TravelSky Technology, the mainland's dominant airline reservation firm, is in talks with its largest overseas counterparts about starting a joint venture that would upgrade China's air ticketing system in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, people familiar with the situation said.
Among those taking part in the discussions are Spain's Amadeus, the largest travel reservation company in the world, Singapore-based Abacus Travel Systems and US rivals Travelport, Worldspan and Sabre Holdings. Sabre, which has the largest market share in the US, owns 35 per cent of Abacus, which is controlled by Singapore Airlines.
It has not yet been decided how to divide up the joint venture or how much money the foreign parties would contribute, market sources said.
Beijing-based TravelSky was in talks with foreign companies about making a number of technological enhancements before the Olympics but no formal agreement had been signed, said Ding Weiping, the company's executive director and secretary.
The Olympics are seen attracting about two million more tourists than usual to Beijing in 2008, according to a report published by China's National Bureau of Statistics earlier this year. They are expected to spend a total of US$963 million.
Overseas reservation companies 'have got the technological know-how and can add value to [TravelSky's] services,' said a transport analyst.
