• On the verge of releasing potential Cannabis-based blockbuster Alzheimer’s treatment
• Company is able to hugely accelerate release of this treatment in recreational cannabis states
• Market potential for drugs to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s is in the billions of dollars

According to information from the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 47 million people are living with dementia throughout the world—a figure that has been projected to rise to 76 million by 2030. There is still no cure for this devastating disease. However, India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) is on the precipice of bringing a potential blockbuster treatment for Alzheimer’s to the market—an event that could happen by early 2018.

Recently, IGC announced it is readying a line of cannabis-based products targeting Alzheimer’s disease based on novel data (http://dtn.fm/h35qX). The company has been engineering genetic cell lines that show the protein Aβ decreases by as much as 40 percent at various concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) without neuron damage. (Amyloid beta peptides, or Aβ plaque, buildup in the brain is believed to be the chief cause of Alzheimer’s). This compelling in vitro data shows tremendous promise for treating and even preventing Alzheimer’s.

“As Alzheimer’s progresses, synaptic dysfunction and the death of neurons lead to memory loss. These study results, when combined with the earlier reported data that shows IGC-AD1 reduces Aβ40 and Aβ42 production by as much as 50%, and 40%, without any toxicity, represent a highly significant novel breakthrough that could potentially bring much needed relief from this devastating disease,” IGC CEO Ram Mukunda said, as quoted in the press release.

IGC currently has four products in its pipeline: Hyalolex, which is the company’s breakthrough treatment aimed at reducing beta-amyloid building up in Alzheimer’s patients; Natrinol, or synthetic THC, which has application for relieving nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite in patients with AIDS and cancer; Caesafin, which uses combination therapy to assuage seizures in dogs and cats; and Serosapse, which addresses various endpoints in Parkinson’s disease.

Typically, pharmaceutical companies are only able to market a product once it has received FDA approval, which involves a very lengthy and expensive process. Because IGC is using a combination therapy, the company is able to bring products to market significantly faster and at a substantially lower cost. IGC is actually able to bring some of its products to market in a matter of months rather than years by bringing them to cannabis medical dispensaries. The company’s breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment is one such product.

This hugely accelerated introduction of Hyalolex can only be accomplished in states where medical cannabis is legal and where the ailment (in this case Alzheimer’s) is an approved medical condition. In states where recreational cannabis has been approved, IGC doesn’t have to contend with whether or not Alzheimer’s is an approved medical condition in order to bring its treatment to market. Therefore, these states (recreational marijuana states like California, Colorado, Oregon, etc.) will be targeted first with IGC’s cannabis-based Alzheimer’s treatment.

In view of IGC’s pipeline, consisting of Hyalolex for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other phytocannabinoid-based therapies, the company’s market valuation is poised to explode. Investors have made Alzheimer’s treatment drugs a high priority in the biotechnology field, and the market potential for a preventative Alzheimer’s treatment is in the billions of dollars. Some of IGC’s Alzheimer’s-focused competitors already have market valuations in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars—making the sky the limit for IGC’s future growth.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IGCInc.us

• Global FinTech industry grew by 75 percent in 2015
• Innovators like Global Payout stand to disrupt more than $4.7 trillion in revenue
• The Global Reserve Platform is the most powerful, customizable and extensible platform for managing any financial product

Standing out among innovators in the global FinTech market, Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) is focused on providing next-generation B2B solutions to automate international funds transfer, payments, billing and invoicing processes. The company is well-positioned for growth within the infant FinTech market, which increased in value by 75 percent globally in 2015, hitting $22.3 billion. FinTech innovators like Global Payout stand to disrupt over $4.7 trillion in revenue from companies offering traditional financial services, according to projections from Goldman Sachs.

As discussed in a recent article (http://dtn.fm/ej9Ex), the importance of the efforts of companies like Global Payout is multifaceted. The disruptive influence of FinTech innovations is helping break the grip so long held by traditional financial institutions, making venture capital available to small businesses and entrepreneurs where banks will not give it. The FinTech revolution is also enabling access to other types of lending options and streamlining application processes in key ways that traditional financial institutions cannot match. Further, companies are now able to buy complex financial software solutions that, in times past, they could have never afforded and which, additionally, would have necessitated the services of a complete in-house IT team to operate even could they have footed the bill for the software.

