Travel

Travel broadens the mind. From arranging a day trip to London, to a four-week break to Australia, the travel industry is geared up to get you to your dream destination. If you have ever thought of the gentle dance that goes on to ensure the right flight, from the right airport to the right destination, and onto the right hotel, the communications going on is mind-boggling. Provantage’s experience of the travel inductry can help with many different technology problems.

Travel has changed radically since the early days of Thomas Cook created the concept of the package holiday. Travel agents still supply a deep knowledge of destinations and experiences, and still have a place in the holiday booking experience, but the work that goes on behind the scenes is hardly ever seen or appreciated.

Employees of travel agents go to some of the destinations to sample the locations, ready to give advice to clients. Having someone knowledgeable on different holiday destinations is invaluable to making what is often a substantial investment, and who wants to go somewhere that’s not to your taste?

But, has the advent of sites such as Google Earth and Tripadvisor, it is much easier to look around the world and choose where you want to go from the comfort of your armchair. Further research can be done through chat groups who will let you now the good and bad parts of a destination.

Now, with on-line retailers such as Travel Republic, Kayak, and Booking.com making it easier than ever to put together perfect packages, travel agents are coming under increasing pressure to deliver. After all, if you were to go on-line to put together a holiday to Disney Land Paris, you might be able to get it cheaper than your local travel agents.

This is a shame, because it was one of the delights in the dark January days to go into a travel agents and book a summer holiday. With the decline of town centres, it is understandable they are becoming under threat.

Technology has made great leaps for the travel industry and it is getting more joined up. Visa applications are simpler than ever before; you can book hotels, transfers, flights, cruises, and insurance within the same web site. In the back-end this has taken a lot of effort to connect all the different suppliers, carriers, taxi firms, and many other elements which makes up the vast array of combinations which can be selected to create the perfect holiday.

This requires a lot of system integration, something Provantage has had experience of in the travel industry. A hotel’s booking system must be up to date by the second so when a booking comes in over the internet, it can’t clash with one being taken in the lobby.

If you are in the travel industry, and are looking to improve your business or technology architecture, please get in touch today.