Amadeus is to offer travel agents the opportunity to earn commission on customers’ after-sale extras.
The global distribution and technology provider, which supplies one-third of agents in the country, already offers consumers the ability to verify their travel details booked by agents with its online service checkmytrip.com.
Later this month, customers will be able to link through this service to Amadeus’s Activities and Events distribution system to book add-ons such as theatre tickets and sight-seeing tours. Four per cent commission is payable to agents making the initial booking, said Amadeus marketing director Elaine Seeto.
“People rely on agents for information when booking a high-value product, but how often are travel product bookings made outside the agency?” asked Seeto.
Amadeus offers the Activities and Events distribution systems on agents’ desktop so they do not have to log on to other systems or make calls to do cross-selling, Seeto added.
Seeto said it was part of a move to offer a greater range of products through Amadeus’s distribution systems. Amadeus Cruise offers 16 cruiselines, with the recent inclusion of Norwegian firm Hurtigruten.
Three travel agents are trialling an online bookings system that would enable consumers to book cruises via their websites. The system will be available across the trade early next year.
The company is also planning to introduce a rail distribution system allowing agents to book customers’ tickets.