Five new organisations are to join the TTI (Travel Technology Initiative), the champion of technology standards in the European travel industry, swelling its total membership to 100 companies.
The five latest signings represent a cross-section of the travel industry, from tourism to online travel content. The new members are the British Tourist Authority, promoting Britain`s tourism industry abroad; Norwegian Coastal Voyage, one of the UK`s leading Scandinavian cruise operators; E-traders Web Services, the well-established software publishing company specialising in connectivity and productivity tools for the business marketplace; Bluesky Travel Systems, the fast-growing travel technology provider, and What`s on when, provider of online travel content whose clients include Thomas Cook, Reuters and Tiscali.

According to the TTI, the breakthrough confirms the organisation`s position as the largest force of its kind in the European travel industry, with representatives from all travel sectors, including tour operators, travel agents, GDSs, ferry operators, system suppliers and industry bodies. Existing TTI members include ABTA, Airtours, CIMTIG, Comtec, Galileo, Stena Line, Thomas Cook, Thomson and X-TANT. TTI`s rise in membership follows the launch of a series of high-profile initiatives by the organisation. In January, TTI unveiled a new industry-led standard to facilitate distribution of package holidays across internet technology.

The organisation says the new XML-standard will have seismic implications for the industry if operators and technology providers throw their weight behind it. According to TTI, the industry could soon begin to sell inventory over web-based booking systems, which will enable agents to improve productivity by searching multiple operators simultaneously, and consigning viewdata to history.

Said TTI general manager Mick Mott: “Breaking the 100 members barrier highlights the acceptance of the TTI and its initiatives by the travel industry. The migration to technology standards will only succeed if the entire industry embraces them and we look forward to working with our new members to achieve that goal.”

www.tti.org

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