Tour operator specialist buys majority stake in Asia-based startup

Leading travel technology provider Open Destinations has acquired a majority stake in Tineri, a mobile itinerary startup designed for the tour operator market. This new app joins the suite of applications from Open Destinations designed for tour operators, wholesalers and DMCs.

Tineri is a white label product for tour operators to engage with their customers, both during the holiday and after they have returned home.  The company was founded in Bangkok in 2016 and has gained great momentum in a short period of time. Its founder is Tim Russell, whose career spans many travel and technology companies in Asia and Europe.  The company recently won a place at the 2017 Travel Technology Europe Launchpad and received a Frost & Sullivan Thailand Excellence Award in a new category designed for startups.

Open Destinations CEO Kevin O’Sullivan says that the acquisition is a result of the demand they have witnessed among their worldwide customer base, as well as their vision of where the industry is heading. ‘Tour operators want to engage more fully with their customers. Tineri allows them to offer a fantastic looking mobile application that keeps their customers informed and provide high levels of service throughout the trip. Tour operators who invest in an app like Tineri can reinforce their brand and build customer loyalty.’

Tineri is now available to download through the Apple Store or Google Play and promises to turn static tour operator itineraries into living and breathing travel experiences. Travellers will have full access to in-depth itineraries which are integrated with Google Maps, allowing them to follow their trip in a map view with pop up destination information along the way.

Using the ‘in-app’ rating and feedback service, Tineri also provides tour operators the opportunity to collect real-time ratings of customer experiences during their trip.  ‘Tour operators currently spend thousands of dollars a year collecting and processing customer feedback at the end of the trip, often when it is too late to react,’ says O’Sullivan. ‘Most tour operators will see Tineri pay for itself with just this feature alone.’

Tineri founder Tim Russell thinks that the mobile world opens many new doors for tour operators. ‘Tineri gives tour operators the chance to really showcase their expertise and connect with their clients when they are in the destination,’ says Russell. ‘We are planning to open up even more opportunities for them to upsell during tours. We believe that Tineri can really help drive additional revenue.’

Tour operators can connect to the app through a web based content management system (CMS) or, with the Enterprise version, by pushing itineraries directly from their reservations system. Open Destinations is currently developing direct integrations to a number of leading tour operator reservations systems, including their Travel Studio system, through a dedicated API.The Tineri app will be available to view at upcoming travel events in 2017, including London Tech Week (15 June) ETOA Showcase Digital (13 June), ITB Asia and World Travel Market.

About Open Destinations

Open Destinations is a leading independent software and services provider to the travel sector.  Since its inception in 1999, Open Destinations has successfully implemented their software in over 30 countries, with a system that supports in excess of 85m searches per day.  The company has a combined staff of over 450 people between the headquarters in London, UK and the development, support and outsourcing centre in Goa, India.

The company was recognised as one of eight technology companies in the 2015 Sunday Times BT Business SME Export Track 100, which ranks the top 100 small and medium-sized companies (SME) in the UK with the fastest-growing overseas sales.  Clients include Abercrombie & Kent, Abreu, Belmond, Diethelm Travel Group, ETStur, Explore Worldwide, Great Southern Rail, Miki Travel, Road Scholar, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, Talisman Travel Design, The Travel Corporation, Topdeck Travel and TUI Sports. www.opendestinations.com

About Tineri

Founded in July 2016, Tineri is headquartered in Bangkok and incorporated in Singapore. The company offers an interactive tour operator itinerary solution designed to harness the power of mobile devices and the web to create enhanced travel experiences, improve client communications, and increase customer satisfaction.