Stäubli has opened a $15 million facility in Bengaluru. The 25,000 sq. ft office strengthens Stäubli’s presence in the region, emphasising its commitment to nurturing growth and innovation in India.

The company conducted the ‘Stäubli Partnership Forum India’ event to showcase its innovative solution capabilities and the new facility to partners. With over 100 employees, the expansion demonstrates Stäubli’s efforts towards local job creation and economic development.

The new facility located in Yelahanka, Bengaluru, represents three Divisions – Electrical Connectors, Fluid Connectors and Robotics – and houses a product showcase/ demonstration area, training rooms for customers and employees, a warehouse, and a service center. Bringing together functions such as engineering, sales, and customer services, it streamlines operations for better efficiency.

Gurupad Bhat, Managing Director, Stäubli Tec Systems India, said “This facility will help us collaborate closely with stakeholders to fast-track our localisation efforts and strengthen local engineering capabilities to increase the Stäubli footprint in India. We are dedicated to creating solutions that fit India’s unique demands. India is poised to be the next growth engine for the Stäubli Group and with this expansion, Stäubli aims for double-digit growth in its Indian operations.”

Gerald Vogt, Stäubli’s Global Chief Executive Officer, stated, “At Stäubli, we have been dedicated to delivering premium quality products and services for over 130 years. Our reliability and technical excellence are a result of our employee’s consistent focus on innovation and our industrial customers. Committed to forging lasting bonds, we cherish our relationships with customers, colleagues, and partners.

We recognize the boundless potential that India offers to our business. Strengthening our local engineering and manufacturing capabilities underscores our commitment to India’s growth and our valued partners. As we look forward, we are excited to continue creating opportunities for success and progress.”

With a focus on industries such as Railway, Automotive, Pharma and Power, Stäubli has four dedicated divisions: Electrical Connectors, Fluid Connectors, Robotics and Textile, serving customers who aim to increase their productivity in multiple industrial sectors.

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The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has announced the appointment of Mr. Vikash Jalan, Chief Business Officer, Paytm Travel, as the new Chair of its TravelTech Committee.

Mr. Jalan brings with him a wealth of experience and a passion for cultivating and nurturing innovative ideas into successful ventures. With a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit, he has consistently demonstrated his ability to transform ideas into reality, embodying the concept of moving from “Zero to One” with remarkable zeal. He has extensive experience in working across global roles and consumer domains which has helped build his diverse leadership and business perspective. At Paytm, he leads the travel business.

Expressing his excitement about his new role, Mr. Jalan stated, “The travel industry is undergoing a remarkable transformation, powered by technological innovations that are reshaping the way we explore the world. At this juncture, I am thrilled to take on the role of Chair for IAMAI’s TravelTech Committee and I’m eagerly looking forward to collaborating with fellow industry leaders, pooling our expertise to fuel innovation, drive sustainable growth, and collectively chart the course for the future of travel.”

IAMAI’s TravelTech Committee is set to benefit immensely from Mr. Jalan’s wealth of experience and leadership acumen. His appointment promises to catalyse innovation, drive growth, and steer the travel industry toward a dynamic and promising future.

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Sabre Corporation announced a new strategic alliance with Sydney-headquartered Airline Rep Services, part of CVFR Travel Group. Under the agreement, Airline Rep Services will promote Sabre’s best-in-class solutions to travel agents in Fiji and the wider South Pacific islands. 

This new alliance will bring local representation into Fiji, while growing Sabre’s distribution presence across the South Pacific region. With the help of Airline Rep Services, travel agents will be better able to access Sabre’s advanced technology, including Sabre Red 360. The intuitive interface unlocks a full spectrum of bookable content, including NDC offers, flights and lodging, and insightful information so agents can efficiently create, sell, and service tailored trip experiences.  

