KTDC goes for global online reservations

R Sreekumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has tied-up
with Resnet, the networking arm of ICICI Venture for providing online-web based
hotel reservation facility. The arrangement enables all KTDC hotels to get
exposed to more than 5,000,00 travel agencies spread over 120 countries across
the globe, 4000 travel agents located across 46 Indian cities will be linked
directly to KTDC through the system, according to KTDC managing director, Dr K
Elangovan.

The online reservation facility was launched March 11, 2002 by Prof. K V
Thomas, Kerala Tourism Minister. He said that with the online reservation
facility, which can be emulated by others in the hospitality industry, KTDC is
poised to attain greater heights in an era when the relevance of Internet and
ecommerce is fast gaining momentum. Considering the widespread use of internet
across the globe, on-line hotel booking facilities will attract more tourists
into the KTDC fold from all over the world. Besides this, KTDC has also placed
all its prime properties in the Global Distribution System (GDS), providing easy
access to international travel agents to KTDC hotels.

The online line facility can be availed at www. Ktdc.com, which has two
options in the opening page itself-book online and booking status. The site
gives the list of properties, accommodation availability, room tariff and also
takes special instructions such as `vegetarian food' or `airport pickup' etc.
Payment can be made either through DD, Cheque or Credit Card. "Rooms have
no shelf life, the only option left is to ensure global distribution in a cost
effective manner," said RESNET director, B Chatterjee. A quick response is
what visitors to the online-sites want, and a web based reservation system
ensures this in a cost-effective manner, he said.