Latest Trends in Technology for Tour Operators

Bangkok (Thailand) – July 1, 2015 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has joined forces with UK and India-based technology provider Open Destinations to reveal the top five trends in tour operator technology in the latest edition of Issues & Trends 2015. The report covers an array of issues facing the market today, including human resources, cloud technology and integrations in the supply chain with airlines, hotels and ground arrangements.

The release of these trends comes in advance of this year’s PATA Travel Mart in Bangalore, India where Open Destinations will be exhibiting. “Technology is a critical business issue, not only for our PATA members but also for the industry at large,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy. “We are seeing an ever increasing focus in this area as our members continue to grow their business. Tour operators are an important part of our membership and we have drawn on the expertise of Open Destinations who has more than 15 years of experience in the international marketplace.”

“We see the PATA region as one of the most exciting in the world today,” said Open Destinations’ CEO, Kevin O’Sullivan. “Asian travellers are becoming more adventurous and Asian destinations are becoming more attractive to overseas consumers. Our Travel Studio reservations system is established in the Asia market and is well placed to help companies in the PATA region maximise the current growth opportunities.”

Mario Hardy added, “These trends touch upon issues that are relevant for all types of travel businesses that operate within this sector. Our hope is that this report will help our members gain an understanding of the issues, even if they are not a travel expert.”

Issues & Trends is delivered free to PATA members. Annual subscription (2 editions) is priced at US$225 for chapter members and US$300 for non-members.

To order this edition of Issues & Trends or any other PATA publication, please contact the PATA Publications Team at publications@PATA.org.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 87 government, state and city tourism bodies, 24 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 59 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 43 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATA’s membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney, Dubai, and London. Visit www.PATA.org.

About Open Destinations
Open Destinations is a leading independent software and services provider to the travel sector. Since its inception in 1999, Open Destinations has successfully implemented their software in over 30 countries, with over 10,000 people now logging into the system every day. The company was recognised as one of eight technology companies in the 2015 Sunday Times BT Business SME Export Track 100, which ranks the top 100 small and medium-sized companies (SME) in the UK with the fastest-growing overseas sales. www.opendestinations.com

Clients include Abercrombie & Kent, Abreu, Belmond, Creative Holidays, Diethelm Travel Group, ETStur, Explore Worldwide, JacTravel, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, Talisman Travel Design, Thompsons Holidays, Topdeck Travel and TUI Sports.

Media Contact:
PATA
Paul Pruangkarn
Manager – Communications
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 658 2000
E-mail: Communications@PATA.org

Open Destinations
Heather Smith
Head of Marketing
Tel: +44 207 553 9220
Email: heather@opendestinations.com