New offering for independent travel agents

In a move to designed to help independent travel agents improve productivity and profitability, Amadeus UK and Comtec Europe are launching a new travel booking and information services portal.

The new offering, a web-based system, is AgentWizard. As per the information available, it will offer a single platform with seamless login to a wide range of Amadeus and Comtec booking services.

The system will also incorporate travel news feeds, digital brochure content, email services and tailored information resources including British Consulate advisories, passport and visa information and other third-party travel-related content, as per the information available.

Stephane Durand, MD at Amadeus UK and Ireland described the new offering as the "most intuitive, easy-to-use and comprehensive solution ever offered to independent travel agents" - which is an often overlooked segment of the industry; yet one that provides a much valued service to the travelling public.

"One of the newer challenges facing agents today is the growth of online travel, which has resulted in an explosion of travel content on the web. Whilst this is good news for consumer choice, it has also made a travel agent's job more challenging due to the sheer number of channels through which suppliers now market their services. Between us, Comtec and Amadeus offer a vast and complementary range of travel booking and information services and consolidating these within AgentWizard will simplify the agent's job greatly. AgentWizard meets the needs of independent travel agents by providing comprehensive travel content in one easy-to-use application and by offering a single point of contact for support and account management".

AgentWizard will be marketed as packaged product bundles which Simon Powell, chief executive officer, Comtec, said will provide agents with streamlined ordering processes and enhanced value-for-money through bundle price discounts.

"It's never been more important for independent travel agents to run their businesses efficiently. Amadeus and Comtec offer market-proven and highly complimentary services and by combining these into a single proposition with AgentWizard we believe can help to reduce agent's administration overheads significantly whilst improving both user productivity and customer service," said Powell.