As explored in another recent article (http://dtn.fm/Q4edz), the new incarnation of FinTech—a word that once referred merely to the backend technology used by traditional financial entities—has led to the pioneering of novel platforms that serve a variety of businesses. Capabilities are improving, and banking alternatives are becoming available that automate various financial processes. The FinTech revolution goes beyond financial services, however, also meeting needs in sectors ranging from logistics and shipping to the cannabis industry, where mobile apps and electronic wallets have proven more practical and more readily available than traditional banking services.

The B2B financial automation solutions offered through Global Payout’s proprietary Global Reserve Platform serves these needs well. The company is further enabling bitcoin accessibility through its MoneyTrac, Inc. subsidiary.

One of the global markets Global Payout is currently targeting with the Global Reserve Platform, its innovative FinTech payment solution, is logistics/shipping. The company also focuses on serving international travel companies, small-to-medium-sized businesses and banks, and has further positioned its MoneyTrac subsidiary to offer full-service alternative banking and electronic financial solutions for high-risk industries like cryptocurrency and cannabis.

Through the Global Reserve Platform, which stands out as the most powerful, customizable and extensible platform for the management of any financial product, Global Payout offers a fully configurable, Web-based “banking-in-a-box” platform specially designed to meet the front-to-back-office processing mandates of foreign exchange and international payment service providers. This solution also includes a secure and intuitive client module, designed to meet the e-banking needs of an institution’s corporate and personal customers.

Through the technology offered by its MoneyTrac subsidiary, Global Payout is further giving clients access to their financial information from any point on the globe as well as assisting them with tracking and compliance to aid in management and control of revenue flow.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GlobalPayout.com

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• Three-wheeled FUV can reach 85 mph, accelerating from 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds
• New Eugene, Oregon, manufacturing plant will celebrate grand opening on November 11
• Debuted on Nasdaq exchange in September with 1,821 customer pre-orders already in place as of first investor call

The manufacturer of a popular new “sustainable mobility” electric vehicle dubbed the Fun Utility Vehicle, or FUV, is gaining attention in urban markets following the rollout of its three-wheeled eco-friendly platform.

Arcimoto Inc. (NASDAQ: FUV) has spent a decade developing the FUV as an affordable means of transportation that can operate at normal road speeds and help to cut through city traffic, all in a vehicle that’s designed to preserve the riders’ safety while delivering a light impact on the environment.

“I thought if we could build something that was much closer to the motorcycle in terms of efficiency and fun factor and footprint on the road, but was close to the car in terms of capabilities and encloseable and carries groceries and stable, that we’d have a real product opportunity that the world has been missing for a long time,” Arcimoto founder and CEO Mark Frohnmayer told Reuters.

The FUV SRK model can reach 85 mph and accelerate from 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds. It has a range of 70 miles before recharging, and its fuel consumption is comparable to 230 miles per gallon, according to Frohnmayer.

The frame offers open-air visibility but has an attachable-detachable shell to enclose riders during inclement weather.

Arcimoto took possession of its 30,000-square-foot Eugene, Oregon, manufacturing plant on October 1 and plans a grand opening on Saturday, November 11, to celebrate the culmination of a decade of prototype development on the road to large-scale production.

The company debuted on the Nasdaq exchange in September as a Regulation A+ IPO built on a highly successful crowdfunding campaign, and it expects that, by the end of 2018 or early 2019, it will launch its pilot fleet vehicles while beginning retail manufacturing at the Phase 1 production facility.

At Arcimoto’s first public investor call on September 28, Frohnmayer said the company already had 1,821 customer pre-orders. Customers exist in every state, but are clustered in states such as Oregon, California, Florida, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington, he said.

“We are on the cusp of full production, are building arguably the most efficient everyday electric vehicle company in human history and will begin delivering Fun Utility Vehicles to paying customers, some who’ve waited for many years, next quarter,” Frohnmayer said during the investor call.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Arcimoto.com

A recent Reuters special report on an imperiled cryptocurrency venture shines a harsh light on some of the many risks and the paucity of regulatory oversight in cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) (http://dtn.fm/Jvc7A). Cryptocurrencies are digital mediums of exchange that function through extremely complex code systems called blockchain technology that encrypt sensitive data transfers, essentially creating a public ledger maintained by a network of computers. Blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block contains a link to a previous block, plus a timestamp and transaction data. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. The decentralized digital ledger records transactions across an entire network of computers, so transaction records can’t be altered without the verification of the entire network.

