Technology

May 26, 2020

Travel technology trends for a post-coronavirus world

Blog, Technology

From a historical perspective, five years from now, we will look back on this period and simply conclude that travel technology was already ushering the future of ... Read more

May 22, 2020

Industry Experts to share tips on Technology, Customer Loyalty and COVID-19 in webinar for WTM Global Hub

Press Releases, Technology

WTM Global Hub – WTM Portfolio’s new online portal – and Travel Forward – the leading travel technology event in travel & hospitality – are hosting a ... Read more

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020

Contactless Hotel Operations Have Moved from Nice-to-Have to a Necessity

Blog, Technology

By Fabricio Titiro, Principal Product Manager, Oracle Hospitality The idea of contactless technology in the hotel industry is not new, though until now it has been regarded ... Read more

May 18, 2020May 18, 2020

The Future is Electric: Exploring the World in a Two Seat Solar Powered Airplane

Blog, Technology

While Tesla and other car manufacturers are changing the way we commute, prototype electric airplanes are set to change the way we fly in the future. Aviation ... Read more

May 15, 2020May 19, 2020

SMART Tourism Will Help Destinations Reopen Faster And Safer During The COVID-19 Crisis

Blog, Technology

As the initial shock of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown is starting to pass, tourism destinations and attractions are beginning to turn their focus to the future. ... Read more

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020

Time for airlines to revisit new-and-improved VR

Aviation, Technology

The enthusiasm for VR is growing as airlines consider all options for winning business and converting customers in the new post-Covid-19 world. XR – extended reality – ... Read more

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020

The current thirst for virtual travel and its role in future travel planning

Technology, Travel Technology

WHEN I say jump, JUMP! And that’s just what my Faroe Islands guide did immediately, in response to a click on my laptop at home. Possibly the ... Read more

April 22, 2020April 22, 2020

Conversational Interfaces Are The Next Frontier In Travel

Blog, Technology, Travel Technology

Billions of people use Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat every day. Messaging apps to communicate with businesses as well as friends – Facebook says some 10 billion ... Read more

April 22, 2020April 23, 2020

Navigating The Effect Of COVID-19 On The Short-Term Rental Industry

Blog, Technology, Travel Technology

Without question, we’re now face-to-face with a global health crisis that not only took us by surprise, but for which there is also no rulebook or roadmap. ... Read more

March 18, 2020March 19, 2020

If You Aren’t Clued Up On AI, You’re Missing Out!

Technology, Travel Forward

Artificial intelligence (AI) is something all of us have heard of, but what exactly is meant by “AI” and what’s it got to do with the travel ... Read more

March 18, 2020March 19, 2020

2020: A Breakout Year For Travel Tech

Technology, Travel Forward

Last year, we saw big names in travel and hospitality refining and extending their use of intelligent and virtual technologies to increase personalisation and successfully drive business ... Read more

November 26, 2019

Blockchain in travel: hype or reality?

Blog, Technology, WTM Latin America

By Travel Forward Blockchain is certainly causing excitement in the travel tech market. As companies and providers look for opportunities to use the technology, it is dividing ... Read more

November 4, 2019April 22, 2020

Always Have A Long-Term Plan

Technology, Travel Forward, Travel Technology, Video

“Always have a long term plan and be ambitious where you want to take your business from a technology point-of-view” Chris Crauford from @HeathrowExpress shares his advice ... Read more

November 4, 2019April 22, 2020

Leveraging New Technologies With CWT

Technology, Travel Forward, Travel Technology, Video

“How organisations can leverage new technologies to make travel easier, fun and more efficient” Utpal Kaul from @my_CWT shares his insights ... Read more

November 4, 2019April 22, 2020

Innovation Should Be Focused On Travel Needs

Technology, Travel Forward, Travel Technology, Video

“Innovation should be focused on travel needs” Evantia Guimba from Amadeus shares key points for innovation to be successful in the travel industry. ... Read more

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019

The Hospitality Tech Landscape: What Does the Future Hold?

