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Rizzuto was most recently General Manager of Distribution and e-Commerce at Virgin Australia. Prior to that he was Head of Retail Distribution Strategy and Technology Partnerships at Helloworld and Managing Director of Asia for Travelport.
Livn, Asia-Pacific’s leading aggregator of instantly bookable tour and activities product, announced the appointment of travel industry heavyweight Mark Rizzuto as Chief Executive Officer while company Founder Steve Martinezhas been named Chief Commercial Officer.
Rizzuto was most recently General Manager of Distribution and e-Commerce at Virgin Australia. Prior to that he was Head of Retail Distribution Strategy and Technology Partnerships at Helloworld and Managing Director of Asia for Travelport.
Martinez (pictured left with Rizzuto right) welcomed the appointment.
“Mark has been consulting to Livn this year and we have been very impressed by his expertise, insights and strategic discipline,” says Martinez. “His appointment really sets us up for the next stage of Livn’s evolution.”
It was an opportunity that couldn’t be ignored, says Rizzuto.
“The team at Livn have done a fantastic job and the company is now in pole position to capitalise on the enormous opportunities that exist in the tours and activities space, which remains highly fragmented in stark contrast to hotels and airlines,” says Rizzuto.
In the past last year alone Livn has grown the number of tours and activities it aggregates and distributes in real time from 12,000 to 22,000.
“Our objective over the next 12 months is to double our inventory to more than 40,000 instantly bookable tours and activities,” says Rizzuto.
“It’s an ambitious target but definitely achievable given the progress we have made in building and populating what is now Asia-Pacific’s leading aggregation and distribution technology platform, one that is extremely robust and allows us to scale quickly.”
The Livn Platform uniquely sources its products via an API feed from the world’s leading tours and activities suppliers – everything from city tours and attractions to multi-day trips. Talks are well advanced with many more.
On the distribution front, Livn is entirely focused on the travel trade, only servicing the B2B channel, piping its instantly bookable product to travel agents and online retailers via a single API. It also recently announced an integration with Amadeus Selling Platform Connect.
“Agents are able to instantly book an incredible selection of tours and activities around the globe from hundreds of leading suppliers like Intrepid Group, G Adventures, Gray Line, Pro-Dive, Quicksilver Group and Urban Adventures,” says Rizzuto.
“Most importantly, the booking of these products is fully integrated into existing travel agency workflows, allowing for ease of reservation, itinerary management and back office integration.
“This removes the need for travel agents to book and manage these reservations via phone, website or email, and creates the same centralised efficiencies as the GDS have traditionally provided in air, car and hotel.”
Livn is based in Surry Hills, on the edge of the Sydney CBD. It was founded in 2010 by Steve Martinez and former executive Tui Eruera, who exited the business last year to pursue independent interests in the wholesaling sector.
Livn developed its first Tour and Activity API in 2012 and has been aggressively expanding on its model ever since.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