Blockchain technology applications are being tested by retailers, food suppliers and other businesses as a way to make record-keeping simpler and cheaper. Over the last year, blockchain start-ups have been raising cash by creating and selling their own currencies or tokens in unregulated offerings that bypass banks and venture capital firms. In the first nine months of 2017, over $2.2 billion was raised in ICOs.

The first and most recognized cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has given rise to the rash of ICOs. Bitcoin’s meteoric roller coaster rise from $0.08 in 2010 to over $5,900.00 recently has helped fuel the rush to evermore ICOs. Other cryptocurrencies began to emerge within a year of bitcoin’s birth.

Nearly half of respondents to a recent CNBC survey said the price of bitcoin could be heading to over $10,000, despite trading at an all-time high and having no government backing or underlying assets. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has called bitcoin a ‘fraud’ that will eventually blow up and likened bitcoin mania as reminiscent of the tulip bulb craze in the 17th century. “It’s worse than tulip bulbs. It’s just not a real thing, eventually it will be closed,” Dimon was quoted as saying at the Delivering Alpha conference. While Dimon was saying that, JPMorgan, among other financial institutions, was actively looking into and testing blockchain technology for its potential to help cut the costs of cumbersome back-office processes, such as the clearing and settlement of securities trades.

Virtually unregulated, cryptocurrency exchanges have become magnets for fraud and deception. More than 980,000 bitcoin, worth over $5 billion today, have been stolen since 2011. Blockchain start-ups have been raising cash by creating and selling their own currencies or tokens in unregulated offerings that bypass banks or regulatory review. In the U.S., investments in assets such as company shares and other securities are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has been studying ICOs and, in July, issued an investor bulletin that warned: “Depending on the facts and circumstances of each individual ICO, the virtual coins or tokens that are offered or sold may be securities.”

Tezos, the troubled cryptocurrency in the Reuters article, is similar to bitcoin and other blockchain platforms. Most software platforms provide for automated updates, but blockchains remain notable exceptions because update procedures are typically centralized. Tezos touts itself as the first blockchain platform to allow for decentralized and automated upgrades, making it more secure.

However, all parties involved in the Tezos ICO are in the midst of an international acrimonious dispute, and the $230 million coin offering is in limbo. Investors in Tezos have no recourse and can only hope the dispute is amicably resolved and the “Tezzies” start trading. Buyer beware…

• Eqova Life Sciences subsidiary serves underserved market in booming CBD sector
• Clinical-grade, full-spectrum hemp oil products specifically produced for licensed medical use
• CBD market expected to grow 700% to $2.1 billion by 2020

Grey Cloak Tech Inc. (OTCQB: GRCK), a Las Vegas, Nevada-based company, targets the rapidly growing cannabinoid (CBD) market through its wholly owned subsidiary Eqova Life Sciences, which focuses on providing a full spectrum line of clinical-grade hemp oil (CBD) products to the medical practitioner market. Eqova Life Sciences develops its own high quality, branded product line of hemp oil health products, with the offer of producing private labels to qualified partners.

Eqova Life Sciences recently exhibited the company’s CBD products at the Integrative Medicine Summit in Denver, Colorado, which was attended by over 200 medical professionals. As part of the exhibition, Eqova Life Sciences also debuted its new CannaBio Salve, an innovative topical salve infused with several aromatic natural oils. The company’s formulations combine the scientifically-validated, powerful benefits of cannabinoids in standardized products which are then distributed to patients under the care of qualified health practitioners. All Eqova products are carefully researched and go through rigorous third-party testing before and after marketing, providing the security of a clinical-grade product made in cGMP Compliant Labs located in the United States.

According to The Hemp Business Journal, the CBD products marketplace is projected to grow 700 percent by 2020 with annual sales reaching $2.1 billion. The recent purchase of Eqova Life Sciences is a natural fit for the company since it has been looking for a way to build shareholder value by adding acquisitions from the rapidly growing CBD sector. Grey Cloak Tech believes medical practitioners seeking high-quality CBD products represent a vastly underserved market. To date, no other hemp oil company has exclusively focused on providing clinical-grade, full-spectrum hemp oil products to this important segment of the medical community.

