Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Web Based - Travel Reservation Software

Attention Travel Agents and Operators

Do you or your company sell or deal with any of the following: Flights (airline tickets), hotel rooms, car rentals, travel packages, tours, restaurant reservations, attraction or special event tickets, ferries, travel insurance, cruises, public transportation, train tickets, or currency exchange? If you work in the travel industry then that was a pretty redundant question, but why am I asking it? I am not trying to waste your time, in fact I am trying to save you time. I will ask you one more question, and this time it is important. How many different pieces of software do you use to offer your services to you clients? Making multiple searches to find the best deals for your customers is now a thing of the past. There is a new piece of travel reservation software which provides an end to end solution for all types of travel companies: travel agencies, tour operators, inbound, outbound, charter operators, congress organizers and more.

Currently the hottest selling online travel reservation software is called Gilboa by Galor. Galor is one of the older travel agent management system producers. They have been around since 1989 and their travel reservation software is used by 700 clients and over 6000 users in over 22 countries. What makes Galor’s software so special is that it can interface with all of the Global Distribution Systems like Sabre, Amadeus, WorldSpan, and Galileo. It also integrates website and online bookings, comes with financial tools specific to the travel industry, and can handle wholesale, in-house and tailor made bookings.

This article is about informing you that there are other options out there for travel reservation software. There is no longer the need to rely on several systems, which waste valuable time with multiple searches. There is now travel reservation software that works with the GDS’s, and with the private charters and specials that you have worked out directly with other travel companies. You can throw away all your binders because the records you need can be found indexed and researched on your computer. These programs are scalable so that they can work with both small and large travel companies. If you are a small company looking to expand, this is the perfect answer because the software can help in expansion and you won’t have to find new software once your client base grows. If you are a large travel network or company, reducing your travel reservation software to one program is a great way to save time and money.

One piece of travel reservation software means less training and more uniformity no matter what size your business is. A little research today can help your travel business for years to come.

Article Source: www.Content-Syndication.org

For More info: Cheap Airfare Tickets to asia

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Dynamic Packaging Travel Technology for Today's Travelers

Dynamic Packaging Technology is permanently altering the dimensions with which holidays and tours are created and marketed. Research from Multicom from 2005 predicted that dynamic packaging sales will total £2.4 billion and account for almost 35% of the UK travel market by 2007. Dynamic Packaging Solution Gilboa has been developed by Galor Systems Ltd to provide travel agents and tour operator's user friendly technology to both maintain and grow their position in this rapidly forming business environment.

This revolutionary dynamic packaging software, Gilboa is a definitive response to the demand for a complete integrated software solution for traditional tour operators and also for both internet based and conventional travel agents. The questions still remain though, 'Do consumers even know what “Dynamic Packaging" is?' Do consumers understand the benefits? Do they want it? Indeed do end-users even care about Dynamic Packaging?

The simple answer is that as travel agents incorporate Dynamic Packaging into their booking systems, the benefits, desire and understanding will filter through to the customer, eventually normalizing this form of travel reservation.

With the dramatic increase of online agents, consumers now have infinite options for all aspects of their travel itinerary. With the travel choices being numerous (location, accommodation, transportation, satisfaction), the demand for simplification to help the customers to create a tailored travel package has now emerged. Gilboa offers this ability.

So what exactly is Dynamic Packaging for Travel Agents & Operators? Simply put, Dynamic Packaging is a buzz word for a traveller self booking system that saves time and increases travel agency profits. Travellers rarely see the term "Dynamic Packaging" online, instead it's called "Build Your Own" tour - "Flight + Hotel", etc. In travel agent terms, it allows them to package their own holidays and raises margins and offer a competitive price compared to their direct competitors. You'll rarely see the phrase on a web site. Sites have adopted rather more straightforward descriptions of the technology: Book Together and Save, Build Your Own or Flight + Hotel, etc.

