eyefortravel - Travel Distribution India '06

‘The low-cost category is very dynamic in India’

Viiveck Verma Managing Director Abacus India

Viiveck Verma, managing director of Abacus India, speaks to Reema Sisodia about the changing dynamics of travel in India

What are the various initiatives that Abacus has taken in the area of travel?

As a leading travel facilitator in the Asia Pacific region, Abacus has invested more than SG $60 million over the past few years to tailor our travel industry solutions especially for Asian needs. We are particularly active in supporting and educating travel agents on the benefits of technology in their business with solutions such as Abacus WebConnect, GetThere corporate reservation tools and Abacus Whiz to help them manage operations.

We have been active in addressing the airlines' concerns about a minority of agents misusing technology to make passive or fake bookings in India. For example, Abacus Claim saves time and cuts costs because airlines no longer need to spend time on PNR servicing and agents can directly display and take control of PNRs from the airlines' reservations system. We also help them handle group business with Abacus Group by automating the procedures and even convert to full electronic ticketing. While nearly 30 per cent of Abacus' current bookings in India is on e-ticket, we are concerned that some airlines seem slow to act and could be caught in a log-jam next year in a rush to meet IATA's December 2007 deadline.

What according to you is the future of technology in the field of travel?

Technology will have a profound impact on the travel industry over the next 50 years. It will transform the travel experience, offering a range of technologies to travellers to stay connected, record and archive their experiences, not to mention profoundly alter the means of travel. For travel agents and distributors, technology will allow travel content to be even more visible, broadly distributed and increasingly intuitive to access.

Do you think the future is online?

The Internet's rise as a medium to bridge consumers and travel service providers has catalysed the growth of the travel industry in Asia. While it has given people the power to hunt down the best deals, travel agents will continue to play a relevant role in sieving through tonnes of information to tailor a travel plan for customers. The challenge remains for travel agents to find ways to add value and build their loyalty so they come back. Travel agents will remain the main partners for airlines (both traditional carriers and low-cost) to fill their seats through a GDS such as Abacus.

How has the low-cost phenomenon transformed air travel in India?

The low-cost category is very dynamic in India with a large number of new operators helping to maintain the momentum of traffic growth from a new category of budget travellers and develop new destinations. It is projected that low-cost carriers will increase their market share to 30-35 per cent by this year and are likely to push the bounds further with Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation projecting a market share of upto 70 per cent in India by 2010.

What according to you is the future of travel distribution in India?

Travel distribution has a hugely positive future in India for economic and demographic reasons alone, as an extra 82 million employees enter the workforce by 2010 and rising incomes. The only constant will be change as airlines, GDSs and travel agents, both physical and online, all continue to manoeuvre to reduce costs, build relationships and revenue and own a greater part of the value chain. Ultimately the market will determine where the value is delivered toward which travel purchasing will migrate.