“With strong travel demand in Fiji and the South Pacific islands and airline capacity returning, it is imperative that travel agents across the region have access to the right technological solutions to capture and create demand, streamline operations, grow revenue, and create optimal travel experiences,” said Ram Chhabra, CEO, CVFR Travel Group. “Sabre is already incredibly well-known across Asia Pacific, and globally, for its best-in-class technology, so we’re thrilled that we have entered into this timely alliance to give agents the solutions they need to meet the sophisticated digital demands of today’s traveller.” 

Established more than 30 years ago, CVFR Travel Group has rapidly grown into one of the largest travel operators in Australia. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, and Fiji, CVFR Group comprises four independent divisions addressing consolidation, airline representation, destination management, and Government Visa outsourcing services. Its office in the city of Nadi on Fiji’s main island, will provide a focal point for its new alliance with Sabre, delivering a dedicated space to bring agents together for joint engagements and training.  

“Sabre has a strong marketplace presence and expertise within the South Pacific region, and we’re delighted to enhance this even further through our collaboration with CVFR,” said Brett Thorstad, vice president of Sabre Travel Solutions, Agency Sales, Asia Pacific. “This new agreement brings together Sabre’s leading-edge technology with Airline Rep Services’ deep local market expertise. We’re very excited that, through this agreement, Sabre’s travel agency technology is set to play an even bigger part in the growth of the South Pacific travel industry.” 

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The Workation project of Kerala Tourism Development Corporation can entice the ones who are working in the IT sector in different Indian cities to the various tourist destinations in Kerala, P.A. Mohamed Riyas, Public Works and Tourism Minister, have recently said this. After inaugurating the special tourism packages and toll-free number of KTDC, he was speaking here on the same on Tuesday.

To the tourism sector, Workation project is one of the contributions made by the recent pandemic. With the help of the Wayanad district’s pilot project, it was possible to draw many people from different places, like Bengaluru, to get employed in Kerala, the Minister said.

While explaining that for this purpose, the KTDC would offer special amenities at tourist centres; Mr. Riyas mentioned that the KTDC was all set to open more centres across the State of Kerala. This is a major chance to take a break from the workplace and do some effort with joy at a vacation destination. He also said that Kerala can make maximum use of this opportunity,.

Those associated with the IT sector can make use of this opportunity successfully by devoting their time in tourism destinations, said P.A. Mohamed Riyas, the Public Works and Tourism Minister.

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 ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Limited), India’s most popular travel booking platform for the next billion users, is proud to announce its partnership as the “Official Co-sponsor” of the Men’s Asia Cup 2023. This is the first time that ixigo has been  associated with a major sporting event of this magnitude. The Men’s Asia Cup 2023 will be hosted jointly by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from 30th August to 17th September, 2023.

ixigo’s collaboration with the Men’s Asia Cup is poised to elevate its visibility to an extensive audience of more than 500 million viewers, affirming the brand’s strategic market presence and global visibility. As the official co-sponsor, ixigo will be prominently showcased in multiple key areas in the match venues as well as on TV and OTT through on-ground visibility and awards. ixigo has also rolled out an exciting campaign “Ticket to Cricket” to engage with cricket fans and its vast user base. Under this campaign, the travel company is running social media and coupon code contests this month, offering match tickets and flat Rs. 30,000 off on flight tickets for the upcoming Asia Cup. As a part of these contests, tickets for the much awaited India vs. Pakistan match and the Asia Cup Final will also be up for grabs.

Rajnish Kumar & Aloke Bajpai, Co-founders of ixigo, expressed their excitement about the association, saying, “As a travel platform deeply rooted in India, we understand the immense love and passion that we Indians have for cricket. Our partnership with the Asia Cup Cricket Tournament 2023 as the official Co-sponsor allows us to fuel this excitement, bringing together the joy of travel and the thrill of cricket. With millions of cricket and travel enthusiasts expected to follow the tournament closely, we anticipate a surge in travel bookings over the next two months as fans unite to support their favorite teams. We are thrilled to be a part of this incredible journey, and ixigo looks forward to providing cricket fans with an easy and seamless booking experience for the upcoming matches.”

