[Courtesy of Yanolja Cloud]
The tie-up was announced at a business forum while Yanolja Cloud CEO Kim Jong-yoon was accompanying South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol who was on a four-day state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from January 14 to expand a strategic partnership with the Mideastern country.
Yanolja Cloud said in a statement on January 20 that the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with AL Rais Travel, a travel brand based in the UAE, and Wego, the largest online travel platform operator in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
"As we joined the economic delegation as the leading domestic travel platform operator, we will contribute to the national economy by showcasing outstanding South Korean content, including K-tourism, to the global market beyond the Middle East, as well as expanding the travel super app business," Kim was quoted as saying.
Yanolja Cloud was created to offer digital transformation by connecting entire hotel operation systems via the cloud while expanding its client base by leveraging Software-as-a-Service (Saas) technology that enables the efficient installation and operation of hotels. The parent company has expanded its cloud-based hospitality solution business since it secured $1.7 billion from Softbank, a Tokyo-based holding group that runs Vision Fund, the world's largest technology fund, in July 2021.
Yanolja provides a super app service for travel including accommodation, leisure and transportation. It aims to improve automated solutions using artificial intelligence and personalized offerings based on big data. In 2019, the company has seen dramatic growth in its business with its accumulated reservation surpassing 20 million. In August 2020, Yanolja partnered with Bnetworks, an IoT company in Malaysia, to target the Southeast Asian market by expanding its digital-based room management service.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
