TRAVEL

Únia Travel Joins DestiMaG, the DMC Directory

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Únia Travel rejoint l’annuaire des DMC, DestiMaG - ©Collage destinations Únia Travel / Unsplash License

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Únia Travel est née de l’union de deux acteurs historiques du réceptif : VSJ Travel (Voyages Sant Julià) et Sol i Muntanya.

Cette fusion, officialisée le 1er décembre 2025, donne naissance à une structure renforcée, combinant deux cultures du terrain et une même philosophie du voyage sur mesure.

Avec plus de 40 ans d’expérience cumulée, l’équipe met aujourd’hui son savoir-faire au service des professionnels du tourisme, avec une promesse claire : transformer chaque demande en voyage fluide, cohérent et parfaitement adapté aux attentes des clients finaux.

Positionné comme partenaire des professionnels du tourisme, Únia Travel conçoit des séjours entièrement personnalisés à destination des groupes loisirs, seniors, associations, incentives ou MICE.

Son rôle couvre l’ensemble de la chaîne de production : sélection des hébergements, restauration, visites, guides, transferts, assistance locale et coordination opérationnelle. L’objectif est de proposer des programmes clé en main, sécurisés et adaptés aux contraintes des agences.

Les destinations couvertes incluent : l’Espagne, le Portugal, l’Andorre et l’Occitanie.


Une expertise terrain au service de la qualité et de la proximité

Fortement ancrée dans le terrain, l’équipe de Únia Travel met en avant une approche fondée sur la proximité, la réactivité et la connaissance fine des marchés francophones.

Cette expertise permet de construire des programmes adaptés au rythme des groupes, notamment les groupes seniors, avec des itinéraires équilibrés, des prestations adaptées et une logistique maîtrisée. L’accompagnement s’étend également aux voyages culturels, circuits thématiques, séjours festifs ou combinés multi-destinations.

L’approche d’Únia Travel repose sur une logique simple : aucun voyage n’est standardisé. Chaque projet est construit en collaboration avec les agences partenaires, en fonction du cahier des charges, du profil du groupe et des objectifs commerciaux.

Cette méthode permet de proposer des solutions ajustées, à la fois compétitives et qualitatives, tout en garantissant une expérience fluide du premier brief jusqu’au retour du groupe.


Une offre structurée autour de collections de voyages

Pour répondre aux différents besoins du marché, Únia Travel développe plusieurs gammes de produits :

Únia Signature : des programmes originaux et immersifs pour valoriser la découverte

Únia Classics : les circuits incontournables, équilibrés et faciles à commercialiser

Únia Essentials : des séjours accessibles, optimisés pour les budgets maîtrisés

Cette segmentation permet aux agences partenaires de disposer d’une offre claire, flexible et adaptée à chaque typologie de clientèle.



Únia Travel rejoint l’annuaire des DMC, DestiMaG
contactez Gentiane ROMANET, directrice commerciale :

– EMAIL : [email protected]

– TEL. +33 6 76 50 55 75

Travel Insurance: Medical Assistance, a Must-Have for Peace of Mind

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© Adobe Stock

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For a long time, travel insurance was seen as an optional choice or a “plus” reserved for distant destinations. Today it is an essential reflex, both for travelers and for tourism professionals. At Allianz Travel, the daily experience of complex medical cases underscores a simple truth: a medical contingency can turn a dreamed trip into a challenging ordeal, emotionally and financially.

Why have medical assistance covers become indispensable? What concrete risks do uninsured travelers face? And how can tourism professionals guide their clients toward the right protections? An analysis.


Medical expenses often underestimated by travelers

When planning a trip, clients devote substantial time to selecting the destination, the accommodations, and the activities. Health, however, is not always prioritized, especially for short trips or destinations perceived as “safe.”

Abroad, the handling of medical costs varies greatly from one country to another. In the United States, Canada, or Japan, a simple emergency room visit can run into thousands of euros. Hospitalization, or even surgery, can send the bill soaring into the tens or hundreds of thousands of euros. Even within Europe, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles access to medically necessary care during temporary stays in the European Union, but it does not cover everything: it does not replace travel insurance or comprehensive assistance, notably for repatriation.

In this context, traveling without appropriate coverage is a risky bet, with potentially considerable financial and personal consequences.


Medical expense coverage: avoiding a substantial financial burden

The emergency medical expenses reimbursement guarantee covers, within the ceilings defined by the contract, health costs incurred abroad: consultations, medications, tests, hospitalization, surgery, and emergency dental care. It often complements social security schemes that partially reimburse care carried out outside France.

