Accovia gives packaging to OTA

Accovia Inc. announced it has given the specifications for its Travel Application Protocol (TAP) to the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA0 to use in a standards-based protocol for bundling multiple travel components under a single price. Claude Guay, president and CEO of Accovia, told TravelMole: “This is a very important trend for the travel industry. This industry was the first with truly electronic commerce, but almost all the connectivity links were proprietary and custom. The links were expensive to set-up and you needed multiple ones.” Mr Guay said the move would allow electronic access to consumers or travel agencies with multiple package options. It also will lead to more flexibility and lower costs. An industry standard packaging protocol will simplify the bundling of multiple travel components under a single price, he added. Accovia’s SML-based Travel Application Protocol allows travel providers, distributors and sellers to interconnect and transact with each other using a simple mapping schema that supports the exchange of all information involved in assembling, pricing and booking multiple components. Accovia is a leading provider of travel packaging technology. OTA is a conglomerate working to create and implement industry-wide, open e-business specifications. Report by David Wilkening