Worldspan has signed an agreement with Entee Global Services, a UK-based supplier of ferry reservation services, to provide Worldspan FerrySM, a web-based ferry booking solution that will give all Worldspanå‘s European travel agents full booking capabilities with a wide and growing range of European ferry operators.

Graham Nichols, Worldspan Vice President for EMEAA
This project leads the way in web-based ferry reservation products available in Europe, promising to cut agents’ time and effort previously needed to access, view and book ferry trips. Developed by Entee to Worldspan’s requirements and currently being rolled out across Europe, Worldspan Ferry will be available free of charge to agents.

Worldspan
agents simply require Internet access as well as a one-off registration for the service - the solution will let them quickly and easily access the dedicated site to review availability and make bookings. The solution will be fully supported by Worldspan and will initially be available in English, German and French.

Agents will be paid commission by Entee for all ferry booking made via the solution. Agencies simply register with Entee to set up an account, and commission payments will be settled monthly, much like the current BSP system for air bookings.

There are currently more than 20 ferry operators currently accessible through the solution which include Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries, Eurotunnel, Hoverspeed, Irish Ferries, all P&O brands, Stena Line and Scandlines, with more operators being added.

Graham Nichols
, Worldspan Vice President for EMEAA, said: “The popularity of European ferry services for both leisure and business travellers means that agents require a fast, secure tool to access and book ferry services. Working closely with Entee, we have developed a web-based tool that enables our customers to offer the same kind of efficient ferry booking services as they do for air travel. This extends and deepens the very productive relationship that agents have with Worldspan.”

This latest development for agents reflects Worldspan’s commitment to, and expertise in, using the Internet for travel. It pioneered many of the early developments in this area, and currently leads the global travel-commerce market, handling over 50% of global online travel agency bookings.

Nick Rowley of Entee commented: “Agents have usually had to contact ferry operators direct to make bookings, and of course, they still have that choice. However, the new solution developed by Entee for Worldspan puts a world of ferry choice at their fingertips. That can only be good for their customers - and for agents who, thanks to technology, can become more efficient and productive, as well as earning revenue.  Working with Worldspan, we can also offer agents the ability to embed the ferry booking engine into their own websites, thus allowing the agents to increase their ferry revenue 24 hours a day.”

Related stories on ITN:

(19/02/2003) Worldspan Delivers Low Fare Search Solution for Online Travel Market

(12/02/2003) Worldspan Initiative to Benefit 20,000 Agencies

(05/02/2003) Worldspan Targets European Business Travel With E-Commerce Initiative

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