Case study: TUI Magyarország
TUI Magyarország rebounds from COVID-19 with new flight offering.
Hungary-based consolidator deploys Amadeus B2B Wallet as it becomes an IATA-accredited agent in wake of pandemic.
Who we are?
TUI Magyarország is a Hungary-based consolidator for TUI packages booked through travel agents. The company partners with more than 150 agencies across the country.
Many partner agencies are not registered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) so use TUI Magyarország for ticketing services. While a minority use TUI Magyarország to book flights only, the majority book TUI package tours.
The market is mainly leisure trips, on a package basis, taking in everything from air and hotel bookings, but also including car rental and cruise. The company also processes a small number of business travel bookings.
TUI Magyarország is also focused on serving the Hungarian market, with direct charter flights from Budapest and Vienna (as a subsidiary brand of TUI Austria). Top destinations include Turkey, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar and Bali.
What are the fundamentals?
Headquarters
Industry
Plan
Website
What was the challenge?
The anticipated rebound from COVID-19 was not as swift as we had expected – so we needed to act in order to further boost the prospects of our company. Airline ticketing was identified as a potential path forward - with many travelers booking direct through an airline website, this was an opportunity for us to capture some business.
“TUI is the leading tour operator in Europe, allowing us to work with partners of the highest quality, including Amadeus - their professional solutions allow us to showcase this quality to our clients and partners.”“With every low there is always going to be a high so it’s important to use the down-time to carefully plan a strategy for bouncing back. Look for all the new opportunities that are presenting themselves today and take them without reserve.”
This was identified as a significant opportunity, as many Hungarian travelers do not trust English-only sites or have language problems dealing with airlines. They prefer the personalized contact and ability to converse and book in their own language - something we are able to offer.
We thus sought to widen our flight offering, becoming recognised as a leading IATA-registered partner in Hungary. This offering can be particularly attractive to TUI-registered agents in the country, but also smaller tour operators who organise group trips.
How did Amadeus support?
In response to growing demand, we made a decision to adopt the IATAGoLite solution, which allows for credit card bookings, but does not require bank guarantees or insurance. Having used Amadeus as our only global distribution partner for over 20 years,the adoption of IATA GoLite – facilitated through the use ofAmadeus B2B Wallet – was a natural decision for us. And the results were impressive.
“IATA GOLite and Amadeus B2B wallet was a real step forward for TUI Hungary.”
The biggest advantage was that it opened access to airlines that do not accept company credit card bookings. IATA offers a similar credit card solution, but it does not support the cashback options seen in the Amadeus B2B Wallet.
Amadeus B2B Wallet is also accepted in other sectors, including low-cost carriers, trains, cruise and mobility. All data is reconciled under one system, with clear invoicing and reporting. Amadeus Ticket Changer and Amadeus Ancillary Services are also used, all helping us to offer the best options, as well as streamlined booking and ticketing.
“My advice? If you are a non-IATA agent, find a good flight seller partner that you can rely on!”
Amadeus B2B Wallet guarantees us lower processing costs when paying travel suppliers worldwide, while also offering two unique payment options – one which allows us to earn revenue with every transaction and another which helps to save on surcharges. We trialled rival GDS offerings, but found they were not as effective, or were not present in the Hungarian market.
What did you reimagine?
By becoming an IATA-certified agent, we were able to significantly expand our offering in the Hungarian market. We are now a strong flight sales partner to smaller agents which are not accredited by IATA – and we are open to new business.
“Choosing Amadeus as we expanded our airline offering was an obvious choice - having used them for over 20 years as a GDS, we are very happy with all the products they offer.”
After only five months of usage, we are reaping the benefits and the results clearly speak for themselves.
Results
- For 2021/22, TUI Magyarország saw a 260 per cent increase in flight sales when compared to 2018/19 – the best year prior to COVID-19. The figure continues to increase.
- For 2022/23 TUI Magyarország has seen an increase of 145 per cent on 2021/22.
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