At Allianz Travel, policies are designed to reflect the realities of today’s destinations, with high ceilings for medical expense coverage. This protection also allows travelers to be guided toward medical facilities suited to their situation, thereby sometimes avoiding abusive practices, depending on the destination. This is why contacting Allianz Travel’s medical teams before incurring any expenses is essential.


Medical repatriation: a medical decision that centers on the patient

Contrary to common myths, medical repatriation is never a comfort-driven decision. It is assessed exclusively according to medical criteria, in the patient’s best interest.

A repatriation may involve: a commercial flight with medical escort, a medical evacuation by air, and specific equipment (stretcher, oxygen, monitoring).

Its cost can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of euros depending on the destination and the patient’s condition. Without insurance, this expense falls entirely on the traveler and their family.

Allianz Travel teams rely on a global network of doctors and partners, capable of rapid intervention. This operational capacity makes all the difference when every hour counts.


Telemedicine: immediate access to a doctor, even thousands of kilometers away

Medical teleconsultation is another major asset offered by travel insurance. Unsure about a symptom? Need guidance on what to do next? It enables travelers to consult with a doctor 24/7, in their own language, without traveling, and to receive a prescription in many countries if necessary. This solution, now widely adopted in the market, provides reliable and immediate medical input for many minor situations, reassuring and guiding travelers, and sometimes avoiding unnecessary consultations or hospitalizations.


Travel insurance as a trusted partner


Example of a real medical case handled by Allianz Travel teams

While vacationing in Senegal, a 68-year-old patient alerted our platform after being admitted to a local hospital 150 km from the capital. The facility was not suitable for his pathology, so the medical teams evacuated the patient to Dalal Diam Hospital in Dakar, which has an intensive care unit dedicated to contagious diseases.

As the patient’s condition deteriorated, we quickly decided to charter a medical aircraft to repatriate him to France as quickly as possible. With the help of our contractor, the patient was placed on a stretcher and isolated in a bubble to protect the accompanying medical team and the flight crew.

Within a few hours the medical aircraft reached Grenoble University Hospital Center, where the patient could be readmitted to the intensive care unit.


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Assurance voyage : l’assistance médicale, un indispensable pour voyager l’esprit léger
Allianz Partners is the world’s leading B2B2C provider in the fields of assistance, travel insurance, international health, and car insurance.

The group employs more than 22,500 people in 70 countries, speaking 70 languages and handling 95.4 million cases every year, and is committed to going further to bring peace of mind to clients worldwide.

Global Assistance, Allianz Travel and Allianz Assistance are trademarks of Allianz Partners France.

24/7, 365 days a year, we operate worldwide to provide our corporate and private clients with assistance solutions in the areas of automotive, travel, leisure, mobility, housing, employment, health, and services.

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Africa Travel Indaba 2026: The Must-Attend B2B Travel Event Opens in Durban, May 12–14

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A growth dynamic driven by a pan-African ambition

L’Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre © Africa's Travel Indaba

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L’édition 2025 du salon Africa’s Travel Indaba a marqué un tournant historique avec une fréquentation record de 9 990 participants et 1 348 exposants venus de tout le continent. Les 24 500 rendez-vous d’affaires structurés lors de ces trois jours ont confirmé l’attractivité croissante de la destination. Avec 27 pays rassemblés, dont l’arrivée remarquée du Tchad, de Sainte-Hélène et du Burkina Faso, le salon illustre parfaitement sa volonté de faire rayonner toute la richesse touristique du continent africain, portée par le thème Unlimited Africa.

Pour 2026, cette montée en puissance se confirme avec une densité d’exposants allant de l’hôtellerie de luxe aux start-ups technologiques. Cette volonté d’ouverture traduit une ambition forte : celle de faire du tourisme un levier majeur de croissance et d’emploi. En rassemblant des acteurs venus de tous horizons, Indaba s’affirme comme la plateforme de référence pour connecter l’offre touristique africaine aux marchés internationaux.

Les professionnels y retrouveront les piliers incontournables du continent, tels que South African Tourism, la Zimbabwe Tourism Authority ou encore le Namibia Tourism Board, véritables moteurs de la promotion des destinations. Côté hôtellerie, les leaders du secteur comme Sun International, Tsogo Sun ou Wilderness Safaris seront également présents. Cette force de frappe internationale est complétée par une mosaïque de PME et d’opérateurs spécialisés, tels qu’Access Southern Africa pour la gestion de destination ou Amazing Africa pour le sur-mesure, indispensables à la diversification des catalogues des acheteurs mondiaux.


