Partners join SkyLink for annual golf tournament

Representatives from airlines, insurance companies, hotels and other travel businesses joined SkyLink on Aug. 12 for its annual charity golf tournament.

"We're always so busy in our day-to-day life and this is like taking a pause and bringing our suppliers and a few clients together – doing something different, spending a day together, and more importantly, in all this fun, raising money for SickKids," Yuvraj Datta, president, told PAX before the event kicked off.

SickKids has been the charity of choice since the company's first golf event, hosted by founder Surjit Babra, 18 years ago.

The day started with lunch and a putting contest before the 40 participants made their way to the greens of Lionhead Golf Club.

Taking a moment to speak about the business, Datta said that SkyLink continues to evolve its technology as a key strategy in adapting to the changing travel marketplace.

"It's bringing us edge, it's bringing us survivability, and it's bringing us better resources so we can help our travel agencies," he explained.

According to Datta, business has been good, despite challenges in the market.

"Capacity is good but there are a lot of changes," he explained. "Per ticket earnings are reduced so we're working harder to achieve the same bottom line. That's part of life – if you go back to the last 10, 15 years, it has changed dramatically on a three- to five-year cycle, so we're looking at new ways of working and bringing in efficiencies."

For example, the company has grown to service the industry beyond acting as a consolidator, but now also as a fulfillment partner. In addition, the TripPro tool, introduced in 2013, caters to various needs, whether it be travel agents working with an individual client or large groups.

"Our idea is that we're the Costco of travel, in a way," Datta said. "What I mean is we're a one-stop-shop."