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Itinerary Wizard a world first
The National Business Review, August 18, 2006.
By Kate McLaughlin
Breakthrough online travel booking software invented by a New Zealand technology veteran is set for commercial launch.
For the past year Auckland businessman Graeme Frost and a team of developers have been developing Cadabra: online software that enables tour operators selling complex travel to launch a complete online offering direct to consumers.
The traditional travel booking market is changing as tourists take advantage of the ease and cost savings of organising travel online, and in turn tour operators and airlines are moving to capture the growing market.
But currently there is no such technology for operators selling a large variety of travel. Cadabra aims to give inbound tour operators a highly specialised online tool so they too can make an internet play.
Cadabra grew from a conversation Mr Frost had with an American couple staying at Huka Lodge near Taupo. The couple had effectively become their own travel agents, researching and booking different legs of the trip over the internet from the US - which was a logistical nightmare.
Cadabra is aimed at that small but valuable 10% slice of tourists whose holidays are more than just air travel, transfers and hotel bookings.
For example, specialised itineraries might include a mix of air, sea and car travel, with golf, food and wine, and high adventure activities.
"At the moment, if travellers want to plan a trip like that and they want to do it online, they have to use dozens of different websites - assuming each provider is online," Mr Frost said.
"Otherwise they could get an expert travel agent involved, but the costs involved are huge."
Those costs currently include a big margin as the travel package makes its way from inbound travel operators to overseas wholesale travel agents to overseas retail travel agents and finally, to the consumer.
Cadabra effectively eliminates the middle two parts of the transaction, allowing inbound tour operators to sell directly to tourists.
New Zealand has more than 40 inbound travel operators - the Inbound Travel Operators' council has 46 full members - which make up Cadabra's target market here.
Beyond New Zealand, the market is huge. In September Mr Frost is to unveil the product at a travel conference in the US.
Mr Frost said his company is a technology developer rather than itself being an online travel operator. He wants to sell the software to inbound tour operators, which in turn can design their websites with whatever branding, functionality and content they choose.
Abra Cadabra
Cadabra is web-based software that allows travellers to build personalised and complex travel itineraries.
It offers extensive functionality so tourists can research, plan and book tours online.
The software will be licensed to inbound tour operators, which can differentiate their websites with design, features and specialist advice.
It allows inbound tour operators to sell directly to travellers - currently they sell travel to overseas wholesale travel agents, which sell it to retail travel agents, which sell to consumers.
Tourists can select any number of different criteria for their trip, such as the length of stay, grade of hotels and places they want to visit.
Once a recommended itinerary is built, Cadabra allows the traveller to modify any part of it. It allows travellers to save and share their itineraries, and offers forums to discuss destinations and offerings.
Cadabra was founded by Graeme Frost, who has more than 20 years' experience in the technology sector and 10 years in the travel industry.
In 1997 Mr Frost floated Keystone Solutions, a specialist enterprise software company he founded in 1991, on the London Stock Exchange. In 2002, Keystone was acquired by Australian software company Solution 6.
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