An economic engine serving SMEs and employment


Conférence sur le développement durable © Africa's Travel Indaba

L’impact de l’Africa’s Travel Indaba dépasse largement les murs du centre de congrès pour irriguer toute la région. Pour la ville de Durban et la province du KwaZulu-Natal, l’événement est un catalyseur économique majeur. En 2025, le salon a généré plus de 232 millions de rands de dépenses directes et a contribué à hauteur de 574 millions de rands au PIB local, démontrant ainsi le poids réel du secteur dans le développement des territoires.

Cette dynamique bénéficie tout particulièrement aux petites, moyennes et micro-entreprises sud-africaines. Grâce au « Sustainability Village » et aux espaces dédiés, près de 400 SMEs et micro-entreprises ont pu, lors de la précédente édition, exposer leur savoir-faire et nouer des contacts avec des acheteurs internationaux. Cette inclusion est essentielle pour soutenir la création de plus de 2 000 emplois, profitant directement aux jeunes et aux communautés locales qui constituent le socle de l’industrie.


A long-term vision for Africa’s tourism

L’Africa’s Travel Indaba s’inscrit dans une stratégie nationale ambitieuse : atteindre 2,2 millions d’emplois dans le secteur touristique d’ici 2030. En cherchant à augmenter la contribution du tourisme à 10 % du PIB national, l’événement se positionne comme le fer de lance de cette transformation économique. Il ne s’agit plus seulement de vendre des séjours, mais de bâtir une industrie résiliente et innovante capable de traverser les cycles économiques.

Les professionnels présents lors de cette nouvelle édition auront l’opportunité de participer à cette vision commune. Que ce soit par l’adoption de nouvelles technologies ou par la promotion de destinations aux cultures uniques, le salon permet de concrétiser des accords durables avec des partenaires de classe mondiale. C’est en cultivant cette passion partagée pour le continent que les acteurs du voyage transforment, ensemble, les objectifs de croissance en une réalité concrète et durable pour tout le secteur.

À la veille de l’ouverture, les opportunités de réseautage et la richesse de l’offre exposée promettent des échanges fertiles, essentiels pour répondre aux nouvelles attentes des voyageurs internationaux. L’Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 s’annonce comme une étape décisive pour tous les acteurs désireux de s’ancrer durablement sur le marché africain et de prendre part au développement d’un secteur touristique plus innovant, plus inclusif et résolument tourné vers une croissance durable.


🔔 Follow Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 on TourMaG’s social networks

Follow all the news of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 in real time on TourMaG’s social networks.

Reports, interviews, behind the scenes and highlights from the show: our teams bring you the event up close, wherever you are. Stay connected to not miss a thing!


Pour contacter South African Tourism :

Phone: 0810 203 403

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.southafrica.net

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Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 : Le rendez-vous B2B incontournable ouvre ses portes à Durban du 12 au 14 mai


Declined Cards, Delayed Reconciliation: Business Travel Deserves Better

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Pliant © Adobe Stock

Top of Travel


Mathieu, let’s start with a general observation. Why does payment management in business travel still seem so underdeveloped compared to other areas of corporate finance?

Mathieu Volondat : It’s a finding shared by many CFOs and travel managers. The operational burden linked to payments accumulates gradually, until a significant portion of the finance team’s time is spent handling exceptions rather than steering expenses. What appears to be a simple constraint for the traveler becomes, at the organizational level, a structural problem. The payment tools and processes have not kept pace with the maturity reached by other financial functions.


Quelles en sont les causes profondes ?

Mathieu Volondat : The principal cause is structural. Travel bookings, expense reporting, and accounting typically rely on separate tools that were not designed to interlock with each other. Each transfer between systems creates a friction zone where data gets lost or travel policy rules are not transmitted.


À quoi ressemble cette configuration unifiée ?

Mathieu Volondat : Rather than forcing companies to choose between a corporate card solution and an expense management tool, Pliant weaves together three complementary levels:

● The centralized payment for preferred suppliers, airlines, hotels, rail operators, with visibility on each transaction at the moment it occurs

● Business expenses with virtual cards parameterized by supplier or by team, tailored limits, and automated reconciliation of transactions

● Collaborator cards, physical and virtual, for teams needing travel flexibility, with a mobile app enabling receipt capture

The result is a setup in which the traveler moves without friction, while the finance leadership retains its control levers without tying up its teams on an ongoing basis.


L’authentification forte est devenue un vrai point de friction en Europe. Vous avez évoqué les exemptions SCA/3DS prévues pour le secteur du voyage. Qu’est-ce que cela change concrètement ?