Men’s Asia Cup 2023 promises to be an enthralling competition, featuring some of the finest talents from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal. A total of thirteen one-day International games will be played between August 30th and September 17th 2023.

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The use of AI is spreading, which also has consequences for the tourism industry.

The global tourism sector has entered a new era where AI will affect how people chose holiday destinations, Yağcı said, noting that some tour operators are already using this technology.

In an environment where the competition among countries to attract holidaymakers is increasingly intensifying Türkiye should focus on how to use AI, he said.

When travellers ask ChatGPT where they should go for holiday, the answer they get should not be Greece or Spain but Türkiye. They need to get ChatGPT to say it.

Consumers’ preferences are fast changing when AI is widely used, and Türkiye should adapt to this changing environment.

Yağcı cited other reasons as to why hotel occupancy rates remained low in the past months.

Türkiye’s hotels, accommodation facilities have 1.5 million bed capacity, which is too high, he said.

Global recession and inflation in source markets also had an impact as people started to prefer shorter holidays, he said.

Room prices rose in Türkiye last year, but it did not stop tourist from coming to Türkiye because there was this phenomenon called ‘revenge travel’.

The positive effects of revenge holiday died away in 2023, while at the same time other strong competitors, such as Spain, Greece, Italy were back in the game, Yağcı explained.

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TUI brings ChatGPT to its app for United Kingdom customers and tests the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

What originally started as an experiment by TUI software developers and the app product teams has now gone live as a pilot on the TUI app in the United Kingdom.

The ChatGPT provides TUI customers with answers about holiday destinations and personalized recommendations for excursions, activities and tickets for sights. Based on how detailed customers describe the type of experience they want – e.g. culinary discovery tours, adventure excursions or museum visits – the app provides a refined and relevant selection list with descriptions, images and links via ChatGPT. The experiences can then be booked directly via the mobile app on tuiexperiences.com.

“Technology such as generative artificial intelligence has a major impact on our lives. As TUI, we face this challenge with great openness. ChatGPT shows how technology can simplify processes and services for customers or make information more easily available. Our goal is to be leaders in the use of new technologies. This is how we actively shape the future of tourism,” says Sebastian Ebel, CEO of the TUI Group.

The launch of ChatGPT in the customer app is part of a TUI initiative to promote the use of AI in various areas of the company. To this end, TUI is working with the strategic cloud partner AWS and other partners to build up AI competence in all areas of the company – including outside of the technology teams. An internal TUI AI Lab (AI – Artificial Intelligence) was set up, an open platform for all employees. It offers support for tests and pilots, and organizes training courses to provide a company-wide basic understanding of the challenges and potential of artificial intelligence for TUI and the travel industry.

“Generative AI is changing the way customers search for products at TUI and interact with us as a company. We are constantly testing new technologies that bring benefits for our customers and employees, building on our experience with machine learning and artificial intelligence , which we have already integrated into our technology platform today. The pilot project with ChatGPT provides us with important insights to continuously develop the functionality further”, says Pieter Jordaan, Member of the Group Executive Committee & Chief Information Officer of the TUI Group.

Various pilot projects for the use of generative AI tools are currently running. For example, the technology is used at TUI to improve communication with customers after their holiday, to make knowledge databases easier and faster to search to support call center teams or to translate content into different languages. In addition, AI applications are in use to support technology teams in creating and testing code.

When using ChatGPT in the TUI app, customer data is never passed on. In addition, measures have been taken to restrict inappropriate responses. Since the functionality is currently a pilot project, feedback is continuously collected to ensure the high TUI standards.

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Southwest Airlines is proud to announce the launch of a new, innovative option for eligible corporate Customers looking to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAF is fuel produced from non-fossil fuel sources that can result in lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than conventional jet fuel.

Today, SAF is produced in limited volumes and comes at a significant price premium over conventional jet fuel, making it difficult for airlines to incorporate in substantial volumes into their operations.

