Sometimes an idea is so simple and so powerful that you wonder why it wasn’t thought of long ago. This is the way I feel about an initiative called MASSIVEGOOD, which represents a new, sustainable source of funding for critical global health programs.

Today, Travelport participated in the official U.S. launch of  MASSIVEGOOD at the United Nations in New York, where former President Bill Clinton initiated the donation process with the ‘first click.’ Joining President Clinton were UN officials including Secretary General Ban Ki- Moon and leaders from the travel and tourism industry.

The idea behind MASSIVEGOOD is simple because it offers travelers the opportunity to make a small, voluntary contribution of 2 dollars/euros/pounds each time they book a trip in order to support programs that improve child and maternal health in the developing world. Read more »

Jeff Clarke

Jeff Clarke is Chief Executive Officer and President of Travelport and serves as a Director on the Travelport Board of Directors, appointed in May 2006. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orbitz Worldwide.

Read more entries by Jeff Clarke |   RSS Feed for Jeff Clarke

With the New Year approaching and many people thinking about their travel plans for 2010, Travelport.com asked the company’s three top business executives to write about their favorite destinations.

Jeff Clarke, President and CEO, Travelport

Few cities in the world can match Paris for its combination of history, art, culture, business, politics, entertainment, food, wine and all-around joie de vivre.  You can lose yourself for a day in the Louvre or a sidewalk cafe - or literally get lost (pleasantly) in the winding streets of an ancient city.

I had the great experience of living in Paris for two years from 1996-98, which gave me an appreciation of the city and its people that only time and familiarity can really provide.  It’s fascinating to revisit the places I lived, walk the same streets again, and get re-acquainted with the city squares, museums, bookstores and restaurants I knew so well - to see what has changed and what has stayed the same, and how my own perspective has changed after more than a decade away. Read more »

In my last two blogs, I’ve written about the continued relevance of the GDS and the need for our industry to invest in new ways to meet the needs of our customers for richer content and greater choice. But it will take more than individual company investments to change the way we’ve been operating for so many years. Real change will come when all the players in the travel industry engage around a shared view of a new model for global distribution, rather than pursuing sometimes conflicting proprietary goals.

We need a new model because we are entering a new era - one that will be characterized by widespread adoption of innovative, technology-enabled services that will facilitate new ways of aggregating, displaying and transacting travel content. The model I envision is one that unites our travel industry in a way that puts our mutual customer - the traveller - at the centre of everything we do. It will:

• Accommodate a vast array of supplier travel options
• Provide agencies with relevant, tailored opportunities at the point of sale
• Deliver solutions that work across multiple channels - the agency as well as the corporate client desktop - and source content from multiple channels
• Enable individuals and corporations to buy travel the way they want to
• And focus on delivering choice and value to informed travellers.

Read more »

Gordon Wilson

Gordon Wilson is Deputy CEO of Travelport and President and CEO of Travelport GDS, responsible for its global activities across 160 countries. Travelport GDS is a provider of next-generation IT solutions for airlines worldwide, as well as innovative data intelligence solutions for airlines and other companies that rely on travel industry intelligence for growth and success.

Read more entries by Gordon Wilson |   RSS Feed for Gordon Wilson

We’ve learned during the last few years - starting roughly with the SARS outbreak in Asia in 2003 - that fear caused by an epidemic or pandemic can create havoc in the travel and tourism industry. It’s understandable, of course. Travelers don’t want to take unnecessary risks with their health, and governments want to protect their citizens.

But we also learned with the H1N1 outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. last spring that disease is not the only risk. Poor information-sharing by governments can exacerbate the situation by leading them to make poorly informed decisions on travel advisories and bans.

Rumor and speculation, rather than facts, guided far too many global governmental decisions regarding how people should travel and how goods should be transported between countries. This inconsistent messaging and miscommunication caused many companies and individuals to cancel travel plans - adding to the already immense challenges of a global economic downturn. This can have a cascading effect on the travel and tourism industry, which generates approximately $5.5 trillion in economic activity annually, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Read more »

Jeff Clarke

Jeff Clarke is Chief Executive Officer and President of Travelport and serves as a Director on the Travelport Board of Directors, appointed in May 2006. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orbitz Worldwide.

Read more entries by Jeff Clarke |   RSS Feed for Jeff Clarke