Mathieu Volondat : It changes one key thing: the ability to run automated payments without human intervention. In travel, many transactions occur when the traveler is not available, for example during late check-ins, after schedule disruptions, or at the moment of a rebooking. A 3DS challenge at the wrong moment breaks the chain.

When travel purchasing cards can be used without 3DS challenges, companies can build truly reliable workflows. The payment goes through, the data is captured immediately, and the back office no longer has to chase after exceptions. The result is fewer manual interventions and, most importantly, a higher acceptance rate where it matters.


La lutte contre la fraude est toujours un exercice d’équilibre. Quels contrôles sont les plus utiles en travel sans dégrader l’acceptation ?

Mathieu Volondat : The most effective controls are those that are specific and easy to understand: merchant and MCC restrictions, clear limits, validity windows, and time-based rules when needed. In travel, a one-size-fits-all policy creates many false positives. Legitimate transactions get blocked, and teams end up relaxing controls to keep operating.

The pragmatic approach is to contextualize. If a card is intended for a hotel chain or a TMC, restrict it to that scope. If it is linked to a travel period, align the dates. You reduce the risk surface and preserve a good approval rate, because the authorization logic matches the use case.


Même quand les paiements passent, c’est souvent la réconciliation qui fait dérailler les programmes. Quelles données et quels reportings faut-il pour une réconciliation rapide et fiable, y compris sur les refus et les remboursements ?


Les dépenses de voyage sont par nature difficiles à anticiper. Comment maintenir un cadre de politique voyage dans cet environnement ?

Mathieu Volondat : It is indeed the central challenge. The solution we offer relies on configurable controls that adapt to context without adding friction to workflows. With Pliant, each card can be configured to reflect the company’s travel policy: per-transaction or per-period limits, merchant category restrictions, usage windows, validation levels. These parameters can be adjusted at any time, without delay.


Qu’est-ce que cela change concrètement pour les équipes financières au quotidien ?

Mathieu Volondat : For teams managing business travel, the real cost is not limited to the expenses themselves. It includes the time spent handling anomalies: following up with employees for receipts, processing reimbursement requests, reconciling card statements with invoices that sometimes arrive weeks after the transaction, correcting data before the monthly close.

With Pliant, every transaction is visible as it happens. Payment refusals come through in real time. Policy breaches are blocked at the source rather than detected afterwards. And because each card is configured with its own rules, the system enforces policies without the finance team having to intervene systematically.

The reduction in administrative burden is measurable: less time spent on reconciliation, fewer expense reports to process, and a consolidated view of travel spend available at any point during the month.


Pour un directeur financier qui évalue des solutions, quels sont les critères de sérieux à prendre en compte, et que représente Pliant sur ce plan ?

Mathieu Volondat : In business travel, where compliance and risk management are ongoing priorities, the robustness of the infrastructure is a prerequisite. Pliant is a licensed electronic money institution and a principal Visa member, PCI DSS and ISO 27001 certified. We issue Visa cards in 12 currencies across more than 30 countries, and our solution is already deployed at thousands of companies in Europe. Deployment typically takes about two weeks.

For CFOs, the benefits are concrete: better control of spend, more reliable data, streamlined reconciliation, and a simplified traveler experience without requiring a overhaul of existing systems. The solution also includes a cashback mechanism on card spend, which provides a direct financial return on top of operational gains.


Un dernier mot pour les travel managers et directeurs financiers présents au Forum des Pionniers ?

Mathieu Volondat : Solutions exist. The question companies face today is more about when they will take the leap. We will soon enrich our offering in France with a hosted card solution dedicated to centralized travel payments, which will complement our setup for travel and finance teams. This is a milestone we are eagerly looking forward to.

👉 Discover the Pliant solution for business travel.


Contacter Pliant


Cartes refusées, réconciliation tardive : le voyage d'affaires mérite mieux
Mathieu Volondat

Managing Director France

[email protected]

+33625762525


Impact Consultants: Your Growth Partner for Tourism & Travel

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© Impact consultants

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A trajectory built on action

This is not merely another consulting firm that studies, diagnoses and delivers recommendations that are theoretically sound. IMPACT CONSULTANTS only recommends organisations and practical solutions which its partners stand behind, drawing on their hands-on experience as business leaders. Founded by Paul de Rosen and Rodolphe Lenoir, the firm grew with a simple idea: in the Travel sector, a firm’s value is measured by its usefulness and its ability to move projects forward concretely.

