Travelocity founder Terry Jones will be a keynote speaker at World Travel Market London 2017 – Monday 6 to Wednesday 8 November.
Jones has been involved in two launch companies which have revolutionised how travel is purchased around the world – firstly Travelocity.com and then Kayak.com and is now Chairman of Wayblazer, using AI to disrupt travel again.
He spent 24 years at American Airlines in marketing and information technology – including as Chief Information Officer at Sabre where he led the team that launched Travelocity.com. He spent seven years as Travelocity.com CEO transforming the online agency into a three-billion-dollar company and taking it public for $1.2 billion.
Jones then joined Kayak.com as Chairman and helped grow the company into a business sold to Priceline for $1.8 billion in 2013. He has served on the boards of fourteen companies that created more than $10 billion of market value.
Today he is Managing Principle of On Inc, a consultancy he founded to help companies improve their digital offerings.
Jones will cover a range of subjects including distribution in the travel industry, owning “the edge”, artificial intelligence and how to reengineer businesses to take advantage of new technologies.
“I am delighted to be invited to speak at World Travel Market London,” Jones said. “Travel industry businesses need to keep reinventing themselves to avoid being victims of disruption. Technological advancements are happening at such a rapid pace that businesses need to be ahead of the curve or risk falling behind.
“Travel companies are already deploying AI, Blockchain, Beacons, Big Data, Robiotics and more. It is not only these technologies that will be disruptive, it is the new business models that they will engender that will cause the most disruption. Only the most innovative companies will keep up.”
WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press, said: “It is great WTM London can confirm Terry Jones as one of the keynote speakers for 2017.
“Terry has a wealth of experience in the travel industry and has been behind some of the major innovations in travel purchasing over the past 30 years.
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the event where the travel and tourism industry conducts its business deals. Buyers from the WTM Buyers Club have a combined purchasing responsibility of £22.6 billion and sign deals at the event worth almost £2.8 billion.