RICHMOND, Va.—Next Conference Scheduled for April 2-4 in New York

Industry leaders from all sectors of the online travel arena recently converged at eTravelWorld, held September 21-23 in Orlando to share thought-provoking opinions, news, products and business opportunities. A record number of attendees participated in an unbiased, unaffiliated industry platform, confirming the event’s position as the most progressive and comprehensive educational and networking opportunity for online travel professionals.
 
“eTravelWorld gave our company a quick immersion into the marketplace of online travel,” says Doug Snapp, CEO, GeoDiscovery. “It was a tremendous chance to network with the industry’s most influential participants. GeoDiscovery will definitely plan to participate again, and will take full advantage of the event’s unique services.”
 
Many leading analyst firms including Forrester, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, IDC and Gomez Advisors were onsite at eTravelWorld. Several chose the event as the forum to release 2001 predictions and other significant findings regarding the online travel arena.
 
A four-track speaking and panelist program included more than 100 news-making, e-travel and e-business visionaries, all addressing numerous aspects of online travel. Notable speakers included Jeffrey Katz, CEO of Orbitz; Rich Barton, CEO, Expedia; Karl Peterson, CEO, Hotwire; and Michael McCadden, CMO, Priceline.
 
Sponsoring companies and exhibitors included Forbes, Forrester, Inside Track on Travel Marketing, Aelix, Amadeus, Datalex, DoubleClick, GeoDiscovery, ITA Software, Para Protect and Gomez Pro. Trade Associations such as ATME and HSMAI, and travel trade publications such as Travel Weekly, Leisure Travel News, Business Travel News and National Hotel Executive were involved with the planning and marketing of the conference. “According to Forrester Research, Internet online travel is the largest single category for consumer spending on the Web.
 
By providing a content-rich conference fitted to the dynamics of this exploding industry, eTravelWorld has become a magnet for the industry visionaries,” said Debi Purgason, vice president of eTravelWorld at eMarketWorld. “Over 800 high-level attendees from across the travel spectrum came to learn and expand their online travel businesses. eTravelWorld has become the highest-level industry educational forum and a top-notch networking venue for travel professionals and industry analysts alike.”
 
“We received a tremendous response at eTravelWorld,” says David MacLaren, president and CEO, VRXstudiosinc. “Within three days, we achieved what we thought would have taken our sales teams months to do. We’re looking forward to attending the next eTravelWorld this coming April and continuing this success.”
 
“Due to the importance of developing our brand identity in the online travel market, it’s important for LastMinuteTravel.com to have a marquee presence at top conferences. We recognize eTravelWorld as one of the industry leaders,” says Ron Mulliken, executive vice president, sales. “At eTravelworld, we were able to get a better handle on not only the issues facing the online travel market, but our exhibit at the event allowed us unique access to the key customers who are leading travel brand providers.”
 
Top online travel CEOs, analysts, practitioners and media will again convene at eTravelWorld New York, April 2-4, 2001 at the Marriott Marquis. Based on the overwhelming success of the Orlando event, show producers are anticipating the use of more than 6,000 square feet, serving more than 1,000 attendees and 60 exhibitors for the upcoming New York event. The next conference will include a one-day forum targeting the meetings and corporate travel sector.
 
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