Following the successful launch of Travdex@ITB in 2006 and PhoCusWright@ITB in 2007, Messe Berlin will offer, for the third year running, another information-packed technology programme in the context of the ITB Convention from the renowned market research and travel intelligence company, PhoCusWright Inc.

“The ongoing potential and impact of technology on global travel distribution is so significant,” says Michaela Papenhoff, Managing Director PhoCusWright in Europe, “that this year’s PhoCusWright@ITB is being dedicated to a confluence of forces: technology and business.”

A collection of keynotes, talkback round tables, case studies, executive interviews, ‘Five Minutes of Fame’ presentations, and points/counterpoints will cover essential trends and in-depth insights that surround the theme ‘Success in Travel E-Business’. “Getting technology right is mission critical to travel, tourism and hospitality success,” says Papenhoff.

With this novel, highly focused concept, PhoCusWright@ITB will take place from 5-6 March in Hall 7.1b, Auditorium London 3. The first ever PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit is scheduled for 5 March, while Thursday 6 March will be devoted entirely to the Success in Travel E-Business programme, from 10.15-18.15.

Online Travel Agency (OTA) leaders speak out

The conference kicks off with a candid Executive Roundtable involving the CEOs or similar high-level executives of some of the world’s leading OTAs – such as Opodo, Expedia, ebookers.com, eDreams and lastminute.com – moderated by Philip C. Wolf, President and CEO of PhoCusWright.

Discussions are focused on changing OTA business models, as well as transaction commissions and merchant fees, which are being challenged by a recently introduced ‘pay per click’ model. Industry leaders will share their points of view on these and other critical issues.

Another conference highlight will be Philip Wolf’s one-on-one interview with industry veteran, José Antonio Tazón, President and CEO of the global distribution system (GDS), Amadeus IT Group S.A. Tazón will share his two decades of experience at the helm of Amadeus, and his vision for the future, as well as talking about the success strategies adopted by Amadeus through changing times to ensure that the GDS maintains its former success in the global travel marketplace.

Re-inventing the holiday booking

Also generating widespread interest is the session on holiday travel, which will be preceded by a keynote presentation by John Kohlsaat, Regional General Manager, easyJet Airline Company. The low-cost carrier has entered the holiday market with easyJet Holidays, so the group’s strategies will be of particular relevance to other tour operators, representing industry peers such as TUI Travel, which will be participating in the ensuing panel discussions.

Among the other conference highlights, delegates will be able to compare and contrast travel strategies of Google and Yahoo, learn more about the evolution of metasearch and how it can influence their businesses, listen to experts talking about the implications of Travel 2.0 and 3.0, and gain insight about next-generation mobile travel applications. Travel industry start-up CEOs will also present executive summaries of their compelling business cases in sessions entitled: Five Minutes of Fame.

“The importance of this rich programme is that it calls for speakers to explain travel technology in business terms, for business people,” says Papenhoff. “Sales, marketing and business development professionals in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry will learn how to leverage technology developments for revenue gains, margin improvements and operational efficiencies.”

“The conference theme, Success in Travel E-Business, makes travel technology relevant for everybody!” says Papenhoff.