“The flexible, modular internet versus package tours?”

The 24th ITB Travel Technology Congress will be taking place from 14 to 16 March this year in Hall 7.1b, immediately adjacent to the section devoted to “ITB Travel Technology”. The organisers of this congress, TMS Tele-Marketing-Service, in collaboration with Messe Berlin, is again presenting numerous topical issues in the tourism field at the ITB 2004.
The opening event, on Sunday, 14 March, will examine the opportunities for an upturn in the travel market in 2004, which could be brought about as a result of structural changes. “The package tour versus technical progress” - Klaus Laepple, President of the organisation representing Germany’s travel agents and tour operators, Deutscher Reisebüro und Reiseveranstalter Verband e.V., will discuss this aspect at the opening of the congress. Professor Wolfram Reulecke, Managing Partner of the leisure pollsters IFF Institut für Freizeitanalysen, Bochum, will deal with the subject in greater detail, asking whether package tour operators are ruining their own product.

The first session on Sunday, 14 March, will use examples provided by lastminute.com, L’tur and Thomas Cook to show how investments in technology can ensure the provision of reliable services for the benefit of customers and suppliers alike. The advantages of the internet as a flexible, modular system for vacationers will be examined. In view of the discussion about Lufthansa’s plans to introduce net fares, Session 2 on Monday, 15 March, will focus on a highly topical subject: “Zero commission, computer reservation systems and online travel agencies - what will be airlines attitude to their marketing partners be in future?”, is the main question. “Real time communication” and “Electronic purchasing of tourism services”, which has been largely neglected so far, will form the centre of attention in Session 3. The final day of the congress (Monday, 16 March) will be devoted to current problems in the hotel trade and in business travel. Here too the question is whether cheap airlines are jeopardising the future of the business travel sector.

The accompanying exhibition, in Hall 7c, directly adjacent to the congress, will provide IT consultancy services and solutions in the fields of e-commerce and CRM.

The “ITB Travel Technology” market segment

In addition to the congress itself, TMS Tele-Marketing-Service is also responsible for part of the “ITB Travel Technology” (Hall 7.1 c) market segment. This accompanying exhibition offers IT consultancy services and solutions in the fields of e-commerce and CRM.

Other suppliers can be found in Halls 6.1, 7.1 c and 8.1.

Hall 6.1: Global distribution systems (GDS), data base organisers, reservation systems, technology solutions, travel agency software, automatic ticket issue, calculation programs, B2B.

Hall 7.1 c: IT consultancy services and solutions in the fields of e-commerce and CRM,
B2B, B2C.

Hall 8.1 c: Suppliers of hotel software, hotel reservation systems.
as of 10. December 2003)

Major new developments this year include booking solutions for low cost carriers, browser-based booking portals and the integration of front-, mid-office and back-office solutions.

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