E-Tickets for Cape Verde Islands

Cabo Verde Airlines (Transportes Aereos de Cabo Verde, TACV), the Republic of Cape Verde's flag carrier is making a $10 million investment over ten years as it selects SITA’s Horizon portfolio to introduce e-ticketing and e-commerce services.

This measure falls perfectly in line with positive signs of development in tourism on the islands while there are strong indications of an emerging tourism boom to come very shortly.  A recent survey carried out in the United Kingdom shows that Cape Verde stands at the top of the list of new tourist destinations chosen by the British to spend their holidays.  This trend seems set to continue according to local and international tourist agencies.

The SITA Horizon solution set for Cabo Verde will involve the phased introduction of e-ticketing, online booking, ancillary online sales and other innovations, such as a highly automated Revenue Integrity System and a Frequent Flyer Program, in a drive to boost revenues by 15% while saving considerably on sales and distribution costs. The first phase of Horizon’s implementation of e-ticketing has been made top priority for TACV this year.

TACV has experienced considerable growth over the last few years as Cape Verde has become an increasingly popular holiday destination.  In 2005 alone 591,800 passengers were transported across domestic and international routes.  Automation of passenger services will inevitably cut costs and make bookings more straightforward, bringing positive effects on Cape Verde’s tourist industry and investment potential as a whole.  “We expect to reach the one million passenger mark by the end of 2009”, says Antonio Borges, Corporate Planning and IT Director, TACV.

Cabo Verde Airlines is the latest carrier to adopt the Horizon solution. Others include Royal Jordanian in the Middle East, Carpatair in Eastern Europe, Sky Airline in Latin America and Hong Kong in Asia.