A few reference points: +150 assignments completed for players in Travel, €1.9M in revenue in 2025, a team of 15 people and a pool of 25 experts mobilized across more than 8 countries, 3 offices (Paris, Marseille and Monaco). Clients such as Accor, La Compagnie des Alpes, Maeva, Air Austral, Palomino, Digitrips or PortAventura have trusted this approach.


Accelerate your growth today, build your performance for tomorrow

At IMPACT CONSULTANTS, the mission is clear: to be useful by solving growth challenges, now and for the long term.

This translates into an approach that is both strategic, to guide or secure the structuring choices (markets, model, positioning, international growth), operational, to produce measurable results (sales, distribution, RM/pricing, go-to-market), and change-management oriented : as the Travel market evolves continuously, the firm aims to provide its clients with the best information and analyses on practices to navigate this context effectively.


Four levers, one direction: your performance

IMPACT CONSULTANTS operates in four complementary areas, all aimed at a single objective: to accelerate and sustain the growth of its clients.

Growth plan — Markets, positioning, international and external growth: the firm helps its clients secure their structuring choices and cross their next milestones.

Commercial services — Deep commercial effectiveness: organization of sales teams, management of distribution networks, concrete go-to-market plans. No theory: practical mechanics that work.

Offer management — Revenue optimization, reliability and activatability of commercial data, performance-driven governance. Better-informed decisions, margins better preserved.

Transformation and data management — Support for transformation projects (digital, organizational, tools): the firm helps its clients steer change by embedding evolutions in teams and processes.


Tangible results, proven on the ground

International is in the DNA of IMPACT CONSULTANTS. New markets, new channels, new partners: the firm mobilizes a network of experts in more than 8 countries to test hypotheses on the ground, secure local feasibility and accelerate execution.

These interventions translate into concrete results: PortAventura World exceeded its targets in the French market in the first year; Digitrips was supported in its phases of international testing; Futuroscope for the commercial plan backing the €300 million investment; Accor for implementing a new high-performing global organization; or Palomino for the sale of its activities to Jancarthier.

Do you have growth ambitions for 2026 and beyond? Don’t leave your trajectory to chance. Let’s transform your projects into concrete results together. Let’s talk about your next milestone.


Contact IMPACT CONSULTANTS


IMPACT CONSULTANTS : Le partenaire de croissance des acteurs du Tourisme et du Travel
Rodolphe Lenoir

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.impactconsultants.eu/

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Travel Tech Factory: Six Specialized Factories, New SEO & GEO Offering, and a Sovereign Travel AI

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Six Factories, a Single Logic

© Travel Tech Factory

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Travel Tech Factory has structured ten years of expertise into six specialized Factories: Advisory, Connect, Web, Content, Intelligence, and Business Travel. Each Factory acts as an independent entry point: a crisis-hit NDC-powered tour operator activates Travel Connect Factory; a stagnating OTA engages Travel Web Factory. We enter through the urgent need, assess, and scale if it holds. Travel Advisory Factory shapes the trajectories of transformation. Travel Connect Factory stabilizes GDS and NDC integrations without a mandated overhaul. Business Travel Factory leads compliance and the duty of care.


TA’I: the sovereign AI that handles bookings

With TA’I, its sovereign travel AI, Travel Tech Factory addresses the limits of generic LLMs (price hallucinations, ignorance of IATA rules). TA’I is trained on travel-specific data under native business governance. A major difference: connected to GDS, Orchestra, and distribution platforms, TA’I can carry out the reservation. It marks the transition from an AI assistant to an operational AI agent — governed, traceable, validated. Adoption is measurable. Productivity gains are verifiable.


Travel Content Factory: SEO and GEO content

The new Travel Content Factory offering industrializes the production of travel content that is 100% original, optimized for traditional SEO and for GEO — search engine optimization via generative AI. The base catalog is not the same as the web catalog: Travel Content Factory delivers dozens of descriptions in record time, with human validation, for tour operators, agencies, hoteliers, airlines, and DMCs. In a sector where Google deploys its own travel AI tools, this dual optimization becomes strategic.


Industry expertise, ROI as the guiding principle

A decade in travel creates reflexes that generalists do not possess. Knowing IATA rules, understanding where flows break, anticipating exceptions — this is the industry expertise that Travel Tech Factory’s clients buy. And behind each Factory, a single motto: ROI. Measured before, during, and after. Not magicians — practical, effective professionals with ten years of real-world travel projects, at airlines, travel agencies, hoteliers, and tour operators.


