Renowned river cruise company, Avalon Waterways, is the latest major industry player to become part of the extensive Traveltek network. Users of Traveltek’s market-leading reservation platform and cruise booking system now have access to cruise content and itineraries, and flat file pricing for Avalon Waterways’ extensive selection of river cruises.   Avalon Waterways, known for prioritising its agents and expanding its routes, offers exceptional river cruises with unique features like the Open-Air Balcony® and Comfort Collection Beds℠ that face panoramic views. Avalon Waterways’ commitment to customer preferences includes increased health-focused itineraries, sustainability efforts, and solo traveller deals, earning them the prestigious ServiceMark accreditation in a first for the British travel industry. Avalon Waterways sails across the world including Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.   Integration of Avalon Waterways into Traveltek’s platform will provide clients with a wider array of luxurious, immersive travel options, complete with exceptional service and unique cruising experiences.   Traveltek’s Global Director of Revenue & Supply, Tracy Sharp commented “I’m thrilled we are partnering with Avalon Waterways, another heavyweight in the river cruise industry, as Traveltek continues to focus on adding further cruise lines on our platform. This shows our commitment in offering a truly global range of cruise partners for our clients in all markets.”   Phil Shipman, UK Sales Director for Avalon Waterways agrees, “We are over the moon to be partnering up with Traveltek. This is a great opportunity to further expand the wide range of Avalon cruises and destinations to clients across the world. Working with Traveltek is a key objective as we continue to prioritise working with the travel trade and I’m excited to see the results.”

  Traveltek, a leading travel technology provider, is proud to announce its latest partnership with VIVA Cruises, a European river cruise company.   With the addition of VIVA Cruises to Traveltek’s partnership network, agents will now have access to flat file pricing, itineraries, and ship content for the cruise line’s 9 ships operating on 7 rivers.   VIVA Cruises has a strong maritime heritage as their parent company is Scylla, one of the biggest family owned river cruise companies, and offers year-round premium all-inclusive cruises to some of Europe’s most popular destinations. VIVA Cruises boasts a nine-ship fleet including VIVA ONE and VIVA TWO – their two very own build ships; with the third one, VIVA ENJOY, in the pipeline. VIVA Cruises has also recently announced new Douro itineraries on board new built ship, PORTO MIRANTE, from May 2025.   This new partnership is a strong testament to Traveltek’s mission to provide travel companies the most comprehensive cruise supplier network. Traveltek currently offers access to over 300 suppliers encompassing air travel, hotels, cruise lines, payment services, and ancillaries. Through this extensive network of suppliers, Traveltek is able to offer travel companies the access they need to cater to the unique preferences of customers and enhance their overall travel experience.   Speaking of the latest partnership, Tracy Sharp, Global Director of Revenue and Supply at Traveltek commented “I am delighted to announce that VIVA Cruises has chosen to partner with Traveltek as an important addition to our cruise product offering and part of our river cruise portfolio expansion. This partnership will benefit our customers who are responding to the surge in demand in European river cruises.”   Patrick Ell, Director Marketing & Digital for VIVA Cruises, commented: “We are very excited about our collaboration with Traveltek. By adding our river cruise itineraries into the Traveltek platform, VIVA Cruises is expanding its reach and providing travel agents with a new premium river cruise experience for their customers, who will appreciate the relaxed atmosphere and the varied itineraries on offer.”

  Traveltek, a leading technology company in the leisure travel industry, is proud to announce its latest partnership with Sion, a SaaS platform that helps travel advisors and agencies manage their commissions.   The partnership allows mutual customers (such as MAST Travel Consortium) to track and manage their cruise booking commissions inside the Sion platform.   In response to the increasing demand for a modern, efficient way to search and book cruises, Traveltek introduced its groundbreaking Connect product suite in late 2023. The suite includes AgentConnect, a state-of-the-art cruise booking system for travel advisors, and CruiseConnect, an advanced cruise API.   Cruise is a growing market for travel advisors and agencies. McKinsey reports a 6 percent yearly revenue growth in the past decade and major cruise lines planning for increased capacity.   The Connect suite is designed to provide travel companies with unmatched speed and accuracy, setting a new standard in the cruise booking industry.   This new partnership between Traveltek and Sion will enable advisors to create their cruise bookings on AgentConnect and easily import their booking data and commissions into Sion. Advisors will no longer need to manually enter the data, which saves them time and removes the risk of human error.   Speaking of the partnership, Mal Barritt, CEO at Traveltek, stated “In partnering with Sion, Traveltek is not only advancing its commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to the leisure travel sector but also ensuring that our partners, including our mutual partners at MAST Travel Consortium, receive unparalleled service and support. This partnership is an exciting new era for AgentConnect and demonstrates the ease for travel advisors and agencies and elevating their client experiences.”   Irving Betesh, Co-Founder & CEO of Sion added: "Customers love Sion because it's easy to use and helps them get paid faster. Partnering with Traveltek gives our agencies even more tools to grow their business. And when advisors aren’t overwhelmed with admin, they can focus on what truly matters – their clients."

