Global travel industry business services provide Travelport has signed a collaboration deal with the growing Russian Internet Travel Services Association (ITSA) in order to provide more support to the Russian online tourist industry, it’s been revealed.
Travelport signs alliance with some of Russia's biggest online travel agencies. Courtesy of Crunch Base
ITSA, which was only founded last year, is the brainchild of Russian travel industry expert Vadim Zelensky, who said that the goal of the new association with Travelport is to try and establish a unified forum for agencies that sell Russian tours online, so they can benefit from both better rates and a wealth of support services. Currently, online flights sales account for only 3% to 5% of the total amount sold, but it’s hoped that with the support of new technology solutions from Travelport this figure will double within the next year.
At present there are five members of ITSA, all of them amongst the leading online travel agencies in Russia. the new collaboration will equip them with direct access to the multitude of travel technology solutions provided by Travelport, as well as expert advice from their industry growth experts.
Members will be able to integrate their flights booking interfaces directly with Travelport’s Galileo system, allowing their customers to make use of tools including Travelport Universal API and Galileo Web Services.
“This new collaboration between us and ITSA is an extension of our efforts to establish ourselves in the Russian travel industry, which we feel has huge potential, particularly where online travel is concerned,” said Maria Yakushina of Travelport. “We are totally committed to increasing efficiencies and revenues by working with Russian-based agencies.”
ITSA chairman Zelensky was equally enthusiastic about the new partnership’s potential, saying that the deal would put his association in the best possible position to promote online travel in Russia.
“Each of our members will benefit not just from access to the best travel technology solutions, but also from having access to reliable consultation services – meaning we can look forward to lots of new insights as we try to develop this sector,” he commented.