The Asian Data Challenge Can Be Reconciled Easily

<B> The Asian Data Challenge Can Be Reconciled Easily</B>

Asian travel agency reporting is perceived as "behind" the West. Yes, there are issues, but they are resolvable. Unless Asian agencies enhance their reporting capability, they will lose corporate accounts to global mega-travel agencies. This need not be so. Western business practices are so different that Asian travel agencies should be a logical solution. Westerners do not understand the complexities of an "Asian" travel transaction. Imagine each of the 50 U.S. states having different travel tax regulations, accounting practices and reporting requirements. Imagine different products, such as corporate group travel and consolidators. Finally the mid-office mixes booked and prepaid items. This is Asia.

As a result, most Asian countries use a different back-office system for reporting. An agency often uses its own proprietary product. The GDS in Asia recommends third-party suppliers and usually doesn't deploy its North American products.

The handoff from the Asian GDS includes the same data elements used in North America. However, the proprietary Asian systems have not included various elements in their data import. As a result, corporations have complained about the quality of their Asian data. Airline alliance deals require segment verification from Asian corporations. Sharing this information is a business requirement. Asian agencies can provide segment information by modifying their GDS import to include Western data elements.

Travel taxes and accounting practices vary by each Asian country. Accounting may be unregulated, and a travel transaction may have multiple taxes with percentage variables required for calculation on each transaction. Consequently, one accounting and information system can not be used throughout Asia. Corporate group travel is immense. A Western business traveler often travels alone in Asia, tracking payments through an expense report. It is common for the Japanese to use interpreters, pre-pay ground transportation, creating a "corporate group travel package." These prepayment issues again create the need for a proprietary system.

Consolidators are used for business travel. The impact is that the ticketed fare is different from the paid fare. A third "input fare" may further complicate reporting. Consolidators are third parties, with their own or airline ticket stock and usually are not booked via GDS.

The mid-office in North America is a quality control system. Not in Asia. The Asian mid-office is where data is input from non-GDS transactions. Also, the mid-office acts as a link to the front-office system for booking non-GDS products. The "Asian mid-office" mixes booked and pre-paid. By contrast, a North American travel agency would generally make a "pseudo" booking in the GDS, for handoff to the accounting system for information.

Asian agencies can provide competent information with modification. They provide ticketed and validated information, with limited value. Arrival/departure date and time, benchmark fare, currency and refund/exchange reconciliation often are missing from Asian data. They're available in the GDS within Asia, but not used in the handoff to the back-office system.

We can learn from our Asian friends the differences between Western and Asian practices. But globalization of airline deals and consolidation of information will require enhancements to Asian back-office systems.

<I>Les Baker is vice president of Prism Group Inc., a technology and consulting company in Albuquerque, N.M.