  Traveltek, a global leader in travel technology, proudly announces the latest upgrade to its award winning iSell Platform with the integration of Duffel.   By combining the strengths of Traveltek's iSell Platform and Duffel's innovative technology, this integration allows for travel companies to effortlessly connect to hundreds of airlines and a variety of content through a singular API, simplifying access to New Distribution Capability (NDC), Global Distribution System (GDS), and direct Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) offerings.   Duffel’s Links product, powered by their Flights API, introduces customers to an intuitive and stylish user interface for seamless flight search and booking. Users can easily add these flights to their iSell basket along with other products, creating a streamlined and customisable booking experience.   Duffel's integration with Traveltek's iSell Platform marks a significant milestone in streamlining the process for agents to offer a diverse range of flights and services and the platform’s growing list of capabilities.   With this integration, travel agents are empowered to monetise flight extras (such as additional baggage and preferred seating) and have the flexibility to manage booking changes and cancellations efficiently with just a few clicks. It also brings direct access to an impressive line-up of top airlines, including Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, United Airlines, along with access to 300+ other carriers.   Mal Barrit, CEO of Traveltek commented: “Embracing innovation is at the core of our mission, and integrating the Duffel air product into our renowned platform marks a significant step forward. Duffel's disruptive approach to air distribution aligns seamlessly with our commitment to excellence. We are excited to deepen our partnership and continue delivering exceptional product capabilities to our customers.”   Steve Domin, CEO of Duffel commented: “We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with Traveltek, bringing Duffel's cutting-edge technology to their flagship iSell product. At Duffel, we believe that technology has a fundamental role to play in reshaping the travel industry, making it more accessible, effortless and rewarding for all. From the beginning, we realised that Traveltek shared similar beliefs and our commitment to innovation. This integration represents a leap forward in our shared vision of simplifying travel booking for agents and improving the end-to-end experience for travellers worldwide.

Scotland based Traveltek has hired James Martindale as new Head of North America. Celebrating its 25th year in business, Traveltek has achieved success in the North American market over the past three years, signing notable trade partnerships. These include Cruise Planners, MAST Travel Network, JetBlue Vacations, Travel Syndication Technology and inCruises. Martindale will report to Rebecca Esterhuizen, SVP of North America and LATAM. He will focus on driving further growth in North America, while cementing the existing travel trade relationships. Martindale has experience with high-growth startup and scaleup tech companies on both sides of the Atlantic. He created partnerships with large companies such as ESPN, P&G and Nike. Martindale said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this new role at Traveltek, it is fantastic for the Canadian tech ecosystem that Traveltek has chosen the Greater Toronto Area.” “Our growing team looks forward to transforming North America’s travel companies with solutions that better serve their consumers.” Esterhuizen said “It is an exciting time to be joining Traveltek and certainly an exciting time for the North America team.” “We are gearing up to expand the presence of our new cruise products, AgentConnect and CruiseConnect, in the market.” “James brings a wealth of experience to the table, and his leadership and expertise will undoubtedly drive our initiatives forward.” The success in the North American market has been marked by the expansion of the Connect Suite. The tool is tailored for the North American market, and includes Agent Connect, a sophisticated travel agent booking system and the Cruise Connect API. 

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  Travel technology specialist Traveltek is delighted to announce the appointment of Rebecca Somes as their Head of Digital Marketing.   Somes joins at an exciting time for Traveltek, following a second year of record-breaking growth for the global technology specialist.   Somes will report to Chief Commercial Officer, Cressida Sergeant and be responsible for working closely with the Traveltek sales team to drive international growth. A key part of her role will be to maintain brand awareness in mature markets for Traveltek and raise the profile of Traveltek in North America. Rebecca is also tasked with continuing to further automate processes and imbed AI tools to aid the sales team in their productivity.   Somes brings over a decade of valuable expertise gained in the North American, Middle Eastern, and European markets. After a successful tenure abroad, she returned to the UK in 2021. Her experience ranges from steering the marketing operations of a prominent US start up to crafting and executing dynamic marketing strategies for diverse public and private sector companies.   Somes said: “I am delighted to join Traveltek as Head of Digital Marketing, as it presents an exciting opportunity to merge my cross-regional experiences with my passion for the travel sector. I look forward to working with the team to create more innovative and engaging marketing campaigns and to turn Traveltek into one of the most well known names in travel technology.”   Cressida Sergeant, Chief Commercial Officer, said: “I’m excited to welcome Rebecca to Traveltek to help us on our quest to make Traveltek famous. Rebecca will work closely with sales to help us drive growth, but it is also important we educate the travel industry on how technology is essential for scalability and growth. We have some exciting plans for 2024 and Rebecca’s diverse background and excellent experience will be a key ingredient for our success this year.”  

  Traveltek, a global leader in travel technology, proudly reveals its latest partnership with MAST Travel Network. This marks a significant milestone for their recently launched AgentConnect – a cutting-edge cruise booking platform tailored for the North American Market, as it is added into MAST's extensive 1,300 agency network.   The partnership between Traveltek and MAST is poised to revolutionise cruise bookings for agents, providing seamless access to the AgentConnect booking tool which boasts integration with the world's largest cruise lines.   AgentConnect’s user-friendly interface is designed to make travel partners' lives easier. The technology is intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing advisors to find what they need quickly and easily. Traditional methods often have clunky and confusing interfaces - the new AgentConnect product from Traveltek offers users three core benefits: conversion, speed efficiency, and brand enhancement.   "We are thrilled to kickstart our partnership with MAST," says Rebecca Esterhuizen, Senior Vice President North America at Traveltek. "This collaboration represents a significant stride in our commitment to delivering top-notch travel technology solutions to our clients."   In support of this sentiment, Margaret Campbell, Vice President at MAST, says, “MAST is thrilled to be partnering with Traveltek. By adding the AgentConnect platform to our growing technology offerings, we are providing our members a booking tool that will create efficiencies in the ever-expanding cruise segment.”

  Traveltek is delighted to announce their partnership with Cruise Planners following the announcement of Sabre exiting the cruise market in October 2023.   Cruise Planners, a longstanding Sabre customer, has signed a partnership agreement with Traveltek to power their cruise solution for their agents across the USA.   Cruise Planners is the nation’s premiere travel franchise network, with over 2500+ franchise owners in all 50 states and has been operating since 1994. Cruise Planners franchise owners own and operate their own travel agency business and earn money helping clients plan amazing travel experiences such as cruises, land tours, and all-inclusive resort vacations.   Over the last 25 years, Traveltek has developed technology which enables leisure travel companies to package together an extensive range of hotels, flights, cruises, and ancillary travel services in one seamless transaction globally.   Cruise Planners franchises will benefit from access to over 30,000 integrated itineraries across all major ocean and river cruise lines and exclusive deals from thirty cruise lines around the world in a single aggregated Cruise API.   “When we were looking at partners to work with, Traveltek was the clear choice. Their years of experience and commitment to delivering a world-class product, made our decision easy.” said Brian Shultz, Chief Information Officer of Cruise Planners.   “We are delighted to partner with Cruise Planners. I first met with the team in Coral Springs in February 2023, and it was great meeting a team who are clearly passionate about driving innovation and efficiency to their agents. I am really looking forward to collaborating with the team closer as we commence our partnership” - Rebecca Esterhuizen SVP - North America Traveltek

Traveltek has inked a strategic partnership with Tres Technologies. It comes as Traveltek unveiled its Connect product suite, Agent Connect, a travel agent booking system and their new API, Cruise Connect. The Tres Technologies partnership enables agents to seamlessly book cruises within the AgentConnect booking tool and manage the booking within Trams, the tool of Tres Technologies using their Live Connect technology. It comes on the heels of Sabre Corp deciding to retire its own cruise technology. Sabre provides Traveltek with the unique opportunity to cater to its expansive customer base starting from 1 November 2023. "We are thrilled to kickstart our collaboration with Tres Technologies," said Rebecca Esterhuizen, SVP North America at Traveltek. "This partnership reinforces our commitment as a top-tier cruise solution to travel agencies, especially during this phase of rapid growth in the cruise market." Teresa Giacalone, Tres Technologies DSM, said: “Agents want the automation and quality data capture that integrated technology can provide”.  