Learn More About Travel Tech Factory


Travel Tech Factory : Six Factories spécialisées, une nouvelle offre SEO et GEO et une IA Travel souveraine
Website: https://traveltechfactory.com

Email: [email protected]

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One Trip, One Ticket: The EU Project to Simplify Train Travel Unveiled in Brussels

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Streamlining train bookings has long been a perennial pipe dream in the European Union (EU), despite regular calls to end the fragmentation of the rail network across twenty-seven national systems, which makes travel unnecessarily complicated and costly.

The growth of rail, however, remains crucial for Europe’s climate ambitions. At the outset of her second term in July 2024, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had pledged a single, unified booking system.

To turn this ambition into reality, Brussels is poised, according to sources close to the matter, to table a proposal that would compel operators to sell the tickets of their rivals on their own websites and to share their data with booking platforms.

Currently, “booking cross-border rail travel in Europe remains unnecessarily complicated”, notes Vivien Costanzo, a German member of the European Parliament from the Social Democrats. “A European rail system needs simple reservations, reliable connections, and clear rights for passengers. It is only under these conditions that rail will become a genuine European alternative to short-haul flights”, she warns.

But the proposal is likely to meet fierce opposition from national operators. In Brussels, the “European Rail Community” (ERC), a lobby of EU operators, denounces an “unprecedented interference” by the Commission. “I know of no case where anyone is forced to sell a competitor’s product. Imagine Lufthansa being forced to sell Ryanair tickets”, says Alberto Mazzola, an ERC official interviewed by AFP.

The Network Has Shrunk

Train tickets in Europe are currently primarily sold by national operators. The new legislation would require them to display offers from other companies, enabling passengers to compare prices and book a trip in one go.

A 2025 YouGov survey for the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) shows that nearly two in three people forego a trip because the booking process is too complex. Studies also indicate that booking a train journey takes on average 70% more time than booking a flight. “With more competition in rail, passengers will benefit from better services and lower prices”, says Jan-Christoph Oetjen, a centrist Member of the European Parliament.

The Commission should also update passenger rights in cases of missed connections, regarding compensation or flexibility to board the next train.

This initiative comes as the war in the Middle East has driven up kerosene prices and raised concerns about supply difficulties for the aviation sector during Europe’s peak tourist season. It could offer railway operators the “opportunity” to “change the narrative” around international train travel and to invest in improving services, believes Victor Thévenet of Transport & Environment.

Rail accounted for only 0.3% of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions in Europe in 2022, compared with nearly 12% for civil aviation. But between 1990 and 2021, the EU railway network shrank by more than 12,000 kilometers, eurodeputies lamented in 2024, vowing to halt this trend.

Kosmo Travel Group Selects SpeedMedia Solution

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© Pixabay - Mohamed Hassan

Dream Yacht


What were your main technological challenges before choosing SpeedMedia?

AD : Kosmo Travel Group is a tour operator specializing in group and incentive travel and today developing in the GIR segment.

Before SpeedMedia, our main challenge was clearly the technological optimization of our model. We had the products but not effective tools, little automation in the distribution of our offers and a difficulty in delivering our GIR offering.


What were the decisive factors that convinced you SpeedMedia was the ideal partner?

AD : For our choice, three key elements made the difference:

The travel-distribution oriented product logic. SpeedMedia isn’t a generic tool; it’s a solution crafted for our métier, with a real understanding of the composition and the peculiarities of travel products. Next, the integration and modularity capability; we needed a foundation that could interface while remaining flexible and scalable, and SpeedMedia offered us this architecture.

And finally the long-term vision, because beyond the tool, we sensed a genuine partnership logic, a clear roadmap, a capacity to co-create, and a tech + business approach, which is quite rare in the market.


How did the SpeedMedia teams’ support ease the transition?

AD : The transition was much smoother than we had anticipated.

The SpeedMedia teams provided a structured project framework, with clear milestones, highly operational support on data migration, and above all the ability to adapt to our business constraints.

We did not feel like we were “subject to a tool,” but rather co-building a solution tailored to our model.

The real plus was their ability to bridge the gap between technical aspects and business usage, which significantly reduced internal friction.


Concretely, what has the platform changed in your day-to-day operations?

AD : The change is fairly evident on several levels:

Centralization of flows, faster time-to-market, and an improved sales experience.


If you had to define your relationship with the support and SpeedMedia teams in three words?

AD : Responsiveness – Expertise – Partnership


How do you view your collaboration with Kosmo Travel Groups?


In what way did you approach this project to meet their GIR-specific needs?