Southwest first announced the SAF Beta Program in October 2021, allowing eligible corporate Customers to support the scaling of the still emerging SAF industry by purchasing the Customer Scope 3 SAF claims (referred below as Customer SAF Claims) associated with the utilization of SAF in Southwest’s operations.

Eligible corporate Customers can now purchase Customer SAF Claims and/or carbon offsets directly within Southwest Business AssistTM from CHOOOSETM. This new option greatly increases the number of Customers who will now be eligible to make Customer SAF Claims purchases through Southwest.

Customer SAF Claims are the Scope 3 Category 6 (Business Travel) rights associated with Southwest’s utilization of SAF in its operations. The sustainability claim or attribute purchased is separated from the physical flow of the fuel. In part, this is because when blended with conventional jet fuel in accordance with industry standards, SAF is a certified drop-in fuel and is delivered within existing fueling infrastructure. While this helps save on capital investment required for infrastructure and enables airlines to receive deliveries of SAF in the most economically efficient locations, this also makes it difficult to trace the actual SAF molecules to a particular flight. Instead, SAF and the associated environmental attributes are tracked based off how much neat SAF was purchased and delivered to an airline operator, and corporate Customers can purchase Customer SAF Claims associated with the SAF even if they are in a different place than where the SAF is utilized by Southwest. There is still work to be done for the industry to establish the processes and mechanisms needed for a robust, credible, and transparent SAF Claims market at scale. Southwest is participating in these efforts and is proud to offer opportunities for direct transactions with eligible corporate Customers to support Southwest’s use of SAF.

The platform allows for the purchase of carbon offsets alongside or independent of Customer SAF Claims, from a selected portfolio of projects including the Delta Blue Carbon mangrove restoration project. Southwest recognizes the impact that credible projects play in avoiding, reducing, or removing carbon as in-sector technologies develop and is excited that the tool allows for customizable self-service purchases based on corporate Customers’ individual priorities, budgets, and strategy.

“We are hearing from more and more corporate Customers that SAF is an important part of their decarbonization plans for business travel. We are excited to evolve our offerings to help meet this demand and allow more corporate Customers to participate,” said Helen Giles, Managing Director Environmental Sustainability at Southwest Airlines. “Our valued corporate Customers have supported Southwest’s use of SAF in our operations, and we continue to recognize the importance of bringing them along in our environmental sustainability journey.”

The airline is also pleased to share progress it has made with its “Learn, Measure, Act” framework for corporate sustainability programs.

Southwest is proud to be a member of GBTA’s Sustainability Leadership Council and contributes towards ongoing work to develop a Sustainable Travel Management course for business travel professionals, launching September 18, 2023, and standardized Sustainable Procurement Criteria for the aviation vertical.

Southwest received a 20%+ increase year over year in its EcoVadis assessment and an Advanced Carbon Management score for the second consecutive year.

Southwest introduced enhancements to emissions reporting through the launch of a new greenhouse gas emissions report and dashboard within Southwest Business Assist. This provides eligible Customers with the ability to access their organization’s up-to-date emissions related to their business travel on the airline and the option of selecting methodologies for tank-to-wake or well-to-wake emissions estimates. As work continues to standardize emissions reporting, the airline believes that providing multiple estimates gives helpful context to its Customers interested in better understanding their business travel emissions.

In November 2022, Southwest announced that it was a founding member of the Contrails Impact Task Force, a cross-sectoral task force established to explore the formation and mitigation of persistent condensation trails, or “contrails”. While existing methodologies to incorporate the complex climate impact of contrails take a “one-size-fits-all” approach, Southwest is proud to partner in efforts to improve the quantification, measurement, and avoidance of certain contrails. Southwest is hosting an education session on contrails at GBTA Convention on Monday August 14th, and we invite all interested participants to attend and increase their understanding around non-CO2 impacts of aviation.

