Honolulu March 29, 2001 B2B is hitting the travel industry, and not surprisingly, in the one of the most popular travel destinations in the world Hawaii. Get2Hawaii, a new application service provider (ASP) for travel professionals, is saying aloha to the world of e-business by linking Hawaii's travel organizations to their customers across the Pacific.
Get2Hawaii is an online booking engine that aims to provide cost-efficiencies along the entire travel distribution chain in the Hawaiian travel market. Working to its advantage, the new ASP is also an affiliate of Panda Group, one of the nation's largest travel wholesalers specializing in the Hawaii market. This means that Get2Hawaii has access to Panda's network of industry contacts and relationships.
"Get2Hawaii represents the latest example of Panda Group's understanding of the wholesale travel market. The strategy leverages their financial stability and existing relationships with travel suppliers and retailers to expand into new, electronic distribution channels," said Bob Fishman, CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Get2Hawaii customers, such as travel resellers, will be able to access real-time inventory of hotel rooms, flights, car rentals, and attractions, as well as automated customer service features. For travel suppliers, the Get2Hawaii application will provide a much-needed, low-cost distribution channel combined with access to a broader target market.
"Having been in the Hawaii travel market for over 20 years, we thoroughly understand the needs of the suppliers and travel resellers," said Jack Tsui, Get2Hawaii chairman and founder of Panda Group. "With Get2Hawaii, we are committing to provide the Hawaii travel market with additional tools to assist them in selling more inventory and lowering their costs."
"The key to extending Panda's existing business on to the Web is understanding the customer and how an alternate distribution channel can help them. Ultimately, there must be measurable benefits to the suppliers and retailers or the product will not succeed. Our conclusion after an on-going dialogue with these providers was that there is a clear and immediate need for such a channel," said Susan Scott, CEO of Get2Hawaii.
