By Geoff Senescall
Tourism Holdings has cancelled a software contract with a company associated with its former chairman, resulting in a $604,000 write-off.
Aoraki Corporation, of which Murray Valentine is a director, had been developing an ambitious web-based booking system for Tourism Holdings over the past two years.
But the tourism operator's latest
annual report reveals the contract was canned before the system was up and running.
Aoraki is a Christchurch-based technology company which owns software developer Cardinal. Its latest Jade programming technology is being marketed around the world.
Tourism Holdings' chief financial officer, Ian Lewington, said the Aoraki system could have been made to work "but it just wasn't worth it after two years of development".
There were also other products coming along which "superseded the [Aoraki] technology," said Mr Lewington, who was a key player in helping Tourism Holdings' new managing director, Dennis Pickup, turn around the ailing company.
Tourism Holdings is now looking at a different e-commerce strategy.
Mr Lewington acknowledged the company had changed direction since new management took over. The sale of Newmans Holidays' operation and wholesale operations in the United States meant Tourism Holdings did not need the same system any more.
With the recent purchase of the motor home business Britz, Tourism Holdings had picked up "very good Internet capabilities."
But Mr Lewington said that even if Tourism Holdings had not changed its operation it would still have canned the Aoraki contract.
A spokesman for Aoraki, Greg Williamson, agreed the scope of the Tourism Holdings project had been ambitious.
But he strenuously denied that Aoraki's approach would be superseded by other technology.
"If they started off tomorrow and asked us to build a system, I would be confident that we, or one of our business partners that uses our technology, would be able to do it cheaper than any other comparable options."
Mr Williamson also noted that Aoraki had a 98 per cent success rate.
"No other technology in the marketplace can match that at the moment."
One recent project was building an Internet banking system.
Mr Valentine resigned from Tourism Holdings this August, after a long association with the company.
According to the annual report, W.R. Jackson Valentine & Co, of which Mr Valentine is a partner, received $452,588 for accounting services, financial advice and sublease of premises.
Such services, however, will no longer be required with the transfer of Tourism Holdings' head office from Christchurch to Auckland.
