tourism

TRAVOLUTION: Semantic search pioneer Fact-Finder is targeting the UK after Thomas Cook German subsidiary Neckermann Urlaubswelt started using the technology.

The German online travel agency went live with the search technology yesterday (Thursday February 16) joining weg.de, which has been using it on its homepage since January 25 after a two month test.

Carsten Kraus, Fact-Finder founder, said he plans to take the technology international beyond its European core in the next few months with the UK and US on his radar.

TNOOZ: Larry Smith of Thematix has previously written several excellent posts in Tnooz about semantic technologies in the travel industry.

In particular, their potential to create truly personalized offers by adding distinct value to travel offers based on customer data.

At OpenTravel, we’re turning the abstract into the concrete by building a semantic ontology for the car rental industry, including thinking through what it takes to actually plan for a semantically enhanced booking experience, what we call semantic offers.

TNOOZ: In early 2011, OpenTravel gave the go ahead to a new project to produce a car rental ontology, building upon components donated by Avis Budget Group.

This was constructed by Thematix, a member of the Open Travel Alliance. The OpenTravel specification can be used to more easily build software that is interoperable with disparate travel systems.

But what does this mean for the wider travel industry? How do XML schema and ontologies connect? Why does it matter? Should you care?

Who will benefit when the schema and ontology are linked?