LZ : From our very first exchanges, we perceived an agency with a real identity and a solid GIR offering. The challenge wasn’t merely to give them a website, but to provide them with a reliable system designed to ease their daily operations. Therefore, before talking tools or solutions, we took the time to understand their on-the-ground reality: how a GIR file is built for them, where frictions lie… Indeed, GIR requires strict rigor in stock and flow management: real-time availability, supplier commitments to honor, margins to be steered with precision.

It was therefore essential that they have an environment capable of adapting to these requirements.


Data migration is always a sensitive moment; how did you handle it?

LZ : Data migration is a step often dreaded; we implemented a step-by-step support to guarantee a smooth transition for Kosmo Travel. Our role was to absorb all the technical complexity to deliver a simple interface: we manage the technological gears so they can run their business with peace of mind.


And now, what is your role alongside Kosmo Travel in the future?


© Kosmo Travel Group

LZ : To sustain Kosmo Travel’s momentum, we will continue to evolve our technical solutions in line with their objectives. Concretely, this means staying attentive to their needs even before they are fully articulated, monitoring their metrics, and sharing best practices.

What we aim to build long term is a relationship in which Kosmo Travel knows they can rely on us to understand their business, share their ambitions, and put our technology at the service of their vision.


Contacts


Kosmo Travel Group opte pour la solution de SpeedMedia
Feel free to contact Léa and her teams for any inquiry. We offer demos via screen sharing, conference calls, emails, meetings… we look forward to hearing from you :

• Write to us: [email protected]

• Phone: + 33 (0)1 84 16 52 90

• Or on our site: https://www.speedmedia.fr

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eSIM: Orange Travel and Trip.com Announce Global Partnership

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Orange Travel et Trip.com annonce partenariat mondial, Despositphotos.com, Photo by lma_dp

Dream Yacht


Orange Travel rolls out its eSIM offering with the announcement of a major new partnership. The company will collaborate with Trip.com.

For its launch, this collaboration targets five major European destinations: France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

Priced from €8.99, these tailor-made offers include calls, texts, and data (available in 20 GB, 50 GB, and 100 GB plans) for stays of 7, 10, 15, or 30 days. In a few clicks on the Trip.com platform, users can select their plan, pay in their local currency, and activate their eSIM upon arrival at their destination, ensuring a smooth, seamless user experience.

From May 2026 onward, travelers will be able to manage their connectivity in a few clicks, directly from their usual booking interface.

Frédéric Bléhaut, CEO of Orange Travel, emphasizes the importance of this agreement: “ This partnership with Trip.com illustrates our intention to accelerate our development in Asia and internationally through strategic partnerships. By combining our expertise with a platform that serves millions of travelers, we affirm our position as the leading eSIM partner for global tourism. ”


A Benchmark Connectivity Backed by Orange Group’s Expertise

This partnership enables Trip.com to enrich its catalog of services. Orange Travel offers coverage in more than 200 destinations, thanks to the group’s 700 roaming agreements.

Chase Liu, General Manager of Trip.com Group’s International Attractions and Tours division, is also enthusiastic about this synergy: “We are delighted to partner with Orange Travel, which further strengthens our eSIM solutions in Europe and beyond. With tailor-made offers that are easily accessible, our customers can benefit from improved connectivity and greater comfort when they travel.”

How Trainline Uses AI to Enhance Travel, Distribution, and Productivity

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Réda Kechouri, directeur Machine Learning et Intelligence Artificielle de Trainline - Photo : AB

Dream Yacht


L’intelligence artificielle n’est plus un simple sujet d’expérimentation chez Trainline.

Pour la plateforme de réservation ferroviaire et autocar, elle est devenue un levier destiné à améliorer l’expérience client, optimiser les opérations internes et renforcer sa visibilité dans les nouveaux écosystèmes de recherche conversationnelle.

Lors d’un échange avec la presse, Réda Kechouri, directeur Machine Learning et Intelligence Artificielle de Trainline, a détaillé la manière dont l’entreprise déploie concrètement ces technologies auprès de ses 26 millions d’utilisateurs actifs répartis dans 40 pays.

“We wanted to show very concrete things that help travelers on a daily basis rather than talk about theoretical visions“, explains him.

The AI strategy of Trainline rests on three pillars: user experience, distribution and internal acceleration. The first aims to improve the traveler’s journey, from ticket search to trip tracking.

The second concerns Trainline’s presence in the new conversational environments such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. Finally, the third axis focuses on the productivity gains enabled by generative AI tools and agentic systems.

