AirAsia, Agoda team up to revive travel activity

AIRASIA GROUP BERHAD on Monday announced its partnership with digital travel platform Agoda in a bid to revive travel activity in the region.

In a statement, AirAsia said the partnership hopes to provide convenience to travelers as it enables the sharing of flight and hotel inventories.

“Travelers will gain access to a more extensive multi-product selection,” the airline group said.

“Initiatives from the collaboration include travel bundles, membership privileges as well as joint product marketing,” it added.

AirAsia customers can choose from over 600,000 Agoda properties.

Agoda started as an e-commerce startup in Singapore in 2005, and it now offers over 2.5 million properties in more than 200 countries and territories, AirAsia said.

AirAsia Group Berhad Chief Executive Officer Anthony Francis “Tony” Fernandes reiterated the partnership is part of the group’s strategy to “revitalize travel as we anticipate the reopening of borders in Southeast Asia in the near future.”

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to providing greater convenience, choice and value to our customers, which has become ever more important in this post-pandemic environment. We are taking the opportunity during this downtime to work innovatively with strategic partners like Agoda, so we can better serve our guests’ travel and lifestyle needs,” he added.

He said more strategic ventures are being developed and will be announced “when the time is right.”

Agoda Chief Executive Officer John Brown believes the public’s appetite for travel remains “strong.”

“We believe that our collaboration with AirAsia will help take the hassle out of travel by helping travelers to easily find great value deals as they venture out again,” he said.

Mr. Brown said the initiative between the Southeast Asian travel brands has a wider impact on the confidence of accommodation partners, hospitality providers and related aviation industry players.

“It’s imperative we work innovatively with our partners to find solutions and do our part to stimulate demand and help the wider travel and tourism industry,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin