Global Travel Tech, a trade association made up of a number of global tech companies, was launched at ITB Berlin last week.
This new trade association currently comprises Amadeus, Booking Holdings, eDreams ODIGEO, Expedia Group, Skyscanner and Travelport.
Together, these companies aim to empower travellers by enabling unparalleled transparency, competition, and choice in the travel industry.
To kick off, Global Travel Tech has called for global policy solutions, where its members will jointly advocate on issues such as digital competition, fair and non-discriminatory access to data for intermediaries, digital platform issues including data privacy and fair digital taxation, as well as regulatory sustainability issues. Global Tech Travel will also seek to oversee a coordinated response to crises, aiding resilience in the travel and tourism ecosystem.
“Through cooperation and dialogue with other global industry bodies such as OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and UN Tourism, Global Travel Tech ambition is to help shape a smart policy framework and to foster industry initiatives to make the travel and tourism industry more competitive and transparent,” said Emmanuel Mounier, secretary general of Global Travel Tech.
The association particularly emphasises the need for global policies that promote fair data access and fair data sharing.
“Data access allows travellers to more easily find, compare and book travel,” remarked Mounier. “It enables travel intermediaries like our members to let customers combine the transport, stays and services that are the right fit for them.”
Global Tech also emphasises the role of data in making travel more sustainable. Reliable, consistent data on the environmental footprint of different transport and accommodation options is what allows travellers to make greener choices. At the same time, it can create an incentive to further decarbonise the travel industry.