Grey Cloak Tech also develops advanced software to overcome costly digital threats, most commonly known as online fraud. Grey Cloak Tech leads the industry with continuous development of the most comprehensive and effective weapons against online security threats. The company’s proprietary digital advertising fraud detection software, Fraudlytic, provides a cloud-based, secure platform that monitors Internet traffic in real time, blocking malicious and false clicks, while allowing real consumers to view offers and make purchases.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GreyCloakTech.com

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• Ilya Nikolayev, founder and CEO, explains to com TAPM’s three-point winning strategy in mobile gaming market
• Mobile gaming market in 2016 was $36.9 billion, up 21.3% from 2015
• Entrepreneur.com reports 180 million mobile gamers in the US in 2016, with another 12 million projected in 2017 — and market penetration is still at only 55%

Tapinator, Inc.’s (OTCQB: TAPM) founder and CEO Ilya Nikolayev, featured in an Entrepreneur.com article (http://dtn.fm/hb3SV), said that the Company has three tenets of success in mobile gaming: be quantitative before creative, develop quickly and create an ecosystem of apps. His theory is that a game’s “metrics” should be good enough to enable the company to profitably acquire users for the title.

Founded in 2013, New York City-based TAPM has successfully created a portfolio of more than 300 mobile games for iOS and Android. It has a team of developers and marketers with a proprietary set of greenlight processes which factor in game genre, player retention, projected profitability, and other undisclosed variables. It is also currently experimenting with virtual and augmented reality. Nikolayev explained its three keys to success.

“Many game companies start the development process with a creative approach in mind,” Nikolayev told the news site. “If they want to create games that generate value, however, they would do better to start with a quantitative approach.”

The second key, he said, is to develop games quickly, then keep improving them, modeled after the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen. TAPM has adopted a two-tier development approach: Full-Featured Games and Rapid-Launch Games. In the first, the company builds unique, high quality content targeting deep player engagement and long-term franchise creation. The company’s Rapid-Launch Games, by contrast, offer quickly consumable, entertaining content that is often based on popular culture trends.

The third component to the company’s model is to create self-contained marketing ecosystem of marketing where a series of related games are launched under the same studio brand. “In doing so, anytime a player enjoys one of your games, there is another waiting for them to try.” By 2020, he projects, mobile gaming will represent more than half of all interactive gaming revenues.

Forbes reports that in 2016 the mobile gaming market was $36.9 billion, up 21.3% from 2015 levels (http://dtn.fm/gO7Rt). “One startup emerged and quickly gained a spot at the center of a booming marketplace,” it said, referring to Tapinator.  Nikolayev explained that, in adopting its ‘Full-Featured Games’ strategy, the company’s focus is on long-term engagement and creating life time player values (or “LTV”) that far exceeds their acquisition cost.

Nikolayev told Forbes that the key to building a successful mobile game is to understand the target metrics of the product. Within its Rapid-Launch Games business, the company exclusively uses non-paid channels for customer acquisition, and has now achieved approximately 300,000 daily new player downloads, with no external spending on marketing. Instead, Tapinator uses its own cross-promotion network to drive adoption of its mobile games. Entrepreneur.com reports that in 2016 there were 180 million gamers in the U.S., with another 12 million new players projected in 2017 — and penetration remains at only 55%.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Tapinator.com

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• Company’s PATSCAN™ Cognitive Microwave Radar (CMR) detects concealed weapons and identifies new threats
• Report: Airport security market $9 billion in 2016, projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%, 2016–2024
• Martin Cronin, CEO, calls technology “game changing” in deterring violence before it happens

Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX.V: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF) offers technology that can help detect and prevent the numerous near-miss attempts at public areas, such as airports. Recently, a bomb in a glass jar was left in Asheville, North Carolina, regional airport (http://dtn.fm/zlOH7). The FBI was called, neutralized the improvised explosive device, and began hunting for the individual or persons who left it.

Airport security cameras had surveillance footage of the man who left it, then they found a branded bag in the woods from a local sporting goods retailer. They eventually tracked the suspect down through purchases of the bomb making equipment there and at other big box stores. They arrested the suspect and he is in custody.

This is only one example of a near-miss from an improvised bomb. These acts are not as rare as you might think. The article points out that, in just the past year:  explosive devices were left in a hotel in Denver; improvised explosives were found in a Target store in Florida; and man-made bombs that exploded — but did not hurt anyone — were found at a medical center in Georgia. The article suggests that such incidents, though increasingly common, don’t often get as much press coverage unless they are linked to foreign terrorists, and hinted at press bias. Just in airports alone, the security market is estimated at $9 billion in 2017 with a 7% CAGR, 2016–2024, by researcher Global Market Insights (http://dtn.fm/dY7mR). But the product can also be used in hotels and other public areas.

