking to book a holiday or a business trip - particularly long-haul, then give me a call or drop me an e-mail: Tel: 01234 581066 E-mail: marco.williams@myTC.com

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Flying standby can feel like airport roulette, but with the right strategies, you can increase your chances of success. From knowing airline policies to monitoring flight statuses and understanding how airlines rank passengers, standby travel requires both luck and knowledge. Frequent flyers and those with travel insurance or flexible bookings tend to have an edge. For more tips on navigating the standby hustle, check out the full article at The Washington Post by Chris Dong. https://lnkd.in/efXKeYaJ #Standby #Airlines

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📰#NEWS: A new collaboration between Amadeus, Fliggy and Lazada has seen the latter significantly enhance its ✈️air travel offerings during the key Double 11 festival. 👉Full story here: https://lnkd.in/gRc8ei2c #ItsHowTravelWorksBetter #TravelTech #AsiaPacific

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#NDC in Practice: The #Real #Challenges Facing #Travel #Agents 🧳💻 While New Distribution Capability (NDC) promised a revolution in airline distribution, travel agents are grappling with significant challenges in its real-world application. Let's examine the concrete issues that are making NDC less appealing than the traditional Global Distribution System (GDS) channels: 1. 🔄 Itinerary Changes: NDC systems often struggle with simple modifications. Changing a return flight or adjusting dates can become a complex, time-consuming process, unlike the streamlined GDS experience. 2. ↔️ One-Way Bookings: Surprisingly, booking one-way itineraries through NDC can be problematic. This limitation is particularly frustrating for agents handling complex multi-city trips or those catering to flexible business travelers. 3. 💰 Refund Processing: Issuing refunds through NDC channels can be a nightmare. The process is often convoluted and lacks the efficiency of GDS refund procedures, leading to delays and customer dissatisfaction. 4. 🌐 Third-Party Confusion: The introduction of multiple third-party NDC suppliers has created a fragmented landscape. Agents now need to navigate various interfaces and processes, each with its own quirks and limitations. 5. 📊 Incomplete Data: NDC often fails to provide comprehensive booking data, making it challenging for agents to fulfill their duty of care obligations or provide detailed reporting to corporate clients. 6. 🔍 Fare Comparison: The promise of enhanced content isn't always realized. Agents often find it difficult to efficiently compare fares and ancillaries across multiple airlines in NDC, a task that's straightforward in GDS. 7. 🏃‍♀️ Speed and Efficiency: Many agents report that NDC bookings take significantly longer than GDS bookings, impacting productivity and customer service. The result? Many travel agents are sticking with the familiar, efficient GDS channels rather than adopting NDC, despite its potential benefits. Question for discussion: If you're a travel agent or work closely with them, what has been your experience with NDC? How are you addressing these challenges? #NDCReality #TravelAgentChallenges #AirlineDistribution #TravelTech #GDSvNDC

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#Travel demand roared back after the pandemic, but airlines struggled to rebuild connections, leading to sky-high #airfares, especially in #Asia. Fortunately, things are looking up. Airfares are finally dropping as airlines increase capacity. While prices are still slightly higher than 2019 (fares for a trip to Asia in March 2024 were 4% above pre-pandemic levels), the downward trend is promising. There might be bumps along the way, like the February spike caused by the Chinese New Year holiday period and the Taylor Swift concerts in Singapore, but this is part of the game. Hungry for more Asia travel insights? Check out our latest blog post summarizing my PATA Annual Summit keynote. Huge thanks to Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Macao Government Tourism Office, and all the enthusiastic attendees: https://lnkd.in/ei6bAnrb #traveltrends #travel #china #airfare #PATA #tourism

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Asia is reclaiming its role in global tourism according to Amadeus and Globetrender’s 2025 travel trends report. Major series like White Lotus and Squid Games are set to inspire visits to the region and, to sweeten the deal, China has extended visa-free travel until end 2025. Thailand’s new digital nomad visas and broader visa-free program for 93 countries are set to attract a global audience. Amadeus data reflects this momentum as outbound travel from Chengdu, China, surged 66% to 35.2 million passengers from 2016 to 2023, while Guangzhou grew 20%. Delhi also saw a 31% rise with over 30 million outbound passengers in 2023. Read the full report for more detail: https://lnkd.in/eSRRjnMz #TravelTrends #AmadeusTravelTrends #AsiaUplift

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How BiG EVAL Ensure Bookings to get pushed to Central Reservation Systems In the travel industry, seamless collaboration between hotels, airlines, cruise ship companies, and booking platforms is crucial for keeping reservation systems up to date. When data exchange falters due to network issues or data quality problems it will lead to incorrect bookings and of course costly impacts. ------------------------------------ Here's how BiG EVAL solved it: 🔄BiG EVAL continuously validate synchronization status between systems involved. 🚀Provided a clear overview of any issues and enabled rapid, even automated, intervention. The result? Errors are detected almost immediately, allowing them to be fixed before incorrect bookings with costly impacts are made. ------------------------------------ Key features that made this possible: 📢Alerting People about failed Validation 📏Testmethod Business Rules 💡PowerShell Module For more insights on how BiG EVAL can streamline your data exchange processes, follow me. 🚀 #DataTesting #BiGEVAL #BusinessIntelligence

