IBS' Solution To Power China’s First Cruise Line

HNA to use Cruise Partner solution to manage cruise bookings

Trivandrum (I-Newswire) February 12, 2013 - Henna, the largest cruise ship in mainland China will run on IBS’ inventory and pricing management solution, Cruise Partner, when it makes its maiden journey on January 26, 2013. China based HNA Tourism Cruise and Yacht Management Company unveiled this cruise ship on November 28, 2012. Henna has 739 rooms for 1,965 passengers, as well as a complete range of facilities for living and entertainment. HNA Tourism Cruise and Yacht Management Co., Ltd. in Beijing, is the first Chinese cruise ship and yacht management company and is a part of the HNA Group.

Cruise Partner is an end-to-end customer centric cruise reservation platform, which enables cruise inventory & pricing management, ancillary product contracting & pricing, cruise & ancillary product bookings and channel management. The product also addresses operational accounting and integrates with leading CRM & onboard solutions. Cruise Partner is used by several leading cruise lines worldwide and customers are increasingly preferring its Software as a Service (SaaS) offering. The system went live with Henna in a record period of less than 2 months. The system will enable HNA to distribute cruise inventory & promotions to various travel agents in China and facilitate real time management of bookings.

Mr. Zhang Hao, President of HNA Tourism Cruise and Yacht Management, said: “The Cruise Industry has great potential in China. We are the first domestic cruise company in China. IBS’ Cruise Partner system will help us significantly in our distribution capabilities and increase our competitiveness in the market. We look forward to working with IBS in making this initiative a success.”

V K Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group said: “We are indeed proud to be associated with HNA Group. We believe that the Cruise Partner solution will enable HNA Group to make quicker inroads in the cruise market in China. Our solution portfolio complement HNA’s business portfolio and we hope that this deal will provide the necessary impetus in growing our business in China.”

Asish Koshy, Head of Travel & Cruise Line of Business for IBS said “The cruise industry is becoming increasingly consumer driven and consumer centric sales and distribution systems are the need of the hour for cruise companies to deliver a personalized experience to its passengers. Cruise Partner will significantly enable HNA to differentiate its offerings based on consumer profile and need.”

About HNA Tourism Cruise & Yacht Management Co, Ltd

HNA Tourism Cruise and Yacht Management Co., Ltd. in Beijing, is a part of the HNA Group. As a large multi-industry enterprise group, HNA Group's business scope covers Air Transportation, Airport Management, Hotel, Logistics, Real estate, Retail, Tourism and other related industries. HNA Group has been nominated as the Fortune 500 Enterprise of China for 6 consecutive years.

The Air Transportation business of HNA Group business of HNA Group operates 6 Airline companies including the Hainan Airlines Company Ltd., operates over 144 aircrafts and 3,000 flights per week. HNA was awarded the prize of "Golden Eagle Cup" and "Golden Award of Passengers Satisfaction Service" by CAAC, Which represent the top level of safe operation and excellent service. HNA also won the award in the activity of "Passengers Commenting Airlines" for 9 consecutive years, and won the first prize of "National flights punctuality" for 8 times.

The HNA Airport Group is the Airport business section of HNA Group. With 12 member airports and total assets worth about 13 billion RMB (2.1 billion US dollars), HNA Group has been nominated as the Fortune 500 Enterprise of China for 6 consecutive years. HNA employs over 4300 personnel.