Tag Archives: travel

Travel conglomerate Amadeus announced the creation of a programme to drive the industrialisation of New Distribution Capability (NDC) and ensured its success for all travel players at an event held recently in New Delhi. NDC is a new XML-based interface that enables travel companies – from airlines to travel agencies – to evolve travel distribution and merchandising. Deliberating on ‘The Impact of NDC On Air Content Distribution’, Champa Magesh, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, Retail Travel Channels, said, “At Amadeus, we recognise that we have a responsibility to make NDC work for all travel players, and that’s what we will be doing through our NDC-X programme. Our aim is to create better journeys for travellers through the best use of technology, and this transversal programme will work with our travel seller and airline customers to deliver just that”. She also informed that the shifting nature of business travel requires corporations and TMCs to adapt to a world which is more dynamic and agile. Commenting on NDC and the product portfolio showcased, Rakesh Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Amadeus Indian Subcontinent, said, “To keep up with the dynamically evolving industry and its multifarious demands, it is essential to constantly innovate and evolve, become more agile and connected.  We have to embrace change and ensure that technology and solutions work well for all stakeholders. That is exactly what Amadeus NDC- X aspires to do. Being the leading global distribution services provider in Asia Pacific, products and solutions offer effective and efficient variety of solutions that help in generating additional revenue and improving productivity and efficiency for travel agencies thus reducing costs.”

Delhi was declared the consolidated winner in the area of travel and tourism, according to a state survey conducted by World Travel and Tourism Council India Initiative (WTTCII) and Hotelivate. The Capital bagged the Destination Leader Award after an evaluation of 11 key parameters including state expenditure on tourism, tourist visits, presence of branded hotel rooms, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign, urbanisation, road and railway infrastructure, aircraft movement, ease of doing business, and intangible aspects. While it did lag behind in some areas, Delhi aced in most of the categories. Since the Northeastern states did not fare well as compared to other states owing to limited road and air connectivity, Sikkim was declared the winner in terms of overall performance.

Registering over 1 million flight and bus ticket bookings on its travel marketplace in August, Paytm will further invest Rs 300 crore on its travel business as it plans to launch new categories and ancillaries owing to its exponential growth. The flight bookings have been driving a 4X month-on-month growth and the company expects twice the growth over the next six months. Paytm’s bus tickets segment recently turned break-even while the hotels section is expected to break-even soon. Abhishek Rajan, Vice President, Paytm, said, “We have seen exponential growth in all categories and will soon offer new services to our customers. Leveraging Paytm’s significant market penetration and strong brand proposition, we hope to grow India’s online travel booking pie by introducing new customers from tier II, III towns and cities to this category.”