PhoCusWright has announced its next Executive Conference will be held in Paris on 26-27 September 2005 with a line up of 15 top executive speakers.
Centre Stage Speakers include:

Jean-Marc Espalioux, Chairman and CEO, Accor

Charles Petruccelli, President, Global Travel Services, American Express Company

David J.C. Radcliffe, CEO, Business Travel International BV

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Chairman, easyGroup (UK) Ltd.

Ian R. Carter, Chief Executive, Hilton International

Brent Hoberman, Co-Founder and CEO, lastminute.com Plc

Unlike traditional conferences, there is no formalised program. Instead the speakers are the program. While discussing subjects they consider crucial to their businesses, the speakers also provide timely and candid responses to critical issues facing the industry in general.
Several other notable European travel industry professionals will ask pointed questions as Talkbackers, a signature feature at PhoCusWright events. Discussions will focus on challenges and innovations in selling travel, tourism and hospitality products and services to corporate and leisure markets worldwide.

According to Philip Wolf, PhoCusWright’s President and CEO, “Today’s tourism industry is celebrating record high growth while fraught with historic hurdles, unconventional competition and new game rules.”

Current PhoCusWright research indicates that the online leisure and unmanaged business travel market in Europe is expected to surpass €28.6 billion in 2005, up nearly 50% from the €19.2 billion achieved in 2004. Similar rates of growth are expected for 2006, bringing the size of the market up to €41.6 billion, nearly double the current market size. The results of PhoCusWright’s groundbreaking research, in which 18,000 consumers across 18 countries were surveyed to determine Online Travel Shopping and Buying Behaviour in Key European Markets, will be announced at the Paris event.

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