Tag Archives: InterGlobe Technology Quotient

Sandeep Dwivedi, COO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient, has said that they expect travel to be at the peak of renewal next year and international traffic to pick up pace at around 120 per cent of the pre-COVID levels.

In India, trust directly influences traveler purchasing behavior, claims a research by Travelport. Due to COVID-19, for example, half (50%, versus a global average of 46%) of travellers in the country said they prioritize trust over all other factors when choosing a travel supplier (such as an airline). Many travellers in India also stated, when trust is in place, they will consider purchasing multiple travel-related items (47%), upgrading their package (47%) and buying non-travel-related items such as credit cards (42%) – putting India amongst the countries with the strongest link between trust and purchasing propensity.  “The Indian travel industry has a golden opportunity to come out of COVID-19 strongly”, said Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer of InterGlobe Technology Quotient, Travelport’s official partner in India. “It’s clear that building consumer trust can lead to commercial success. By focusing on the most important issues for consumers in India, we can accelerate industry recovery.”

Travelport has launched the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin. The plugin provides travel agencies with the latest information on government restrictions, lockdowns and safety measures across the globe all within the agent workflow. It is available free-of-charge to all Travelport customers globally, using Travelport Smartpoint 8.2 or above, and can be downloaded directly from Travelport Marketplace. The new tool provides detailed information on a range of topics, including: lockdown rules, entry requirements and quarantine measures for travelers. Country-level information can be displayed at the click of a button, allowing agents to advise their customers easily and instantly. Kyle Moore, Global Head of Customer Strategy and Marketing, Travelport, said, “The travel ecosystem today is probably the most complex it has ever been, with government, airline, and hotel policies in every country constantly-changing. We’re making sure our agent partners no longer need to constantly leave their workflow to search for accurate and up-to-date information— greatly improving their efficiency in servicing their traveller customers.” Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, said: With the looming uncertainty across the globe, having a substantial amount of certainty through readily accessible up-to-date information including on government and airline policies shall unequivocally prove beneficial for our network of agents and serve as a ready aid for gaining momentum in operations and transactions. This free built-in plugin in the GDS is a welcome move from Travelport, one that will result in both informed traveller and travel enabler.” The information in the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin is provided by global travel safety intelligence provider, Safeture, and is updated daily. “Our collaboration with Travelport will provide millions of travellers with the information they need to make informed decisions. With …

The Travel Unified global campaign by Travelport, launched in 2019, drives awareness about DPNA (Disabled Passenger with intellectual or Developmental disability Needing Assistance) as a Special Service Request (SSR) code available in the airline industry for passengers. In India, the use of the code for flights booked through Travelport has increased by 165%. Under the campaign, the requests for assistance for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities have nearly doubled. Globally, use of the code on flights booked through Travelport has increased by 89% since the launch of the Travel Unified campaign. Little-known SSR code, DPNA 1, can be used to alert airlines when a traveler has an intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance. Travelport has now extended the campaign until at least the end of 2019 and called for all parties in the travel industry to do more to support people with intellectual disabilities. Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, stated: “Air travel is meant to be hassle-free and safe for all passengers and particularly for specially-abled. And, when there is a system in place for them, it is our responsibility to let the patrons with intellectual and developmental disabilities benefit from it. Travelport‘s Travel Unified campaign is a great initiative that has been instrumental in raising awareness about DPNA SSR code among travel trade fraternity as well as specially-abled passengers. The code usage while booking flights through Travelport has grown by 165% in India, which clearly shows the effectiveness of this campaign. We encourage all travel professionals in the travel industry to come together and make this campaign reach to everyone.” SSR codes are used in the airline industry to communicate traveller preferences or needs …

According to an analysis conducted by Travelport, India has emerged as the top travel destination in Asia this summer for travellers from the United Kingdom (UK). Globally, the United States was the top destination while India was the 2nd most popular long-haul destination for UK travellers. The report revealed that as of June 14, 2019, just under 87,000 advanced bookings had been made in the UK through all global distribution systems (GDS) for return flights to India scheduled between Friday June 28, 2019 and Sunday September 8, 2019. Flight bookings in other Asian countries like Thailand and China stood at 49,137 and 29,870 respectively. With flight bookings up by 3,402 (13 per cent) year-on-year, China was the fastest growing top ten long-haul destinations for UK travellers compared to the same period the previous year. Martin Herbert, Regional Managing Director – India and Sri Lanka at Travelport, said: “It’s exciting news for Indian tourism to see the country attracting more bookings than both China and Thailand combined. This trend is fuelling increased booking volume and we expect to see it continue in the years to come.” Sandeep Dwivedi, COO at InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), commented: “India has been one of the topmost choices of international travellers owing to its rich cultural heritage, varied cultures, art & crafts and spiritual tourism. We are happy to see India as the second most booked summer destination for UK travellers. With so much to see and offer, I am sure that this number will certainly rise in the coming years.”

