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Viewdata WILL die, says TTI
The Travel Technology Initiative has published two new electronic standards for the industry that it hopes will see viewdata dead and buried.
The Tour Operator Product Availability Standard (TOPAS) has already been made available to TTI members and will be published next month. It is designed to facilitate the flow of information on holiday availability from tour operators to technology companies and on to agents. The idea is that it is less time-consuming and less expensive than viewdata.
The second is XML message standards for package holiday bookings. It is due to be completed shortly and will be circulated to members early in the summer for review.
The XML message supports a full range of products including packages, flights, hotels, villas and cruises. In a statement, TTI said that as well as taking on a more modern web browser format, XML messaging would bring another key benefit: “It will enable new business to business trading that does not currently use viewdata”.
Two teams of industry representatives have been working on the standards since mid 2003, and TTI hopes the standards will be in regular use by the end of the year. TTI has had top level support for its initiative from companies in the industry including the Big Four, Anite, Comtec, and The Vertical Group.
Commenting on the production of the standards, TTI chairman, Tony Allen said: “Many have predicted that even though viewdata is completely outmoded technology, it will never die. However, under the auspices of the TTI, the industry has now hammered the first nail in its coffin.
“Over the last year, some of the best known names in the industry have been cooperating to mutual benefit, making significant progress towards viewdata’s replacement. I confidently predict that 2004 is the year when we will finally see viewdata being phased out.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
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