Dynamic Packaging offers exciting new ways for marketing vacation packages on the internet. The time from the idea for a new travel package to generating sales on the internet is a blink of the eye compared to non dynamic packaging methods. In short, dynamic packaging is not an option for travel agencies, it’s an essential technology to remain competitive and maintain market share. Once fully integrated into a travel agency’s system, dynamic packaging becomes a launching pad for new travel destinations, agency growth and customer satisfaction.

Galor is a leading Dynamic Packaging Developer with years of experience, hundreds of customers and an impeccable reputation for quality, innovation and reliability.

Since 2005 technology suppliers have been busy updating their systems to allow tour operators to dynamically package with ease. The majority of tour operator reservation systems now offer comprehensive functionality to allow operators to put together packages that bundle their own contracted inventory with attractive third party products such as “no-frills flights".

What's the customer advantage?
Customers are now not restricted to a set package with compulsory departure dates. And are also likely to benefit from the lower fares which scheduled airlines are prepared to offer as part of a package, but not when sold alone.

Prepare for the customer risk…
As with all package travel- if the customer decides not to travel, a full or even partial refund is unlikely. The agent will buy a hotel room on the customer's behalf very soon after booking, or as soon as credit card payment is confirmed. That makes travel insurance all the more important. Customers should buy and be encouraged to buy insurance together with the booking. This insurance can then also be Dynamically Packaged into the itinerary.

Dynamic Packaging: hot or not?
The travel industry has been touting the benefits of “dynamic packaging" for some time, hailing this as the “killer app" of online travel booking. Consumers have never had so much choice; they now have more flexibility, more visibility of pricing and this puts them firmly in the driving seat.

Travel Agents and Tour Operators can now build and book an entire holiday or trip through one system, selecting the options that best meet their needs on price, dates, convenience, location and of course making any special offers / discounts that may secure that booking. Dynamic packaging allows travel agents to mix and match flights, accommodation, car hire, excursions and more within one packaged booking.

Article Source: www.Content-Syndication.org

Saturday, August 2, 2008

What’s the difference between a forest and a tropical rainforest?

What is a tropical rainforest? How is it different from what we think of as a regular forest?

First of all, a regular forest usually consists of one dominant species of tree – the evergreen forests of colder climates, or the redwood forest of California, for example. A tropical rainforest has many species of trees and plants, and trees of the same species very seldom grow close together. Scientists have counted as many as 300 different species growing in one 2 1/2 acre (one hectare) in a South American rainforest.

While forests are found in all climates and all parts of the world, tropical rainforests are found only in hot, humid climates. They cover less than six percent of the Earth’s land surface. Most are found in areas near the equator such as Central America, South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. A rainforest often gets more than 100 inches of rain a year, the average humidity is between 77 and 88 percent, and the temperature is usually between 93º F (34º C) and 68º F (20º C).

Probably the most significant difference between a regular forest and a tropical rainforest, and the one that has scientists worried that rainforests might someday totally disappear, is the fact that whereas most of the nutrients of a regular forest are stored in its vegetation, most of a rainforest’s nutrients are stored in the soil. This means that when a regular forest is burned or flooded or cut down, the trees and plants can eventually grow back because of the nutrients in their roots. But in the rainforests, where thousands of years of heavy rain have washed away many of the nutrients in the soil, it is very difficult for vegetation to grow back after it is burned or cut down.

Unlike a regular forest, a tropical rainforest has four very distinct layers based on the types of trees and animals that live there. From the top down, these layers are the emergent, upper canopy, understory, and forest floor.

Emergent trees are 100 to 240 feet tall and are spaced wide apart with straight, smooth trunks and leaves that form umbrella-shaped canopies. The upper canopy consists of trees that are 60 to 130 feet tall. Most of the animals live here.

Most of the trees in the understory, or lower canopy, are about 60 feet tall. Very little light reaches this level, the humidity is always high, and there’s little air movement.

The forest floor is almost totally shaded. As a result, there are very few bushes or herbs, and a person can easily walk through most parts. But you have to be careful where you walk, because the ground is teeming with termites and other insects, earthworms and fungi that feed on the litter that falls to the ground. Approximately 80 percent of all insect species live in tropical rainforests.