The inaugural The Travel Technology Show at WTM today (Tuesday 5 November) put the spotlight on social media and mobile trends as well as how online penetration continues apace for some destinations.
A session on how Facebook is now in every stage of the travel process, from dreaming and planning to experiencing and reflecting – with a senior exec from the social network unsurprisingly drew a huge audience.
Few companies grasp Facebook’s value as a conversion tool, Lee McCabe, its head of travel, told those gathered.
Still on the subject of social, a panel organised by Travel Bloggers Unite came out firmly in favour of the impact of bloggers in the booking funnel.
Bloggers can have a positive effect on many stages of the booking cycle according to experts on the panel.
Mobile was also a theme on Day two at The Travel Tech Show at WTM with Gary Morrison, Expedia’s retail boss, leading a session on the opportunities it creates that have never before been possible.
During an ‘Are you mobile?’ session, he said it should be thought of as ‘fundamentally different’ not least because of its multi-channel nature.
A further highlight was news that Germany is set to become Europe’s biggest online travel market within the next five years according to a new report.
PhoCusWright Director, Research Luke Bujarski said that while Germany’s internet travel market currently has a penetration of 36%, lagging other countries, this is set to change.
The Travel Tech Show at WTM derives from the Technology region of WTM. The region grew by 70% between 2010 and 2012, leading the launch of ‘the show within a show’ concept. The Travel Technology Show welcomes an extra 61 exhibitors . Amadeus, Comtec, Pegasus and Dolphin Dynamics are some of the familiar reservations and booking technology firms exhibiting this year. But other sectors such as email marketing, reviews management and consumer-facing bedbanks will be represented by newcomers such as Silverpop, reputation.com and Venere.
