13 August 2003HONG KONG - Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA), has
introduced a Retail Booking System (RBS) for Hong Kong
travel agents.
So far, 100 Hong Kong travel agents have signed up for
the free booking system, and GTA hopes to have 30,000
agents using RBS by year-end.
Siana Liu, FIT operations and hotel reservations manager
for GTA in Hong Kong told TravelWeekly, "This is a
booking system developed by the agent for the agent. The
travel industry in Hong Kong was badly hit by SARS, so we
thought it was the right time to pay back and re-invest in
the region, so we changed our priorities from introducing
RBS to the U.S. and Europe, and focused on Asia first."
The objective, she said, is to help agents boost their
sales without them having to spend the money and time
toward developing their own websites.
GTA's RBS currently offers agents 15,000 hotels from
around the world to choose from and more than 1,000
sightseeing tour options.
All hotels and sightseeing tours show real time
availability and instant confirmation is provided for
bookings. A printable voucher, which the customer presents
upon check in at the hotel, is produced as soon as payment
is made. RBS also provides online city and country
guides.
GTA has already introduced the RBS to other Asian
markets, with the first launch in Japan, then the
Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
GTA has also applied for a license to launch in mainland
China, and hope to launch there this year.