Flight Centre Travel Group (No. 6 on Travel Weekly's 2018
Power List) has acquired itinerary-management platform Umapped for an
undisclosed price.
Umapped, based in Toronto and founded in 2012, will operate
as an independent business unit run by its co-founders, Lisa Israelovitch and
Thierry Wong. They will report to Flight Centre chief digital officer Atle
Skalleberg.
Umapped and Flight Centre "share a common ethos to
leverage technology to empower travel advisors and suppliers by enriching the
customer journey at every touchpoint," Israelovitch wrote in a message to
customers.
"Umapped will continue to support its customers and products and is
committed to maintaining the highest standards of data security and privacy."
Flight Centre said its brands and infrastructure will help
Umapped "accelerate the adoption of its technology globally." Going
forward, expanding its offerings will be a priority.
In a statement provided to the Australian Securities
Exchange, Flight Centre said Umapped is already being used by its U.S.
wholesale business, Gogo Vacations. It will be rolled out to other businesses
globally.
"We have been impressed with the platform and believe
it can have a positive impact on our consultants' productivity and on our
customers' travel experiences," Flight Centre CEO Graham "Skroo"
Turner said in a statement. "We continue to invest in technology and teams
that can surface our expertise, but also make millions of engagements with our
customers easier and more personal. We hope to deploy Umapped software in
several countries within a year."