A new IATA travel portal that will greatly increase sales opportunities for both travel agents and travel suppliers has been introduced.
The portal, BSP TRAVELlink, will offer on-line travel information, booking and settlement for an expanded range of non-airline Travel and Tourism products.

At the request of two well-established companies in the travel industry ?EVidecom and Thermeon ?EIATA will be a key participant in this new BSP TRAVELlink business initiative, bringing its expertise in the provision of distribution and financial services for international carriers and IATA agents. These experienced partners plus Cornerstone Alliance and Webb&Flo add their considerable knowledge in software development, computer terminals, user interface development and product booking systems.
With connections to key travel industry reservation systems and proprietary distribution networks, BSP TRAVELlink links travel suppliers to the well-established systems and infrastructure of the IATA Billing and Settlement Plans (BSP) for airline ticketing and settlement. Thanks to IATA’s on-line Internet-based BSPlink service, BSP TRAVELlink will provide thousands of non-airline suppliers with a distribution channel direct to a network of 55,000 IATA accredited agencies across 140 countries, otherwise inaccessible except by phone, fax and mail at a higher cost.

 

Coupled with the IATA Agency Programme and a new electronic bill presentment and payment service for travel agents, the IATA Travel Settlement Services (ITSS) agents and suppliers will profit from a comprehensive fulfilment service for a greatly enhanced range of Travel and Tourism products.
The travel agent gains direct access to a diversified range of travel products, in particular high margin products, via a system that reduces their administrative and back office costs. The travel supplier will see improved quality of transaction handling and reduced costs for completed bookings. Both will appreciate improved cash flow through electronic payment with the cost savings gained from making or receiving payment in local currency.
The first areas of operations to be addressed are distribution and settlement services for BSP CARlink and BSP RAILlink, followed by BSP TOURISMlink. BSP CARlink provides vital solutions to many of the car rental industry`s present distribution and settlement issues. BSP Raillink will offer unrivalled sales opportunities for rail products, including luxury, tourist, exhibition and scheduled train services, as well as rail passes. BSP TOURISMlink’s aim is to offer small to medium size hotel and resort companies to travel agents worldwide for the first time.
www.iata.org
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