Technology

The Future of Hotel Tech: What Does It Hold? For a long time, hotel tech didn’t give investors much to get excited about. Why? Many technology companies ... Read more

October 3, 2019October 7, 2019

The Wonder of Travel Starts Here

Technology

By Evantia Giumba, Head of Travel Media and Startup Programme, WEMEA Online, Amadeus. It all starts with an idea. The electric light, the telephone, even the humble sandwich. ... Read more

August 26, 2019August 26, 2019

Smart Tourism Destinations

Blog, Technology, Trends

By Marta Poggi The Smart Tourism Destinations project was created in Spain in 2002 with the aim of improving the positioning of Spanish destinations globally by making ... Read more

August 15, 2019August 15, 2019

The impact of technology on business and leisure travellers

Technology

There is a convincing argument that the travel industry invented e-commerce. In the 1960s, American Airlines and IBM developed the first-ever computerised customer reservation system. Fast forward ... Read more

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019

Digital transformation in tourism: how to begin?

Blog, Technology, Trends

By Marta Poggi We’re experiencing a digital transformation in tourism, as are many sectors in the economy, and there’s no turning back. We know that this transformation ... Read more

July 12, 2019August 12, 2019

Blockchain in travel: hype or reality?

Technology

Blockchain is certainly causing excitement in the travel tech market. As companies and providers look for opportunities to use the technology, it is dividing opinions among specialists: ... Read more

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019

Innovate or Renew?

Blog, Technology

By Vitor Bauab – CEO of the BBG Brasil Group The importance of innovation in organizations is a topic that is becoming increasingly more frequent in the corporate ... Read more

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019

Trends and Innovation in Tourism and the Hotel Trade

Blog, Blogging, Technology, Trends

By Marta Poggi The increasing use of new technologies has changed consumer behaviour and had a direct impact on tourism business. The 4.0 traveller uses a mobile ... Read more

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019

Case Study: The future of distribution

Technology, Uncategorised

In this interview, Nayan Peshkar, SVP of Digital, Distribution & Revenue Strategy at Millennium Hotels & Resorts presents a case study on how his brand has worked ... Read more

April 18, 2019

3 Multi-city Trends and Why You Should Care

Technology, The Travel Tech Show, Uncategorised

The travel industry is absolutely massive ($1.6 trillion in 2017)! But, with a massive market comes massive competition. The industry that thrives on beautiful Instagram photos and ... Read more

March 12, 2019March 26, 2019

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Technology

By Francesca Benati, Amadeus Senior VP Online Travel Channels, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa Planes, Trains and Automobiles. That’s not just the title of the 1987 ... Read more

March 12, 2019March 26, 2019

The Five Future States of Content

Technology

By Dr Kevin Ashbridge, VP Global Travel, Leisure & Hospitality Solutions, SDL There is great interest in the travel industry around artificial intelligence (AI) and in understanding ... Read more

December 14, 2018December 14, 2018

The Disloyal Customer

Technology

I was at a conference the other day and, whilst awaiting the first speaker’s presentation, I was chatting with the lady next to me. I am not ... Read more

November 23, 2018

All Together Now

Technology

I quite often give presentations explaining the characteristics of our future consumers – Generations Y and Z when actually, they are just about all grown up now. ... Read more

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018

#WTMLDN 2018 – The Final Day

Adventure, Blog, Business Travel, Destinations, Technology

It may have been the third and final day of WTM London 2018, but that didn’t mean things slowed down at all. ExCel London was once again ... Read more

October 29, 2018October 31, 2018

Is Travel the Blockchain Beachhead?

Technology

Blockchain, so we are told, is a solution without a problem. Repeatedly, articles in the media say how Blockchain doesn’t have a real role, how it is ... Read more

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018

Is Multi-Modal the next big thing?

Technology

Quite a few years ago (pre-Internet) I was commissioned to carry out a feasibility study for a large telecommunications organisation. The idea was to test the concept ... Read more

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018

The third journey: the travel industry may not be transforming, but it is certainly transitioning

Technology

Marketers are familiar with the notion of the ‘customer journey’, which maps a route from potential prospect, through closed sale and beyond. In the world of travel ... Read more

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018

Must Have Web Technologies for 2019

Technology

This year at WTM London I will be running a Genesys Session called Must Have Web Technologies for 2019. I see travel as an information industry. When ... Read more

August 17, 2018August 17, 2018

Information Banks – A Vision of the Future

Technology

Catalysed by the recent hive of activity surrounding General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a few strands of thought from the past and present have come together in ... Read more

July 20, 2018January 11, 2019

Technology: a travel experience facilitator with greater added value

Blog, Technology, WTM Latin America

by Marília Borges, Research Analyst for Euromonitor International Whether it is when consumers are deciding which experience to have, during the experience itself, or even after it ... Read more

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018

Getting the Message

Technology

The news that Etihad passengers will be able to communicate with the airline via WhatsApp got me thinking about my own messaging apps. I use quite a ... Read more

June 22, 2018July 3, 2018

Is airline loyalty living in the dark ages?

