What's Happening?
The OpenTravel Alliance has joined the Overture Maps Foundation to address the challenge of standardizing location data within the travel industry. This collaboration aims to create open, interoperable mapping frameworks using Overture's Global Entity Reference System (GERS), which provides unique identifiers for locations like hotels and airports. The integration of OpenTravel's object models with Overture's open data seeks to streamline data entry, reduce integration times, and enhance location-aware services across travel platforms.
Why It's Important?
The partnership between OpenTravel Alliance and Overture Maps Foundation is crucial for the travel industry, which relies heavily on accurate location data. By standardizing this data, the collaboration aims to improve coordination across travel discovery, booking, and in-trip experiences. This initiative supports the development of smarter, safer, and more connected global travel experiences, benefiting both travelers and AI applications. The unified data infrastructure could lead to innovations in automated travel services, enhancing the industry's efficiency and customer satisfaction.
What's Next?
In the coming months, OpenTravel Alliance and Overture Maps Foundation plan to align existing location schemas with GERS IDs to facilitate seamless adoption. This alignment will ensure that the travel industry's most authoritative data remains current and accessible. The OpenTravel Alliance invites travel providers and platforms to join this effort, aiming to build an open, shared map of the world's travel infrastructure.