Patriot One Technologies is a Vancouver, Canada-based company with a device that has advanced technology that can detect concealed weapons before an incident can occur. It has developed the PATSCAN™ CMR (Cognitive Microwave Radar), designed to deter, detect, and defend against active shooter threats before they happen. Once deployed, it has the ability to learn and identify new threats. The device had been developed through a NATO-funded project at McMaster University. It has already been awarded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Declaration of Conformity certification. The company’s goal is to become a world class enterprise to increase public safety and deter acts of violence on a worldwide basis.

Martin Cronin, CEO of Patriot One Technologies, said that his firm is now working with the Westgate Resort in Las Vegas to employ one of its systems (http://dtn.fm/q4MMT). “There’s just such a crying need for solutions to mass violence,” he told the Fox Business Network after the shooting at Mandalay Bay. He said that his company’s systems can be placed discreetly — under floorboards, behind walls or above ceilings. Pulses from its CMR can then detect suspicious hotel guests carrying concealed knives, guns or bombs, he said.

Cronin said that his firm offers “game changing” technology that helps in “detecting the presence of threats coming into a facility.” He added that new security measures should not impede free movement and our “fundamental way of life.” He added that Patriot One Technologies offers an “unobtrusive way of detecting concealed weapons when someone passes through a sensor.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Patriot1Tech.com

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• Owns patented Invisicare® polymer delivery system, prescription and over-the-counter skincare products formulated with Invisicare
• Business model to grow globally by out-licensing its proprietary and patented product line
• Developed multiple cannabis-based products with CBD from imported hemp (non-psychoactive), and will continue to develop line utilizing CBD and THC from marijuana

Skinvisible, Inc. (OTCQB: SKVI) is targeting a global skincare market projected to reach $135 billion by 2021 (http://dtn.fm/xEK9T). SKVI also sees a worldwide dermatology market now of $80 billion plus a $30 billion worldwide over-the-counter (OTC) market (http://dtn.fm/mBU1s). It has already completed on the development of 40 products, received numerous technology and product patents, and is now ready to monetize its investment. In the US alone, skincare is projected to reach $10.7 billion by 2018 and the global skincare market is seen growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from 2016-2021 according to MarketResearch.com (http://dtn.fm/2LTwK).

It seeks to maximize profits on already-licensed products and grow by adding more licenses to established manufacturers and marketers. Skinvisible has recently formed commercial subsidiaries, Kintari International Inc., along with Kintari USA Inc. and Kintari Canada, Inc. It formed the subsidiaries to bring its cosmeceutical and select OTC products to market.

Skinvisible is a Nevada-based R&D company focused on the licensing of its topical formulations made with its proprietary polymer-based delivery technology Invisicare®.   Invisicare is a technology with 14 international patents and is designed to improve the delivery of the active ingredients. Invisicare holds active ingredients on the skin for extended time periods and control their release.

Along with dermatology, the company has also seen a growing demand for topically-delivered cannabis. This is evidenced by its recent announcement with Canopy Growth Corporation in Canada.

The Company in a recent 10Q SEC filing (http://dtn.fm/skw4F) indicated it will continue to out-license its patented prescription and OTC products formulated with Invisicare. Its business model is to increase the value of its product pipeline, boost licensing revenues, capitalize on the success of current licensees, and generate revenue from online and retail sales of its cosmeceutical/OTC line.

The filing added that Skinvisible has named David St. James to the board of directors. An inventor and businessman based in Las Vegas, he is deemed qualified in recognition of his technical abilities and management skills.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Skinvisible.com

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• In new business plan sent to Health Canada, subsidiary North Road Ventures proposes doubling its cannabis product lines, adding oil products (CBD) and boosting by five-fold its storage capacity
• Statista report projects Canadian marijuana market will reach C$2.8 billion by 2020
• Company sees cannabis oil products accounting for 50% or more of projected sales

Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd.’s (OTCQB: LIBFF) (CSE: LIB) (FSE: HN3P) wholly own subsidiary, North Road Ventures, has abridged its application to Health Canada, detailing its plans to double its cannabis product lines, adding cannabis oil products (CBD), and boost by five-fold its vault storage capacity to C$6.25 million. The abridgment comes after talks between the subsidiary and Health Canada about a much-needed alleviation of supply chain issues for other licensed producers.