Aviation, Technology

After writing my blog last month about customer relationship management moving on, I have to ask the question: “Are airline loyalty schemes still living in the dark ... Read more

June 8, 2018August 20, 2018

Transparency leads to trust

Summer 2018 Magazine, Technology

The EU’s new data protection rules, known as GDPR, are now in place and could have a global impact on the travel industry, Rob Gill reports. During ... Read more

May 24, 2018July 3, 2018

CRM is moving on

Technology

A week or so ago I saw a demonstration of one of the better CRM systems, specifically designed for travel companies. What impressed me is how sophisticated customer ... Read more

April 12, 2018May 10, 2018

Smart Tourism 2020

Technology

One of the seminar sessions I am running at this year’s Arabian Travel Market is called Smart Tourism 2020. I do work within both the tourism and ... Read more

April 11, 2018May 10, 2018

Artificial intelligence: to infinity and beyond

Spring 2018 Magazine, Technology

Artificial intelligence has the potential to be as transformative as the introduction of computers – and the travel industry stands to benefit. Jenny Southan explains Over the ... Read more

April 4, 2018May 10, 2018

Comparing the Middle East travel market to other regions

Technology, Trends

Phocuswright has been tracking the size and growth of total and online travel markets for over two decades. In 2017, we sized the total market globally at ... Read more

March 21, 2018May 10, 2018

Trade Shows, Events and Digital Convergence

Technology

By Paulo Salvador There can be no doubt that the Trade Shows & Events segment is undergoing unprecedented transformation. The concrete signs of these changes are a ... Read more

March 21, 2018May 10, 2018

Millennials, mobile fuel soaring online bookings in Middle East

Destinations, Technology, Trends

The Middle East’s relatively young population (38% below 20 years old and 27% millennials) and high Internet penetration (74%) are helping to driving double-digit growth in the ... Read more

March 15, 2018May 10, 2018

Losing your voice

Technology

I have been doing some research for a presentation I will be giving next month. I am going to be talking about our future customers – Generation ... Read more

March 7, 2018May 10, 2018

City break innovations in a Balearic capital

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine, Technology

Now that Palma de Mallorca has reinvented itself as a city break destination, Katherine Lawrey finds out how the city is refining the visitor experience. Encouraging visitors ... Read more

February 27, 2018May 10, 2018

Technology and the necessary off-line connection

Blog, Technology

It is a fact that information technology (IT) is fundamental to the tourism chain. If we limit ourselves to thinking about the corporate sphere and the day-to-day ... Read more

February 22, 2018May 10, 2018

Social media expertise needed as the market gets complicated

Technology

For three years from 2014-17, I looked after a lot of social media accounts. It was the phase where travel companies knew they had to have social, ... Read more

February 16, 2018May 10, 2018

At last a use for Blockchain

Technology

I don’t know about you but I have been to quite a few presentations on blockchain and read plenty of articles on the subject. I now think ... Read more

February 12, 2018May 10, 2018

Grow your market worldwide – achieve competitive advantage as a Travel Agency

Technology

The Travel Industry has come a long way and is continuously developing. This includes both supply and demand. Latest trends shown in The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness ... Read more

February 8, 2018May 10, 2018

Digital travel is travel and how the Middle East stacks up

Technology, Trends

Phocuswright has been tracking the shift of global travel bookings from offline to digital for over 20 years. Today, while only about half of travel is booked ... Read more

January 25, 2018May 10, 2018

Smart Tourism

Technology

I will be running a new seminar at this year’s Arabian Travel Market. I am calling it Smart Tourism. The ‘smart’ concept has reached almost everything around ... Read more

January 24, 2018May 10, 2018

How technology is going to transform the travel industry

Blog, Technology

As technology advances and the behaviour of travellers changes, the whole tourism production chain is reinventing itself. With consumer confidence increasing in relation to technology, their travel ... Read more

January 19, 2018May 10, 2018

The package holiday is alive and well

Technology

Expedia has carried out a research study in partnership with The Center for Generational Kinetics. The study is called ‘Generations on the Move – A deep dive ... Read more

December 20, 2017May 10, 2018

Is the January feeding frenzy coming to an end?

