ENTER 2003, the worldwide conference on IT in travel and tourism to be hosted in Helsinki this week, will focus on the future of mobile technology in the travel industry. 

ENTER 2003

delegates will learn that meeting consumers` demand for information on the move is the only way to stay ahead in the ultra competitive tourism market.

The conference - `Travel on the Move`, from 27 January to 1 February 2003 - will aim to bring together over 100 speakers from the major players in the global m-travel revolution to debate how travel providers and tourism bodies can profit from the next generation of mobile applications and other new distribution channels. 
In particular, the event will examine mobile technology`s ability to meet consumers` growing desire to make bookings and obtain information while on the move. Furthermore, the conference will build on ENTER 2002`s theme of multiple-distribution strategies by examining how travel providers can maximise profitability by harnessing new and emerging distribution channels, from the internet to WAP technology. 

In his speech to mark the opening of the annual global conference, Josef Margreiter, president of IFITT said: “Waiting for the customer to come to you is no longer enough. ENTER 2003 will go to the heart of how the travel industry will sell in the future.”
Mr Margreiter added: “Consumers` access to information, and the ability to make bookings anywhere at anytime, will be key to the travel sector profiting from the next generation of mobile applications and other exciting new distribution channels.”

Technologies under the spotlight at the event include internet access across mobile phones (GPRS); GPS (Global Positioning System) solutions, enabling travel providers to send information to mobile users based on their geographic location, and 3G mobile phones, offering users visually-rich, internet-style content direct to their handset. 
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