Travelport Smartpoint now available in Sri Lanka
View(s):Consumer trends in Sri Lanka signal that travellers are open to a greater degree of self-indulgence, willing to pay additional amounts for higher service levels, according to ITQ Lanka, the local partner for global travel distribution service Travelport.
Further, the ITQ’s local unit also noted that “customers make impulsive decisions at the point of purchase, for instance on a room upgrade or a late checkout, a higher floor with a better view, or a seat preference, etc.”
Having launched the new Travelport Smartpoint application in Sri Lanka recently, ITQ also indicated that this point of sale product “evolves the Galileo Desktop with interactive technology to facilitate merchandising and upselling for ancillary services”.
It was also stated that “Travelport Smartpoint has been embraced by more than 110,000 travel agents worldwide. Owing to its user-friendly features, this desktop application will save time by reducing the overall keystrokes by 15 per cent and significantly reduce costs. The success of the application is its ability to offer users a blend of graphical and cryptic user interaction alongside a range of time saving features: improving the agent user experience, reducing training costs, and speeding up the reservation process. This game-changing technology can be used by agents who are familiar with any Global Distribution System (GDS)”.
“Most significantly, it enhances profitability and customer service for travel agents in Sri Lanka by providing a platform to leverage merchandising opportunities through the Travelport Merchandising Platform (TMP).
Travelport Merchandising Platform includes a range of sophisticated travel sales and marketing retailing capabilities that allow airlines to promote products and services to the right buyers, at the right time, in the right place. Besides the new look and feel that makes finding relevant travel options even easier, Travelport has added enhanced hotel shopping, intelligent fare rules and advanced seat maps that are capable of showcasing all features of a seat”, added ITQ.
Additionally commenting, Mahendra Balasuriya, ITQ Country Manager for Sri Lanka, said, “Travelport Smartpoint will enable a user to offer additional services while booking a ticket. For instance, a customer can avail of offers relating to lounge, Wi-Fi access, seats, meals, hotels, tours, cabs, etc. Training costs will also decline by up to 50 per cent as agents can operate this application on any GDS”.
(JH)