Take risks and own the edge was the advice from travel industry innovator and Chairman of Wayblazer Terry Jones on Day 1 of the Travel Tech Show at WTM London on Monday 6 November.
During a Travel Perspective session, he pointed to companies such as Uber, Facebook and Alibaba which don’t own assets themselves but trade on the back of other people’s assets.
Jones said that while established companies see these players as disruptors, they see themselves as innovators who are all about “less capital and more speed.”
Addressing the audience he said:
“You may have the customers and the assets but maybe you’re not easy to do business with. Don’t let these companies steal your lunch. Figure out how to own the assets and own the edge.”
He pointed to navigation specialist Waze as an example of a company which has figured out how to use the edge by selling products to drivers when they’re stuck in congestion.
Amazon is another good example with its Amazon Dash buttons enabling consumers to reorder products when they are running out.
Jones went on to tip artificial intelligence as potentially the user interface of the future as it gets better at understanding, organising, learning and offering advice when it comes to what consumers want.
He also said voice is the biggest disruption he’s currently seeing and added that it would turn the world upside down again.
Other sessions during the day focused less on the consumer voice and more on the brand voice as audiences received help on how to spot fake social media influencers and accounts particularly on Instagram.
During a session from Traverse, which specialises in connecting bloggers and brands, speakers highlighted some of the ways to spot fake likes and followers.
Advice ranged from spotting peaks and troughs in likes and followers, choosing the right influencers for your brand and checking engagement across a number of posts.
“Ask people for their followers. They should not have anything to hide.”
Tavel blogger Julie Falconer of ‘A lady in London’ advised both brands and bloggers against trying to game the system by buying likes and followers.
“It’s pointless. It’s no good for the brand and no good for you as an influencer and you can never really be proud of that campaign.”
Further hints and tips for those gathered included making sure they know what they are looking for from a campaign and who it’s targeting before engaging influencers.
A final session of the day was given over to embracing new technology and adapting to change with speakers from trivago, Stackla, Gray Dawes and Gatwick Airport all sharing how the landscape is affecting their businesses.
During the Future of Technology in Travel and Hospitality session heard, for example, how Gatwick is coping with its 120,000 daily consumers who are “empowered, tech-enabled and demanding.”
Recognising the rapid pace of technological development and how it permeates everything the industry does, WTM London has unveiled TRVL>FWD – a dedicated technology event which will stand beside WTM next year.
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises five leading B2B events across four continents generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The five events are;
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 51,500 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL – London every November generating around £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 6-8 Nov 2017 – London.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) now in its 20th edition, is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. More than 600 golf tourism suppliers join 350 pre-qualified buyers and 100 international press for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive networking opportunities and invaluable industry and trend updates. Taking place in a different destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from over 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 11-14 Dec 2017 – Cannes.
World Travel Market Latin America now in its fifth edition attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates US$ 370 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo.
World Travel Market Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
About Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5bn over the four days. The 24th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 24-year history. www.arabiantravelmarketwtm.com Next event 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than 7m participants.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.