Southeast Asian online travel agency (OTA) 12Go today announces that it is partnering with leading travel technology provider Amadeus to give its customers access to European rail content. This new distribution agreement will allow 12Go customers to search and book European rail tickets in their own language and currency.
By implementing Amadeus Web Services, 12Go will have access to rail content from all major European carriers, and will start by selling Renfe (Spain), SNCF (France), Eurostar (France and England) and Thalys (Europe). While travel to Europe from Asia is still limited at the moment due to the COVID-19 situation, this partnership will put the Southeast Asian startup in a great position to support inter-regional travel within Europe when international travel levels pick-up in the future.
Further benefits from the Value Rail business model include one single connection as well as one contract versus multiple links and contracts with individual railways. With a single interface and sales system, 12Go will have a more efficient and easier way to sell rail travel, enabling multinational customers to find global rail routes and fares via a dedicated portal.
Since launching in Singapore in 2012, 12Go has cemented a strong reputation for providing cost-effective and relevant ground transportation options to travel operators and travelers firstly across Southeast Asia and now internationally too.
Elena Kozmenko, Senior Business Development Manager at 12Go said, “Our partnership with Amadeus is integral to our expansion strategy for rail across Asia Pacific and into Europe. By having all rail content integrated into one platform, we can better serve our individual customers’ needs and explore new markets. We look forward to working with Amadeus to expand our content to service new travel demands as well as contributing to building a more sustainable sector.”
Mirja Sickel, Executive Vice President Rail & Ground Travel at Amadeus said, “The rail sector has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 situation, however against the backdrop of growing awareness of climate change and increased investment in rail infrastructure and innovation, we believe that rail travel will be pivotal to meet new traveler demands and help restore and renew the travel industry.
“This is why we’re excited to partner with 12Go to create more opportunities for railways to reach travelers on a global scale, through the channels they prefer. We will continue to look for new ways for our rail partners to distribute their fares, reach new customers and build more personalized offers that cater to individual traveler needs in today’s complex and changing environment.”
12Go is the first online travel agency customer for Amadeus Rail in Singapore and Thailand, with Amadeus announcing a rail distribution partnership with Chinese travel agency Ctrip in March 2019. In addition to supporting 12Go’s expansion across Southeast Asia and into Europe, Amadeus believes the partnership will help to support the road to recovery of the global rail industry by accelerating passenger numbers.
