What else is going on in the world of travel tech? A round-up of other stories from across the industry...
- Brazil has kicked off its international World Meets in Brazil campaign to promote the destination as the host for forthcoming sporting events including the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The campaign, created by the Ministry of Tourism and Embratur, goes across print, digital, online, outdoor media and TV. The destination aims to double foreign visitors and triple foreign currency by 2017.
- GuestLogix has renewed its contract with US Airways to provide onboard retail and payment services. The renewal extends the partnership to GuestLogix' Global Payment Services tool as well as a plan to upgrade the airline's handheld point of sale devices. The upgrade will enable contactless and near-field communication payment options as well as the ability to offer local attractions, ground transportation and daily deals to passengers.
- Australia's online auction service, GraysOnline has unveiled GraysEscape as its new offer-based hotel reservation website launching next week. The site replaces Ubid4rooms, a website purchased by GraysOnline earlier this year as it planned to enter the accommodation market. GraysEscape enables the one million who visit GraysOnline every month looking for accommodation to make an offer to a hotel, with the hotelier accepting or bargaining with the customer for another rate within three hours.
- Cunard Line has selected marketing and tech specialist LBi for its website redesign brief in the UK, US and Australia initially. LBi saw off two other agencies and will refocus the website on the customer journey and highlighting the Cunard experience, improve the retail focus and lay the ground for an optimised tablet service.