Coronavirus: Travelport and Safeture partner to provide SmartPoint COVID-19 advice plug-in

Coronavirus: Travelport and Safeture partner to provide SmartPoint COVID-19 advice plug-in

Facility offers up-to-date information on coronavirus travel restrictions and in-destination regulations

Travelport has added a COVID-19 plug-in to its travel agency SmartPoint desktop to give users the most up to date information on lockdown and traveller safety measures.

The plug-in is available free-of-charge to all Travelport customers globally using Travelport Smartpoint 8.2 or above and can be downloaded directly from Travelport Marketplace.

The tool provides detailed and country-level information on a range of topics, including:  lockdown rules, entry requirements and quarantine measures for travellers.

Kyle Moore, global head of customer strategy and marketing at Travelport, said: “The travel ecosystem today is probably the most complex it has ever been, with government, airline, and hotel policies in every country constantly-changing.

“We’re making sure our agent partners no longer need to constantly leave their workflow to search for accurate and up-to-date information – greatly improving their efficiency in servicing their traveller customers.”

The information in the Smartpoint plug-in is provided by global travel safety intelligence provider Safeture and is updated daily.

Magnus Hultman, chief executive of Safeture, said: “Our collaboration with Travelport will provide millions of travelers with the information they need to make informed decisions.

“With travel showing signs of a long-awaited recovery, creating this sense of security will be key to the reopening of economies and societies.”

Travelport partners have welcomed the initiative saying it will assist as they advise customers looking to travel safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colin Boddy, group commercial director of Meon Valley Travel Group, said: “Working with the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin will allow our consultants to advise our customers with up-to-date destination information regarding this pandemic straight from the Smartpoint desktop.

“Travelport has turned this around quickly. It is great to know they are listening to the needs of the industry and are prepared to supply new leading-edge tools that can help aid recovery.”

Scott Pawley, managing director of Global Travel Management, added: “With the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin, we can provide reliable information to clients on the destinations they’re planning to travel to or through, without leaving the workflow.

“In this way, we’re able to continue providing a top-class service to clients who can confidently make travel choices and book flights.”