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Sabre Corporation announced the availability of Lodging AI, marking the introduction of its Sabre Travel AI capabilities in the lodging sector and enhancing the power of Content Services for Lodging.  

Lodging AI can help travel agencies improve hotel attachment rates, creating additional revenue opportunities and providing travelers with more personalized lodging options. Using Sabre Travel AI machine learning models, the new lodging capability analyzes property attributes, customer trip segmentation, and traveler and agency preferences to generate custom lodging options and serve up properties that are most likely to be booked.

“Artificial intelligence combined with data and insights, such as profiles and preferences, is a very powerful tool in removing friction from the travel booking process,” said Sabre Chief Product Officer Garry Wiseman. “As the next evolution of intelligent retailing capabilities supported through our strategic partnership with Google, Lodging AI brings more personalized results to enable agents to be more efficient in their workflows and to ensure travelers obtain the most relevant options available.”

The first two micro-services of Lodging AI are now available, with additional use cases to be added in the future.

Alternate properties: During the shopping phase, if a specifically requested property is not available, this micro-service of Lodging AI facilitates lodging bookings by presenting up to 20 relevant options with similar characteristics.​ 

Cross-sell: This micro-service identifies appropriate air bookings or itineraries without lodging attached and presents suitable lodging options to complete the trip. 

Available via Content Services for Lodging APIs and Sabre Red 360, Lodging AI will help enable Sabre customers to increase traveler value by offering relevant lodging options to accompany the air travel booking and help drive profitability by capturing a greater share of wallet. Corporate travel managers may also see improved duty of care and reporting with more trip components inside a PNR. Travelers can benefit through access to more customized options based on their needs and preferences.

“Ultragroup acknowledges Sabre as a leading partner in travel technology. Their consistent drive for innovation has been instrumental in transforming our company and the services we offer,” said CEO and Co-Founder of Ultra Group Andres Pelaez. “In our ongoing collaboration with Sabre, we are gearing up to introduce new AI integrations and we are implementing hotel suggestions based on flight itineraries for a cross-selling experience. Furthermore, we will present alternative accommodation suggestions based on user search parameters and preferences when certain accommodations are unavailable. These AI-driven tools are poised to substantially enhance efficiency and the customer experience across all our business platforms.” 

Created by Sabre and utilizing Google technology as part of the two companies’ 10-year strategic partnership, Sabre Travel AI leverages state-of-the-art AI technology and advanced machine-learning capabilities from Google. Sabre is integrating this proprietary intelligent technology into existing and new solutions to help customers to deliver highly relevant and personalized content more quickly and create expanded revenue and growth opportunities.   

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Customers who book travel services in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan may now make use of a special payment option thanks to a partnership between Mastercard and Nirvana Travel & Tourism.

Travel for business and pleasure will be improved and made even easier and more convenient thanks to this relationship.

By utilizing Mastercard’s distinctive technology, the partnership will digitise the entire payment experience for consumer and business transactions throughout Nirvana’s value chain, giving customers an unrivaled level of convenience, security, and flexibility when making reservations for flights, hotels, or other Nirvana-provided travel services. Additionally, integrated travel expenditure management solutions are advantageous for corporate clients.

“At Mastercard, we recognise travel as a key passion point, and we know that safe and secure contactless payments are important to drive superior customer engagement. We are delighted to collaborate with Nirvana Travel & Tourism and its group of companies, as one of the top travel agencies in the UAE, as their strategic digitalisation partner. We look forward to providing their corporate and retail clients with innovative solutions for a seamless experience,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard.

For a variety of private, government, and semi-government clients, Nirvana also provides travel management and planning, cutting-edge corporate travel solutions, visa processing, concierge support, event logistics, retail and wholesale services, and VIP services.

“We always look to develop advanced and state-of-the-art solutions to enhance our customer’s journey further, and by collaborating with a globally renowned and customer-focused name like Mastercard, I believe we can take our customer’s experience to elevated levels of excellence”, said Alaa Al Ali, CEO of Nirvana Holding.

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