ENTER, the world-leading tourism and Information Technology conference, will be held in Innsbruck, Austria from 26 - 28 January. The focus of this year’s conference is “e-Business is here -Ê What’s Next?” - a critical issue for travel and tourism businesses and organisations of every kind and a subject which knows no geographical boundaries.

The last decade has seen e-Business transform consumer behaviour and business practices resulting in a rapid growth of new business models - typified by the low-cost airlines with their online reservations systems - used by pensioners and students alike. As Professor Hannes Werthner of the University of Innsbruck and the Programme Chair for ENTER 2005 explains: “The programme of ENTER 2005 does not only focus on the present trends of IT but looks behind those to consider tomorrow’s changes as well. Delegates at ENTER 2005 will discuss how these new technologies will influence consumers, the market and their own business positioning.”

“Just one example of these market changes is that 2004 saw an increase of online bookings in Europe of more than 50% and 10% of the total revenues in travel and tourism now comes from online business. In parallel, structural changes are occurring - on the one hand there is a tendency towards concentration with the major players seeking and obtaining more influence and control - on the other hand we are seeing the emergence of so called ‘smart businesses’, flexible and dynamic co-operation which enables businesses to move swiftly to exploit market opportunity.”

Befitting its international nature, English will be the ENTER 2005 conference language. Delegates will be encouraged to join in discussions on the latest developments including the impact of the semantic web, pervasive computing and intelligent interfaces and how they will change the consumer behaviour and thus the marketplace for tourist organisations and enterprises.

Highlights of the conference programme include:

Representatives of international bodies such as the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) as well as key players in the travel and tourism industry such as Google, Sabre and Pegasus. DMO and SME representatives from Denmark, Austria, Norway, Scotland and a host other countries are also among the speakers.

Each day’s sessions will begin with a leading keynote speaker setting the tone for presentations and debate. The plenary sessions will be complemented by ENTER’s renowned Research Tracks which attract leading tourism and IT researchers worldwide.

For full details of the conference programme and registration forms please see www.ifitt.org/enter
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