Technology

Some interesting news from Hitwise. Part 3 of their Cyber Week 2017 report showed increased travel purchase activity during Black Friday in November. As we all know, ... Read more

November 17, 2017May 10, 2018

Digital Hospitality

Technology

At World Travel Market London this year, I ran a Summit called Future Digital Thinking. I split this into 2 two hour sessions, the first focusing on ... Read more

October 13, 2017

The long-term survival of the Travel Agent

Blog, Technology, Trends

They say you cannot serve two masters, but in the old days, travel agents did. Our transactional role as the “agent” between the supplier and customer ... Read more

September 8, 2017October 4, 2017

Service beyond the sell-by date

Blog, Technology

A recent study by Carlson Wagonlit Travel has discovered that business travellers tend to take four technology devices with them on trips. The survey of more than ... Read more

August 11, 2017August 11, 2017

What’s love got to do with it?

Blog, Technology

In the last month, I was invited by an airline to contribute to a strategy day. A few external experts such as myself had been invited along ... Read more

July 17, 2017October 4, 2017

The general data protection regulation

Blog, Technology

The Data Protection Act 1998 is old news. Taking over is the General Data Protection Regulation. The Regulation will harmonise data privacy laws across Europe. It will ... Read more

June 9, 2017October 4, 2017

The British Airways lesson

Blog, Technology

Many opinions have been written about the technology issue that affected BA and the way in which the airline handled the situation. It must be one of ... Read more

May 19, 2017October 4, 2017

SEO Tactics for the Tourism Industry

Technology

Search Engine Optimisation – or SEO as it’s more commonly known – is one of the most important digital marketing fundamentals to get right. Why? Because the ... Read more

May 15, 2017October 4, 2017

Man vs. machine – no contest

Technology

A week or so ago I was chairing this year’s Eyefortravel Europe conference. All of the important subjects of the day were discussed, including mobile, data, personalisation, ... Read more

April 19, 2017April 19, 2017

Revenue management vs school holidays

Technology

A news story in the UK press ran a couple of weeks ago about Term-time holidays: Supreme Court rules father must pay fine for taking daughter out ... Read more

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017

Destination Management Organisations vs. Tour Operators

Technology

In the early days of the Internet, we tried to forecast how it would change the way travel was sold. A common prediction was that the Internet ... Read more

February 27, 2017March 6, 2017

SEO Is Changing Completely In 2017. Here’s What You Need To Know

Blog, Technology

Technology is changing the travel industry so quickly and relentlessly that it feels impossible to keep up. How can one company possibly keep up with everything from ... Read more

February 10, 2017February 14, 2017

Robots and Chatbots

Technology

Mentioned in the news over the last few days is the London Science Museum’s Robot exhibition. It will be exploring the 500-year quest to recreate ourselves in mechanistic form. ... Read more

January 16, 2017January 26, 2017

To build or to buy? That is the question

Technology

I have worked with many travel companies across the years, helping them to buy new systems. It is very important to buy the system that will best ... Read more

December 19, 2016January 26, 2017

Total Profit Management

Technology

I often mention that travel is an information product. When it is purchased it is no more than information on a computer hard drive. It doesn’t physically ... Read more

November 14, 2016January 23, 2017

Hotel Bonanza

Technology

Another World Travel Market has come and gone. I held my Genesys Digital Transformation Summit there on the Tuesday. The seminar room was completely full and we ... Read more

October 19, 2016January 23, 2017

World Travel Market Tech Events

Technology

Once again, I have organised a couple of the technology/digital travel events at World Travel Market this year. I have been doing this for quite a few ... Read more

September 12, 2016January 23, 2017

Could Artificial Intelligence Replace the Travel Agent?