This approach relies on a substantial volume of data. Trainline reports handling nearly 350 travel searches every second and managing several millions of journeys each month.


Anticipating disruptions before they occur

Parmi les applications déjà déployées figure “Travel Forecast”, un système actuellement disponible au Royaume-Uni.

Grâce à des modèles prédictifs, Trainline est capable d’anticiper jusqu’à deux heures à l’avance l’état du réseau ferroviaire britannique et d’identifier les perturbations susceptibles de se propager sur plusieurs lignes.

Les voyageurs reçoivent alors des notifications personnalisées leur permettant d’adapter leur itinéraire avant que les conséquences des incidents ne se fassent pleinement sentir.

Pour concevoir ce service, Trainline combine des modèles de machine learning traditionnels avec des modèles de langage (LLM) chargés de reformuler les informations de manière claire et pertinente pour chaque utilisateur.

Lancé en décembre dernier, le dispositif a déjà permis de notifier près de trois millions de voyageurs.

Autre chantier majeur : l’automatisation des compensations liées aux retards. Au Royaume-Uni, où les opérateurs ferroviaires sont tenus de rembourser les passagers dans certaines situations, Trainline a développé une fonctionnalité baptisée “Delay Repay”.

L’objectif affiché est de rendre les remboursements aussi automatiques que possible. Si certaines contraintes réglementaires et techniques limitent encore cette automatisation complète, Trainline indique poursuivre ses discussions avec les opérateurs ferroviaires afin de fluidifier davantage le processus.


An AI assistant capable of acting

La principale innovation de l’entreprise reste toutefois son assistant conversationnel, déployé depuis plus d’un an au Royaume-Uni. Contrairement aux chatbots traditional, Trainline a développé un système multi-agent capable non seulement de répondre aux questions des voyageurs, mais aussi d’exécuter certaines actions.

L’assistant peut ainsi renseigner les passagers sur les conditions tarifaires, les perturbations en temps réel ou les équipements disponibles dans les gares. Dans certains cas, il peut également traiter automatiquement des demandes de remboursement.

“Nous ne voulions pas créer un chatbot classique. Nous voulions construire un système capable de faire des actions, pas seulement de répondre à des questions“, explique le directeur IA de Trainline.

Depuis son lancement, l’outil a traité plus d’un demi-million de conversations. Selon l’entreprise, 32 % des demandes de remboursement sont désormais gérées automatiquement et seulement 8 % des conversations nécessitent un transfert vers un conseiller humain.

Trainline observe également l’émergence de nouveaux usages. Les voyageurs sollicitent désormais l’assistant pour obtenir des informations pratiques qu’ils n’auraient jamais demandées auparavant, comme la présence de toilettes dans une gare ou leur emplacement.


Preparing for the era of conversational search

Au-delà de l’assistance client, Trainline travaille activement à son intégration dans les nouveaux moteurs de recherche alimentés par l’intelligence artificielle. La plateforme dispose déjà d‘une intégration au sein de ChatGPT permettant aux utilisateurs de rechercher des trajets avant d’être redirigés vers Trainline pour finaliser leur réservation.

Pour l’entreprise, l’enjeu est d’apparaître dans les réponses générées par les assistants conversationnels tout comme elle le fait depuis des années dans les moteurs de recherche traditionnels.

Même si les recherches issues de l’IA ne représentent encore qu’entre 1 et 2 % du trafic de Trainline, leur progression est rapide.

L’entreprise indique avoir multiplié par treize en un an les ventes générées via ces nouveaux canaux. Le phénomène est particulièrement marqué chez les voyageurs internationaux, notamment les touristes américains préparant des itinéraires ferroviaires en Europe.

Enfin, l’entreprise mise sur les interfaces vocales pour renforcer l’accessibilité de ses services. En partenariat avec la société britannique ElevenLabs, spécialisée dans les technologies vocales, Trainline prépare le lancement au Royaume-Uni de nouvelles fonctionnalités basées sur la voix destinées au service client. Une première étape avant un déploiement plus large sur l’ensemble de ses marchés européens.


A balance between innovation and restraint

Face aux interrogations sur l’empreinte environnementale des modèles d’intelligence artificielle, Trainline assure surveiller de près l’impact carbone de ses usages.

L’entreprise considère toutefois que les bénéfices potentiels de l’IA pour faciliter l’accès au train et encourager le report modal compensent largement les ressources nécessaires à leur fonctionnement.

“Notre mission est de faire en sorte que davantage de personnes prennent le train. Nous pensons que l’intelligence artificielle peut accélérer ce mouvement” conclut Réda Kechouri.


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