The Travel Technology Show is premiering a series of exciting ‘zeitgeist’ seminar sessions at next month’s event, which takes place from February 13-14 at London’s Earls Court 2. The sessions, which have been produced in association with Travolution magazine, will investigate the impact of the Internet on the travel industry and forecast how this is likely to evolve over the coming years.

“Over the last ten years, the Internet has made the biggest single impact on the way we search, choose, book and enjoy both business and leisure travel in the UK,” said event director Neil Simpson. “Our four zeitgeist sessions have been created to demystify the buzz words and threats associated with doing business online, as well as highlighting the opportunities and benefits it offers to travel professionals. We are confident these sessions will be both insightful and inspirational for our delegates.”

The four sessions are entitled Meta Search Engines and Online Travel Agencies, Zeitgeist Design and Usability, Zeitgeist Marketing on the Web and Web 2.0 and the Future for Online Travel.

Tim Walters, director for marketing and strategy, Fatwire Software, is hosting the Zeitgeist Design and Usability session. He explained: “The fact is this: most travel web sites suck. One recent expert analysis found that 97 per cent fail to achieve a passing grade. A sorry state of affairs, but it only gets worse. Consumers are now demanding “second-generation” sites that are customer-centric - i.e. sites that anticipate their individual needs and offer a “persuasive user experience.” My session will show how travel companies can meet this demand, and what processes and technology solutions will allow them to create second-generation customer-centric sites that provide a competitive advantage.”

Teddie Cowell from Neutralise is planning to enlighten delegates on Zeitgeist Marketing on the Web: “Our presentation will review a decade of growth in the online marketing industry and discuss the ideas that currently dominate zeitgeist marketing on the web - where they’ve come from and where they are going. In particular, we’ll be looking at the long-term trends and how travel businesses can achieve long-term value from their search marketing campaigns.”

Seminar attendees will be able to hear comment, opinion, tips and advice from other high profile, high quality speakers, including Daniel Robb, travel market manager, Google; Simon Ferguson, publishing director, Travolution; Alan Josephs, managing director of ebookers; Kevin Eyres, managing director, Sidestep Europe and Kenny Picken of Traveltek.

Travel Technology Show seminar tickets can be bought in advance online at www.traveltechnologyshow.com for £40 per session, a £10 reduction on tickets purchased at the show. 

3072 visitors attended the Travel Technology Show in 2006, an increase 23 per cent from the previous year.
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