LIBFF is a Vancouver, Canada-based company with the subsidiary that has a new business plan. It has abridged its Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) application currently in review by Health Canada. Its North Road Ventures subsidiary has revised its application to a distribution-focused strategy, making it unique in the crowded field of cultivation-based applicants.

The application has also been changed to increase by five-fold its vault storage capacity. A new wrinkle is also the doubling of cannabis product lines — particularly cannabis oil products (CBD) — which are expected to account for 50% or more of projected sales.

Earlier, North Road Ventures discussed with Health Canada the abridgment, providing a much-needed solution to fulfill supply to both the recreational and medicinal cannabis markets. The stakes are high; Statista projects that, if marijuana is legalized by 2018, the combined market for dried and oil/extract marijuana will reach C$2.8 billion by 2020 (http://dtn.fm/EA42g).

In a news release, William Rascan, president and CEO of Liberty Leaf, said, “These are very exciting times for Liberty Leaf and North Road Ventures stakeholders. We forecast even greater value to the company with this abridgment and increase in capacity of products available to distribute to legal retailers.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LibLeaf.ca

• TripWitz platform is an OTA offering the expertise of actual travel agents
• Serves hundreds of high-demand destinations around the globe
• Accepts bitcoin payments

There has never been a smarter way to plan for a vacation than with TripWitz from Cache Elite, Inc. (OTC: ILUS). TripWitz lets tech-savvy Millennials choose their holiday destinations, accommodation, tour packages and lots more online. Those who prefer a personal touch are also accommodated at TripWitz. The platform is supported by human representatives who are always eager to provide guidance and help customers navigate TripWitz’s comprehensive range of world-class hotels, beautiful beaches and amazing locations. To make booking even easier, TripWitz is now accepting payment in bitcoin. At TripWitz, the best elements of the past and the present are combined. With its offering of good old-fashioned human service supported by the latest technology and payment systems, TripWitz from Cache Elite is taking travel into the future.

Reports of the death of the travel agent were greatly exaggerated, as many vacationers still prefer to use one. It was thought that the advent of online travel agencies (OTAs) spelt doom for the travel agent, much as VCRs in their heyday were felt to presage the demise of cinema. Despite the adoption of new information technologies, however, the travel industry still has a place for professionals who can respond to clients in a way that no machine can. A major problem with OTAs is that they provide too much information. This can be overwhelming. Although choice is good, too much choice is less so, since it decreases utility and satisfaction, as noted in a Harvard Business Review report (http://dtn.fm/Ra6NT).

Moreover, many OTAs often advertise one price before tacking on fees and other hidden charges or restrictions and blackout dates in the fine print. As a result, although many travelers will look for information on OTA sites, only 13 percent, down from 36 percent in 2015, typically book their reservations on such sites, according to MMGY Global 2016 Portrait of American Travelers. The information overload has taken a toll. The MMGY report shows that Millennials are as likely as anyone to turn to a travel agent. The percentage of travelers under the age of 35 who prefer to book their vacations through a travel agent increased 50 percent between 2014 and 2015. While OTAs have call center reps to assist customers with basic information, these reps, typically, do not have the knowledge to provide the same level of guidance that a travel agent on TripWitz can offer.

TripWitz provides real-time vacation quotes and information on flights and airfare, hotels, villas, ground transportation and recreational activities, just like Expedia. However, travelers also have the option to talk to Certified Designation Specialists who can guide them through the selection and booking process.

TripWitz connects to the global airlines through Google’s ITA Gateway software. Back in 2011, Google paid $700 million for the airline-fare-tracker ITA Software and now makes it available to enterprising outfits like Cache Elite. Using the ITA system, TripWitz can calculate and distribute flight schedule data and seat availability to satisfy millions of queries per second at the lowest possible fares. TripWitz offers coverage of amazing destinations all over the world, including Hawaii and Bermuda, which were untouched by recent hurricanes and tropical storms.

In addition, TripWitz has contracted with several airlines to provide bulk fares, which are negotiated fares and seat allotments available only to travel agents. Bulk fares offer higher commission rates than published fares, yet the traveler still has access to published fares at the rates offered by OTAs, providing much-needed flexibility to TripWitz customers.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.CacheElite.com

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