Chinese travel agent Tongcheng-Elong chooses Travelport as NDC partner

Chinese travel agent Tongcheng-Elong chooses Travelport as NDC partner

Country’s second-largest agent has adopted the Travelport+ next generation platform

Leading Chinese OTA, Tongcheng-Elong has signed an agreement to use the Travelport microservices API, part of its recently launched Travelport+ next-generation platform.

The pilot partnership means China’s second largest travel agency means it can access Iata New Distribution Capability (NDC) functionalities, including content from airlines Travelport has built connections with.

Travelport said Tongcheng-Elong will be able to better merchandise and create more personalised and dynamic products for its travellers across all of its sales channels.

This pilot builds on Tongcheng-Elong’s existing integration of Travelport technology for its bespoke shopping and booking engine.

James Xu, senior vice president at Tongcheng-Elong and chief executive of its airline ticket business group, said:

“NDC has huge innovation potential, which will be instrumental for us to match consumer expectations in today’s age of modern digital retailing.

“We’re confident that the wealth of big data on Tongcheng-Elong’s platform, combined with Travelport’s strong roster of NDC content and their new lightweight Travelport+ technology, will enable us to leverage NDC to its full potential.”

Rob Brown, Travelport GVP and managing director, global OTA, added: “The ability to personalise the traveller shopping experience is crucial for any modern digital travel retailer, and the cutting-edge NDC technology in Travelport+ is designed to do just that.

“We’re certain the trust Tongcheng-Elong has shown in selecting Travelport as their GDS partner to develop NDC will pay ample dividends.”