Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s reputation as a leading travel destination is poised to get added glitter, with a leading technology solutions provider from the state that specialises in the travel, transportation and logistics domain poised to launch what the company claims is a trendsetting tech platform.
IBS, a two-decade long player in the transportation and logistics domain and based at the Technopark here, has unveiled iTravel, a digital platform that the company says will revolutionise the way the travel business is operated.
The new platform enables travel companies including airlines, tour operators and hospitality companies to digitally source products and services from all their travel partners, package it, and directly offer them to travellers through a digital device of choice, be it a laptop, smart phone or smart watch.
IBS officials said it will no longer be necessary for travel enterprises to produce and operate all travel products and services that they offer to their customers. Instead, they can smartly aggregate such products and services from whosoever who can produce them and offer to customers.
“In a way, this is akin to Uberising the travel and hospitality sector”, said V.K. Mathews, executive chairman of the IBS group.
Mathews, who had a long stint with the Emirates group before setting up his own software company in the Kerala capital, said iTravel was the result of three years of development work by over 400 dedicated R&D professionals across 10 of the company’s global offices.
“There are two mega trends in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector, namely disintermediation and personalisation. Technology has enabled direct selling to the customer, doing away with those intermediaries who are not adding any value, and customers can now be sold personalised products and services based on their identified personal preferences”, Mathews said.
He said IBS had already signed contracts worth $40 million (Dh147 million) with some of the leading travel industry players even before the product roll out. iTravel is scheduled to be launched early next year. Mathews said four different variants of the technology platform had been developed by IBS to suit the unique requirements of tour operators, cruise lines, airlines and hospitality companies worldwide.
According to the World Travel and Tourism report, travel and tourism contributes 9.5 per cent of the global gross domestic product, or $7.5 trillion in value terms. By 2025, this is projected to reach $11 trillion or 10.5 per cent of the GDP at that time.
