FROM: GLORIA GUEVARA, President & CEO of the WTCC
No one can doubt that we are in uncharted territory. The coronavirus pandemic means the world is facing a threat on multiple fronts not seen in peacetime. The Travel & Tourism sector is uniquely exposed, and we estimate 50 million jobs globally are at risk. To put it bluntly, Travel & Tourism is in a fight for survival.
Travel is the backbone of economies around the world. It brings in essential currency and inward investment, creates jobs and stimulates every sector. WTTC figures show Travel & Tourism contributes to 10.4% of Global GDP and 320 million jobs. It is responsible of creating one in five new jobs and, for eight successive years, has outpaced the growth of the global economy.
View the full letter from WTTC here (pdf).
The OpenTravel Alliance member LinksRez announced it has received NDC Certification Level 3. IATA New Distribution Capability – or NDC – is growing adoption amongst airlines and has similar functionality to OpenTravel Messaging. By achieving this certification, LinksRez will advance the OpenTravel mission of interoperability across the entirety of the travel vertical.
“LinksRez and OpenTravel are at the forefront of interoperability and is excited to be in a position to bridge the decreasing gap between OpenTravel Messaging and NDC,” said Brian Bell, President of LinksRez and member of the OpenTravel Governing Board. “For over twenty years OpenTravel has been promoting the adoption of data messaging standards in the travel industry and is excited to strengthen alignment between IATA and OpenTravel.”
The dev team at LinksRez is a regular contributor to OpenTravel workgroups evolving data messaging standards specializing in hospitality, golf, ground transportation, and air. LinksRez is a member of the OpenTravel Alliance and IATA.
The OpenTravel Alliance is passionate about solving the problems inherent with connecting multiple systems within the complex travel distribution arena.
OpenTravel’s mission is to engineer specifications to ensure traveler and supplier information flow smoothly throughout travel, tourism and hospitality. OpenTravel creates, expands and drives adoption of open specifications, including but not limited to the use of XML, for the electronic exchange of business information among all sectors of the travel industry.