Following Panache Cruises’ US market launch this summer, the cruise retailer is spearheading its US expansion strategy through its partnership with Traveltek. Panache Cruises launched its US operation with Traveltek’s Cruise API and gained immediate results with a $124k booking made just days after its US site went live. The business is currently in the process of rolling out a major digital marketing and PR campaign across the US. It has an initial offering of luxury cruises from Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Seabourn, Explora Journeys, Oceania Cruises and Azamara. Traveltek continues to see big success in growing its North American footprint within the Cruise tech sector. Traveltek’s CEO Mal Barritt said “We have admired the tenacity and drive by Panache Cruises and can see potential in the luxury cruise industry.” “We are delighted that Panache Cruises has chosen to partner  to unlock new opportunities in this market”. Founder and CEO of Panache Cruises, James Cole says the partnership is cruising to success. “We believe it’s a perfect time to enter the US.  America is a nation of ‘luxury’ and ‘cruise lovers’ and we believe it is fundamentally ripe for growth.”

  Traveltek’s Cruise API and agent desktop solution iSell, will enable Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) agents globally to drive their ambitious Cruise growth plans through Traveltek’s award winning and market leading technology. This product will drive growth across all the major ocean and river cruise lines for Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) globally as part of a newly signed agreement.   Traveltek and FCTG have partnered in the APAC region for over 14 years and recently signed an extended Global contract which will now see Traveltek power Cruise globally for the company’s leisure businesses in North America, Canada the UK and South Africa as well as continuing to support the leisure businesses in Australia and New Zealand.  Flight Centre’s cruise agents will benefit from access to exclusive deals from 30 cruise lines around the world in a single aggregated Cruise API and utilise iSell. FCTG agents will also be able to access Traveltek’s new Agent Connect product coming to the market next month for US based agents who chose this option.   Signed in August 2023, Traveltek’s Cruise solution will help FCTG take advantage of the immense potential in the Global Cruise market for further growth. FCTG will also benefit from the enhanced product investments that Traveltek are currently making and will utilise the new Connect suite of products as they become available across Global markets.   Traveltek’s, Chief Commercial Officer, Cressida Sergeant commented: “We are thrilled to be a part of the next significant growth chapter for FCTG’s Cruise division and look forward to working closely with them to deliver against their ambitious targets and tap into the new to Cruise market which clearly exists. It has been a pleasure to work with the team in Australia and NZ for the last 14 years and we look forward to supporting Flight Centre grow its Cruise business in other markets, especially North America, where we have seen real demand for Cruise technology. We continue to heavily invest in our Cruise technology and look forward to further success with our Flight Centre partnership”

 

Traveltek are set for a record-breaking year in 2023 as they launch Cruise Connect and invest heavily in the US market with a new country leader

  Traveltek, the Cruise connectivity and travel software experts are delighted to announce the appointment of Rebecca Esterhuizen to Senior Vice President North America. Having served with the business for 6 years and previously spearheaded growth for APAC, before relocating to Toronto in November.   Esterhuizen started her career at Flight Centre in the finance team, before moving to Traveltek and has progressed through the ranks to run the APAC region for the last 3 years, being instrumental in managing key partnerships including the Global flight Centre relationship and overseeing significant growth with the innovative business Ignite and other major players in the APAC market.   Traveltek is gearing up for a solid year of growth and innovation after an extremely successful 2022. In 2022 Traveltek won ‘Best Technology provider’ at the prestigious Travel Weekly Globe Awards in London and ‘Best Technology Team’ at the Travolution awards in London, 9 months later. Traveltek announced their rebrand at World Travel market before jetting to Phocuswright a week later to announce a new partnership with Sabre. Traveltek will power Sabre’s cruise solution when Sabre exits the Cruise market in October 2023. This product will be Traveltek’s new look Cruise Connect, a Graph QL Cruise API and Agent Connect product, a cruise desktop solution.   Commented on the recent successes and her new role, Esterhuizen said  “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to spearhead Traveltek’s growth in the largest global Cruise market. I’m excited to work with all our existing partners in the North America region and to continue our close relationship with Sabre. With our new products coming to the market in 2023, its certainly set to be an exciting year”   Over the last 20 years, Traveltek has developed technology which enables leisure travel companies to package together an extensive range of hotels, flights, cruises and ancillary travel services in one seamless transaction globally. Traveltek over the last 5 years has dominated the UK sector working with a large number of consortia and leading retail brands and they are now keen to continue that success in North America.  “We have seen significant success in the US market in the last 3 years through our partnerships with Jetblue, Hotelbeds, Incruises, and passport online to name a few. We are excited to partner with Sabre and having Rebecca in region to manage this growth is incredible for our customers with her experience and knowledge, I’m sure she will excel in this new role” commented Cressida Sergeant, Chief Commercial Officer at Traveltek.