Datuk Tan Kok Liang, MATTA president, said the platform is directed at B2B businesses and will serve as an online marketplace where hotels and attractions can deal directly with travel and tour agents.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has announced a joint-venture with Singapore-based tech and travel-solution company Grabini to work on a hotel and attractions booking platform to rival OTAs.
Datuk Tan Kok Liang, MATTA president, said the platform is directed at B2B businesses and will serve as an online marketplace where hotels and attractions can deal directly with travel and tour agents.
“Our platform would be more attractive than OTAs, as hotels and attractions would be engaging directly with our 3,600 members to provide attractive rates for them to construct enticing travel packages to consumers. The platform is only for travel agents and not the consumers. Our hotel and attraction partners would be able to tap into a large market that not only consists of FITs but also the MICE travellers," he said.
Alexander Abraham of Grabini (Malaysia) said the integrated systems within the platform will provide seamless connectivity and compatibility to connect with the hotels’ own systems and would also provide real-time inventories and rates through an automated process. He added that members who already have their own systems can still integrate with the platform.
“It is an advantage too for those operators who do not have their own systems. All bookings can also be done in real time,” he added.
Tan said MATTA would be conducting a series of roadshows in Malaysia to welcome industry players onboard, with the system made operational in September.
He said they have received approval from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) for the platform.