Millennial business travellers in India are changing the landscape of corporate travel by demanding both cutting-edge digital support throughout their trips and on-demand advice from human consultants, according to a recent independent global study commissioned by Travelport. For the research, 11,000 travellers were surveyed in 19 countries who took at least one return flight in the last year. The results showed that half (47 per cent) of India’s millennial business travellers now count being unable to access booking information across their devices 24/7 as one of their biggest gripes, compared to two fifths (40 per cent) of Gen X2 travellers and one third (35 per cent) baby boomers. The research also revealed that three fifths (56 per cent) say they get frustrated when companies don’t use data analytics to provide highly personalised travel recommendations based on their past preferences, compared to two fifths of both Gen X (43 per cent) and baby boomer (41 per cent) travellers. Two fifths (43 per cent) say not being able to get expert advice from human consultants during the booking process is a major pain point. Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer, InterGlobe Technology Quotient, said, “The findings demonstrate the digital shift among Indian business travelers before and during their journeys. And the necessity of $7.6 trillion global travel and hospitality industry to adapt continually to provide responsive, relevant and timely services for customers. More importantly, in an age where Gen X and Millennials are increasingly becoming tech savvy, they want relevant and timely content at their fingertips, at the very moment, from the time they search to their return from the trip.”

MakeMyTrip and InterGlobe Technology Quotient, the official distributor of Travelport in India have forged a strategic alliance that will allow the OTA access into Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. Under the agreement, MakeMyTrip can expand the use of Travelport’s technology from the Ibibo Group to their other primary distribution channels starting in the second half of calendar year 2017. Gordon Wilson, Travelport’s President and CEO, commented, “India is a market with enormous growth potential where Travelport, working with our distributor ITQ, has grown in air booking terms by 14 per cent in the first half of 2017 when the GDS air market has grown by 11 per cent. Securing a partnership with the leading online travel agency in the market, with a high growth profile and tremendous track record, gives even further impetus to our plans in the country.” Deep Kalra, Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, added, “This is an exciting time for MakeMyTrip and we are delighted to partner with Travelport and ITQ as part of our growth strategy in the service of the travelling Indian consumer.” Travelport currently boasts a portfolio of approximately 400 airlines, including the merchandised content of over half of these carriers such as fares families and ancillary products (paid seat assignments, baggage fees, priority boarding, etc). MakeMyTrip, along with its other entities Goibibo and redBus receives over 33 million visits via its desktop and mobile-web platforms and serves over 40 million mobile app active users each month.

Sandeep Dwivedi has been elevated to the post of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ) to lead the overall responsibility of ITQ’s growing operations including strategic business development and implementing growth strategies. Having previously led the position as Chief Commercial Officer at ITQ and served in InterGlobe Group of companies in different capacities, he has demonstrated spectacular leadership competency with company’s growth in the market. With over 25 years in executive management and business supervisory roles, he spearheads commercial strategy and business growth in the organisation.

The second edition of Global Panorama Showcase in Chandigarh took off from where it left Ahmedabad last week, with a packed crowd and a plethora of business opportunities for the trade. The first day saw select product presentations from the likes of InterGlobe Technology Quotient, FXKart, Tourism Office of Spain, Genting Hong Kong, Sahibji Group of Companies and Voice of Chandigarh. This was followed by the much-awaited session on GST by CA Manish Gadia from GMJ & Co which gave the present representatives of the travel trade valuable insight into the workings of GST. Day 2 will commence the B2B sessions and with that it will bring to the front the tourism potential of this Tier II city.

The Student of the Year contest, powered by InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), took place at Ibis New Delhi Aerocity in an attempt to hone budding talent from tourism institutes to launch dream careers for the best candidates. The final round of the contest was held amongst five finalists who presented on a tourism-related topic, and were judged by an esteemed panel consisting of Ashish Kumar, Managing Partner, Agnitio Consulting; Geeta Jain, CEO, Carlson Wagonlit Travel India; and Prof. (Dr) M Sajnani, Director – Tourism Management, Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism. Anil Parashar, President and CEO, ITQ, said, “The contest has been growing every year and this time, a total of 160 colleges participated in this out of which five reached the finals. Student of the Year aims to give the best talent from tourism universities a chance to acquire the ideal skill-set for a technology-first future, and is our way of ensuring a win-win situation for the student, as well at the industry. Elaborating on the same, Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Financial Officer, ITQ, stated, “Our idea is to give students from the industry a platform to showcase their talent and fast-forward their career. This is our anvil event and since several of the participants are from different corners of the country, we would like to make it regional in the coming future so that more students get a chance to participate.” Also present on the occasion for the awards ceremony were Cristina Ionela Tarteata, Deputy Minister – Tourism, Government of Romania, along with His Excellency Radu Octavian Dobre, Chargé d’Affairs, Romanian Embassy in New Delhi, India.