Technology

I like to think that I am online savvy, so when my wife suggested we have a short break in Iceland, my first thought was to get ... Read more

August 15, 2016January 23, 2017

The Online Con

Technology

It was shocking to read about the recent demise of LowCost Travel Group last month. Just take a look at the Administrator’s message on the Group’s website. ... Read more

July 18, 2016January 23, 2017

The Customer has Arrived

Technology

At the beginning of the month I ran the first of my Genesys Happiest Minds Executive Series seminars in partnership with Happiest Minds. The idea is that ... Read more

June 14, 2016September 18, 2017

How to engage over 100,000 people in your responsible tourism campaign in under a month

Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing, Technology

A few months ago I was contacted by Anna Mckeon, the co-ordinator of the Better Volunteering Better Care initiative. She was seeking my advice on how to ... Read more

June 13, 2016January 23, 2017

The Price is Right

Technology

Last week I was moderating Travel Technology Initiative’s Summer Forum that I organised. The subject was Revenue Management. I called the Forum ‘Money for Nothing.’ My thinking ... Read more

May 24, 2016May 24, 2017

5 content creation tips for improving your digital marketing

Technology

You may have already heard that in the age of the Internet content is king. Companies that achieve most relevance in the digital media are those that ... Read more

April 8, 2016January 23, 2017

Genesys Digital Transformation

Technology

I founded Genesys over 21 years ago. Back then, the Internet and the digital world that we know today were simply unheard of. Tim Berners-Lee had already ... Read more

April 6, 2016January 23, 2017

How blogs are blending and evolving

Blogging, Technology

One thing that I find when working across brands and bloggers is the amount of people that look for a specific type of blogger. Most brands will ... Read more

March 14, 2016January 23, 2017

Predicting Disruption

Technology

Disruption is the buzzword of our times. It is being powered by forward-thinking entrepreneurs who have the vision and tenacity to make their dreams come true. They ... Read more

February 15, 2016January 23, 2017

Has TripAdvisor peaked?

Technology

TripAdvisor is the largest travel site on Earth. Its statistics are staggering. In Q3 2015, it reported reaching 350 million unique monthly visitors. It has more than ... Read more

January 11, 2016January 23, 2017

The new norm: expect the un-normal

Technology

At this time of year, it is always fun to try and predict what significant happenings are going to take place in the coming twelve months. Thankfully, ... Read more

December 2, 2015January 23, 2017

RM vs CRM

Technology

I have recently been exposed to revenue management. At the beginning of the month, I attended a Revenue Management and Pricing International (RMAPI) event. Watching the presentations ... Read more

November 18, 2015January 23, 2017

The Two Ps

Technology

I had a busy few days at World Travel Market at the beginning of this month. On Monday, I was moderating the WTM Travel Innovation Summit in ... Read more

November 4, 2015January 23, 2017

WTM Travel Innovation Summit

Blog, Technology, WTM TV

Innovation drives the travel industry. At this Summit you will hear from senior travel executives who have led innovative initiatives within their own businesses. They will share ... Read more

October 9, 2015January 23, 2017

Video – Can You Go Viral?

Technology

The world is inexorably moving away from broadcast television. In days of old, viewers across the country would sit down together in their millions to watch the ... Read more

September 2, 2015January 23, 2017

Is Your Data Secure?

Technology

Did you read the latest Ashley Madison byline? Before the data breach it was “Life is short. Have an affair.” I think it now reads, “Life is ... Read more

August 12, 2015January 23, 2017

The app making it difficult to be lost in translation

Technology

For several years when I was deputy travel editor at The Times, we ran a weekly slot in which we invited readers to share their favourite travelling ... Read more

August 5, 2015January 23, 2017

Do you have social video FOMO?

Technology

It used to be easy, video was the reserve of TV advertisements, documentaries and films; whilst “going viral” was limited to that time your Nan got stuck ... Read more

July 31, 2015January 23, 2017

Metasearch under attack

Technology

You know you are doing a good job when other players in your marketplace start attacking you. So, for example, the Daily Telegraph headline last month, “Courtney ... Read more

July 27, 2015January 23, 2017

Google’s direct hotel booking strategy: keeping it all in the family

Technology

The internet has almost come full circle. It seems like a strange concept now but back when America Online ruled the internet superhighway (as it was inevitably ... Read more

July 1, 2015January 23, 2017

Digital Transformation

Technology

Over the next few weeks, I will be organising Travel Technology Initiative’s Autumn conference. The title of the event is Digital Transformation. This has got me thinking ... Read more

June 1, 2015January 23, 2017

The Hotel Distribution Revolution

Hospitality, Technology

This week I am chairing a Forum I have organised for Travel Technology Initiative and the European Tourism Association. I have called the event The Hotel Distribution Revolution. ... Read more

May 1, 2015January 23, 2017

A Waste of Time?

Technology

We have lift off! The Apple Watch has launched and may finally take wearables into orbit. The big question, though, is will it become as an essential ... Read more