Hanatour announced on the 6th that it had officially launched "Festrip" in The Philippines to expand its global competitiveness. Festrip is a joint venture established with Philippine mid-sized travel company Aboex Travel & Tour, and it provides travel platform services.
According to Hanatour, the launch ceremony held on the 3rd in Manila, The Philippines, was attended by about 50 people, including Hanatour CEO Song Mi-seon and Aboex CEO Karen S. Santos, as well as representatives from local airlines, tourism authorities and major partners. Festrip is a travel platform that combines Hanatour's corporate travel operations know-how and IT capabilities with Aboex's local sales competitiveness and network, and it aims to drive the digital transformation of The Philippines' corporate travel market.
Based on its accumulated experience in travel platform development and technology, Hanatour plans to build a reservation system that links flights and hotels in real time, while introducing a new business model to The Philippines' travel industry.
Festrip's business will focus on the business-to-business, or B2B, market. It will expand strategic partnerships with a range of companies, including local firms, banks and credit card issuers. Through the launch of Festrip, the two companies also plan to jointly develop a variety of tourism products connecting Korea and The Philippines.
A Hanatour official said, "Through the joint venture that combines the strengths of both companies, we will strengthen our position in The Philippines' outbound travel market and grow into a global travel platform." The official added, "We also plan to gradually expand into business-to-consumer, or B2C, services for general consumers and develop into a comprehensive travel platform that represents The Philippines."
Kim Se-hyung fax123@sportschosun.com
