One of the most asked questions we get is… “exactly what is a Tourism Exchange?” So, I am going to focus this article on answering that and explaining how our Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA) works.
TXA is a digital tourism marketplace technology that facilitates the management of descriptive content (images, descriptions), real time inventory (rooms, tickets rates), distribution (sales channels), and the booking and payment for all types of tourism-related products and services.
TXA connects tourism suppliers of all categories and sizes (like hotels, B&Bs, holiday houses, tour operators, attractions, activities, and even produce and transportation) with any or all distribution channels (like traditional Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), niche alternative channels, and micro websites) to transact directly with travellers.
To achieve this, TXA’s ecommerce capability enables all tourism suppliers to securely receive and process online payments for their inventory.
The single objective is to help organise tourism product’s inventory into an online suitable and accessible form and streamline the process of booking and paying. This makes it easier for suppliers to reach broader audience and for consumers to access a more diverse range of travel options.
To create a tourism exchange marketplace requires a centralised national technology platform that suppliers can easily electronically access to present their products and services for online sale. This includes images, detailed descriptions, ‘live’ pricing, and availability, with inbuilt easy to use marketing tools.
This ‘marketplace’ connects with a wide array of distribution (sales) channels, including OTAs, metasearch (like Google), destination management organisations and systems, and travel agents. This ensures that suppliers’ offerings are widely available to potential customers wherever they may be looking.
So that consumers can instantly book a product and pay for it when they find it, Suppliers inventory and pricing is ‘live’ that is, updated in real-time. These updates are managed by the exchange platform automatically and reflected across all connected channels, reducing the risk of overbooking, and ensuring accurate current information is always available to consumers.
TXA’s technology platform includes an integrated booking and secure instant payment processing system. This facilitates safe and smooth online transactions and provides a seamless booking experience for consumers.
To help suppliers market effectively and efficiently online, inherent in the marketplace technology are various marketing tools suppliers can use to promote their products. Tools like the capability to create and offer deals, value-adds, product configurations, discounts, and campaigns.
The TXA platform also provides access to data and analytics, helping suppliers understand booking trends, customer preferences, and performance metrics used to refine marketing strategies and tactics and improve service offerings.
Using an exchange platform like TXA is primarily about increasing online visibility and maximising audience reach and operational efficiency. Efficiently managing and getting your business, and bookable products, in front of a broader and more diverse range of potential customers.
Travelling customers also benefit, being presented accurate and up-to-date information, making it easier to plan, book and pay through a seamless booking and secure payment process.
Suppliers benefit through the reduced time, effort and resources spent on managing multiple distribution relationships and accessing many otherwise invisible ‘alternative’ niche and lower cost channels. Coupled with the valuable insights into customer behaviour and market trends that inform decision-making.
How Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA) works
Tourism suppliers first need to sign-up to create an account. The business, and its products, then feed into TXA directly from the booking system they use. This includes detailed descriptions, photos, pricing, and availability information. TXA is integrated to numerous popular accommodation, tour, and activity systems.
TXA is a complex marketplace integrated with a multitude of OTA, metasearch, and niche ‘alternative’ direct payment booking channels. To use any TXA connected direct payment channel is a 2-minute process of reviewing and accepting the channel’s terms and conditions and clicking the ‘Opt-in’ button. The supplier and their products are then able to be presented on the channel for live instant direct ‘book and pay’.
Through real-time synchronisation, any updates either made at the supplier end (e.g., changes in availability, pricing) or at the channel end (e.g. a booking) are automatically synchronised through the exchange and reflected in the source booking system and across all chosen connected channels. This ensures that consumers always have access to the latest information.
When a traveller makes a booking through any TXA connected channel, the booking is processed through the exchange platform with both the supplier and customer notified of the booking details, with the booking and customer details delivered back into the suppliers booking system. Both payment and settlement are processed according to the terms and conditions of the channel. For TXA direct payment channels, instant payment direct to the supplier’s bank account, and settlement of any commission is processed automatically and seamlessly.
As a comprehensive digital marketplace TXA provides suppliers with access to booking data and analytics, offering insights into booking patterns, customer demographics, and performance metrics. This information can be used by the supplier to define and enhance their marketing strategies and improve efficiency and profitability.
By its very nature, modern tourism is a dynamic marketplace, and an exchange technology platform is a key marketing tool for the industry, providing a democratised way for all tourism suppliers to efficiently reach a wide audience. That is why Tourism Exchange Australia can contribute to significant business growth and success in the competitive tourism market.
