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Illusions Online secures deal with major Indonesian DMC
September, 2011

From left: Horst Pezetta (Product Director-Go Vacation Indonesia) & Faisal Memon (Founder & CEO-Illusions Online)

Leading travel technology provider to deliver a complete end-to-end solution for Go Vacation Indonesia's operations in Bali, Java and Lombok

Illusions Online has signed a deal with yet another highly influential Asian Destination Management Company (DMC), Go Vacation Indonesia.

The Dubai-based firm, which provides enterprise solutions for tour operators and DMCs worldwide, will deliver an end-to-end centralised technology solution for the wholesaler - a move that will further cement Illusions Online's growing stronghold in the Asian market.

In August 2011, Illusions Online was recognized as one of the world's fastest growing 50 companies by winning the Fast 50 award – an initiative by The New Europe magazine, which is based on the votes of some of the world's top directors, CEOs and travel industry notables.

The deal with Go Vacation Indonesia comes hot off the heels of the landmark deal Illusions signed earlier this year with Go Vacation Thailand. The agreement made provision for the system to eventually integrate all of the company's Asian operations.

Horst Pezetta, product director at Go Vacation Indonesia, which is part of the third largest tour operator in Germany, The REWE Group, said he felt "confident from the very beginning" of the DMC's relationship with Illusions that the system was right for the company.

"As soon as we got to know Illusions CEO Faisal Memon we were quite fascinated by the fact that someone with an understanding of IT could also understand how the travel industry works," he explained.

"As we received more information about Illusions, we became even more confident the system could help us achieve our key goals of expanding our business and providing better services to our existing customers and tour operator partners, as well as reducing labour costs and becoming more efficient."

Pezetta said he was sceptical of many IT companies and the promises they made but like his colleague, Christoph Mueller, managing director of Go Vacation Thailand, he was willing to make the "substantial investment" in the Illusions product because it was the most suitable, effective and reliable technology solution on the market.

In addition, Pezetta and Mueller had witnessed how their sister company, US DMC New World Travel, had successfully implemented the Illusions systems and reaped the benefits of doing so; it therefore "made sense" for them to follow suit.

Go Vacation Indonesia provides the full range of passenger handling services and inbound package tour arrangements for international tour operators and their large networks of retail agents. It has three offices – in Bali, Java and Lombok - employs 140 staff and serves more than 50,000 travellers annually.

Illusions is currently implementing the DMC's system that will automate and integrate every aspect of its business including product management, hotel/services contracting, packages and back-to-back series, client profiles and tariff rules, a booking engine, client and supplier documentation, accounts receivables and accounts payables, CRM, logistics and planning modules, as well as Internet booking engines for clients to purchase the entire product range online.

Also included is the XML capability to allow Go Vacation's client systems to connect to the Illusions system for product pricing, availability and making bookings.

All these functions are integrated into one centralised online system, not only for Go Vacation Indonesia, but for Go Vacation Thailand too.

"As a result, we will not only be able to serve our tour operators more quickly, but they will be able to serve their travel agents faster too," said Pezetta. "And it no longer matters that we are working across so many time zones because all rates and availability are in real time.

"It's much more efficient and it benefits our tour operator partners as much as it benefits us. When you provide such a good service, it makes it very difficult for your clients to go elsewhere."

Pezetta said the Illusions system would help grow the DMC's business by at least 10% in the first year after implementation and between 15-20% in the second year.

Illusions Online CEO Faisal Memon said the Go Vacation account was real "coup" for the travel technology firm and that with the system for the DMC's Thailand operations now successfully up and running, it paved the way for a fast roll out in Indonesia.

He stressed that one of the key reasons Go Vacation had partnered with his firm was that unlike other solutions on the market, the Illusions product would go live in a relatively short timeframe, before the beginning of the firm's peak winter season.

"There is a lot of technology on the market but for companies who want to build their own systems, the implementation of these solutions takes forever – you are looking at one or two years to try to make it work," Memon explained.

"In today's world, that timeframe is far too long. Tour operators need a system implemented quickly and at Illusions that's our USP.

"Having worked with tour operators and DMCs for more than a decade, we have developed a core product that is pretty much 'out of the box' and meets the needs of most.

"Of course, we customise this according to individual requirements, but we got Go Vacation Thailand's system up and running in less than three months, which was a huge task. We are looking at a similar timeframe for Indonesia."

Memon said the customisation of Go Vacation's system included a seamless interface with Microsoft Navision to have real-time data transfer of all accounting transactions between Illusions and MS Navision, as well as the facility to automatically upload bookings from some of Go Vacation's top clients.

Another perk for Go Vacation, he said, was that it would benefit from Illusions Online's new World Travel eXchange (iWTX) system.

This allows all Illusions customers, which now includes travel agents, to access and sell one another's content.

"We have set up a distribution agreement with Illusions clients so they can share product rates, inventory and content and we are the conduit," explained Memon.

"So our clients all over the world will be able to access and sell Go Vacation's products and pricing in real time."

Pezetta said the iWTX system was an "added bonus" for Go Vacation Indonesia.

"It is a brand new distribution channel for us and we are eager to see how much extra business this will generate," he said.

"The Ilusions system will also prove essential if our plans to expand the business with airlines goes ahead; we are hoping to sign a deal with a major airline soon that will see us facilitate hotel bookings and other ground arrangements for their passengers," Pezetta added.

Source:
www.ameinfo.com
www.traveldailyme.com

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