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How BiG EVAL Ensure Bookings to get pushed to Central Reservation Systems In the travel industry, seamless collaboration between hotels, airlines, cruise ship companies, and booking platforms is crucial for keeping reservation systems up to date. When data exchange falters due to network issues or data quality problems it will lead to incorrect bookings and of course costly impacts. ------------------------------------ Here's how BiG EVAL solved it: 🔄BiG EVAL continuously validate synchronization status between systems involved. 🚀Provided a clear overview of any issues and enabled rapid, even automated, intervention. The result? Errors are detected almost immediately, allowing them to be fixed before incorrect bookings with costly impacts are made. ------------------------------------ Key features that made this possible: 📢Alerting People about failed Validation 📏Testmethod Business Rules 💡PowerShell Module For more insights on how BiG EVAL can streamline your data exchange processes, follow me. 🚀

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💡 Imagine a world where Travel Management Companies (TMCs), travel agencies, and travel agents access airline content directly, seamlessly, without the exhaustive effort and exorbitant costs currently associated with integrating individual airline APIs. ✈️🚀 Today, tech companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars 💁🏼 merely to create a unified layer for these disparate systems. However, what if we could shift our focus from overcoming integration challenges to truly enhancing value for our clients? This vision is not just a pipe dream—it's a practical pathway forward, inspired by the successes seen in the Open Banking sector.💥 In Open Banking, the adoption of unified API standards and regulated access has catalyzed innovation, security, and customer-centric services. By following a similar path, the travel industry could reap enormous benefits: 🛩 Airlines would be able to broaden their reach effortlessly, ensuring their offers are more readily available and consumable by a global network of travel professionals. 🎡 TMCs and Travel Agencies would cut down on operational costs and complexity, enabling a focus on scalability and enhanced service offerings. 🦸  Travel Agents would gain instant access to a vast array of options, allowing them to provide better, more competitive services to travelers. 👩🏽 Clients would enjoy more personalized and cost-effective travel experiences 💃🏽 🕺🏽, thanks to the sophisticated tools and services that can be developed atop a standardized API layer. This unified approach not only fosters efficiency but also ignites innovation by reducing the technological barriers that currently fragment our capabilities. By advocating for and adopting standardized APIs, we can democratize access to information, streamline the booking process, and ultimately, enhance the travel experience for everyone involved. The journey towards this future involves collaboration and a commitment to shared standards and regulations. It's time for our industry to take a cue from Open Banking and pave the way for a smarter, more interconnected travel ecosystem. Let's come together to create a more accessible and user-friendly global travel industry. ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ ✈️ #TravelTech #Innovation #APIStandardization #OpenBanking #FutureOfTravel #NDC

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Let's talk 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨. Specifically, 𝐁𝟐𝐁 numbers. 𝟮𝟱,𝟬𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 - Value of bookings generated last year, in USD. 𝟭𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 - Room nights last year, heads in beds. 𝟲𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 - The number of travel business partners who work with us (not including Travel Agents - add on another 𝟭𝟰𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬). 𝟳𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 - That's the number of traveler requests in just one quarter. 𝟮,𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 - The value of fraudulent activities stopped, in USD. And the most important number: 𝟏 - The number of partners you need to work with for your B2B distribution - that would be Expedia Group. Our VP, Private Label Solutions, APAC Aileen Chan sat down with Web In Travel to give them the rundown. You want numbers? Talk to us. We'll get you numbers.

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The air passenger demand has increased by 9.1% YoY. This has impacted economy and business class airfares. Find out the average ticket price and impact on Asia’s busiest routes! Download FCM Consulting’s latest global trend report: https://okt.to/IEUlHz #FCMConsulting #TravelTrends2024 #BusinessTravel

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🎙Thai Airways International ranked the Most Profitable Airline 🛬 Airline Weekly If you missed Monday's live recording of LINKING THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY, check out this story along with many others on the latest episode. Check out the entire episode at https://lnkd.in/eEXkrCxs or by searching 'BusinessTravel360' on your favorite podcast player. Ann Cederhall Riaan van Schoor Mohit Kumar Arora Aash Shravah #LTTI #Linkingthetravelindustry #travelindustry #businesstravel #businesstravelnews #travelpodcast

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✨ Cathay Pacific is redefining travel marketing with next-level strategies! ✨ • Prime Location Dominance: Ads placed in high-visibility spots like Mumbai’s highways and Delhi’s airport gates. • Dynamic Engagement Displays: Real-time, contextually relevant messages tailored to travelers. • Tailored Traveler Insights: Relatable creatives addressing in-flight comfort and luxury. • Elevated Customer Aspirations: Highlighting premium features like extra legroom and affordable first-class travel. • Creative Brand Storytelling: Witty taglines like “Counting clouds part of your in-flight entertainment?” make the ads memorable. • Humanized Brand Connection: Every touchpoint emphasizes personal experiences, making every journey feel special. Cathay Pacific is proving that creativity meets innovation, turning everyday travel moments into extraordinary brand experiences! 🌍🛫 #CathayPacific #MoveBeyond #TravelMarketing #InnovationInAdvertising #CreativeCampaigns

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📊✈️ Revolutionize your Airline RM with #AI. In this video, Surain Adyanthaya from PROS explores how dynamic pricing and personalized, transactable offers can maximize airline revenue. Move beyond traditional booking classes and static pricing models to continuous and request-specific pricing. Watch the full video here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7v2dgdF #AirlineRetail #CommercialAutonomy #ModernAirlineRetailing #DynamicPricing #AirlineInnovation #RevenueManagement

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