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Travelport brought its annual technology conference to Australia for the first time last month, using the event to announce the launch of several new travel products.

Held in Sydney, the two-day conference attracted more than 350 delegates from across the country and around Asia, hosted by Travelport’s director of commercial strategy in the region, Scott Barber.

Among the new initiatives announced was the Asia-Pacific launch of the Travelport Trip Assist mobile app for travel agencies, which makes its debut in a region heavily adapted to mobile use. According to Travelport, more than 50% of global mobile travel sales this year will originate in Asia Pacific countries, and by 2020 the figure is likely to reach almost 70%.

Trip Assist will allow agencies to offer customers a branded mobile app, providing itinerary management, day-of-travel services, real-time mobile messaging and several customised options.

Deployable in a matter of weeks, it also provides smart itinerary management, push-notification reminders, real-time alerts and the ability to call an agent from within the app.

Travelport Digital chief commercial officer Fergal Kelly said increasingly connected customers expected support throughout their trip.

“Customer engagement via mobile is now critical for agencies of all sizes and we believe that the business travel industry and business travellers are not yet well-served,” he said.

Travelport also used the Sydney event to announce a product aimed at easing disruption from flight cancellations, Travelport Resolve. The initiative is aimed at airlines and is able to automate the sourcing and distribution of hotel rooms for passengers when flights are disrupted.

It also automates air rebookings and handles meal and transport needs in a single paperless process, while at the same time allowing passengers to use a mobile app to access their revised arrangements.

“For airlines, Travelport Resolve helps improve customer service performance during disruptions, avoiding serious damage to their brand and to their relationships with affected customers,” Travelport senior vice president and managing director of air commerce Derek Sharp said.

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