Direct Travel this year is rolling out its Spotnana-based Avenir Travel Edition globally, which it said will enable multinational clients to manage travel on a consistent platform in all their markets.
The travel management company last May launched Avenir's travel offering, which combines Spotnana's technology and infrastructure with Direct Travel's service offerings, in the US. Shortly thereafter, it expanded the platform into Europe and the UK with servicing from Direct ATPI, its joint company with UK-based TMC ATPI.
Last September, Direct Travel acquired ATPI, with the potential to offer Avenir on a global scale as part of the reasoning given for the acquisition.
Direct Travel this year plans to extend the availability of Avenir Travel Edition across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East and Africa. The platform is already fully deployed in Canada and the US, with Mexico and Brazil next in line, followed by additional Latin America markets "as we scale our regional footprint," according to Direct Travel chief product officer Sarah Kuberry Martino.
In Europe, currently supported markets include the UK, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Direct Travel is adding more countries "to complete comprehensive coverage," she said.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Avenir is live in Australia, and Direct Travel plans expansion into New Zealand, Singapore, India and "a broad range of countries across East and Southeast Asia as we build out our full regional presence," Martino said.
The United Arab Emirates also is among the next markets that will come online with Avenir, followed by its initial expansion into Africa, she said.
With global availability, the TMC will offer "one global platform, one global service model and one source of truth," Direct Travel CEO Christal Bemont said in a statement.
With a single global platform, Direct Travel said companies will be able to centralise control and support local requirements worldwide and will be able to access data and reporting from across the entire company. With servicing, advisors are working on a unified workspace, meaning they can assist any traveller without handoffs or service gaps.