Whilst NDC and its powerful capabilities are presenting the industry with new and exciting opportunities, the introduction of the standard also brings its own challenges. Content fragmentation is a growing concern for travel providers – we all know too well the frustrations of having a customer who purchases airfare from one provider, a hotel with another, and a car with a third.

The frustration this brings is clearly highlighted in our whitepaper, Get Ready for Destination X – which finds that the fragmentation of content is one of the leading causes of stress for the traveler whilst in trip. In fact, 27% of those surveyed cited said that their biggest pain point was having to use different applications for this process.

Not only does content fragmentation affect the traveler, it also impedes the travel agent’s ability to serve their customers quickly and efficiently, while having the confidence that they are truly offering the best option, price and service to their customer.

The real challenge therefore is bringing together all types of travel content from multiple sources so that it can be searched and compared by both travel sellers and travelers quickly and efficiently. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect system?

Amadeus Travel Platform
This system is no longer a pipedream. Having seen the challenges, we are evolving the Amadeus Travel Platform, to gather all content into one place. It enables airlines, hotels, car rental companies – in fact any travel supplier – to provide their content to the world’s largest global network of travel sellers and corporations, so that travelers can shop, and book travel the way they want.

By integrating content from all sources – including NDC -  into the Amadeus Travel Platform we can further help travel sellers reduce fragmentation, and therefore frustration, by giving access to a full range of travel offers through the click of a button.

In addition, our Travel Platform will allow travel sellers to offer a holistic and personalized experience for their customers, removing stress caused by multiple points of sale. By offering a comprehensive source of content regardless of how the agent operates, the Amadeus Travel Platform really is the highly sought after ‘one stop shop’ for travel sellers.

Superior travel experiences
Crucially, this platform also allows travel sellers to provide more tailored journeys. Today’s traveler wants greater choice than ever before, expecting seamless and memorable travel experiences. Furthermore, different travelers demand different services and options based on their varying travel needs. A routine traveler may only require a simple price check, whereas a traveler booking a trip for their honeymoon would want a special package for a special moment. As travel becomes more sophisticated and complex, so must the tools to book travel evolve.

Amadeus Travel Platform is our response to all the changes and opportunities we see ahead for travel retailing. Built on open systems, it will give our customers more content options, more flexibility and more possibilities to create superior travel experiences for both business and leisure.

With the Amadeus Travel Platform as the technological backbone to our vision to create a Live Travel Space, and with close collaboration of all travel players in the industry, we will be able to create a better experience for travellers at every point of their trip.

To find out more about the Amadeus Travel Platform please visit
https://amadeus.com/en/topic/travel-platform

Article by: Jorge Elliot, EVP of Travel Content Sourcing, Travel Channels, Amadeus