Facebook, Google, Skyscanner, Cisco, Samsung, Telefónica I+D, TUI Travel, Expedia, HotelsCombined, Vodafone, among others, as well as the biohacker Tim Cannon, will present the technologies that are changing and will change tourism, thanks to the Internet for Everything (IoE) and Big Data, and its impact on the traveler
Madrid, January 14th, 2015.- Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero, ITH, and International Tourism Fair in Spain, FITUR, present a sneak preview of FITURTECH 2015, key professional event devoted to technology, innovation and tourism. During this edition, titled “Tourism Epic Journeys”, experts, industry representatives and professionals will show how travel industry will change in twenty years ahead, anticipating how the Internet of Everything (IoE) and Big Data, the next IT revolution, will alter travel industry and the way travelers relate with travel value chain.
The ninth edition of FITURTECH, unmissable annual event for more than 4,000 professionals in the tourism industry, will take place at Feria de Madrid, Pavilion 10B3, during FITUR, from January 28th to 30th, 2015.
This event will bring together international hotel chains like Melia Hotels International, NH Hotels, IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, with pioneering technology companies worldwide, including Facebook, Google, Skyscanner, Cisco, Samsung, Telefonica I + D, TUI Travel, Expedia, HotelsCombined, and Vodafone; to understand how both available and under development technology (based on Big Data, wearables, beacons, among others) will change travel products and services, from planning, distribution and marketing, to customer relationship, loyalty and brand management.
Fiturtech2015 preview: round tables and presentations
Fiturtech 2015 will begin on Wednesday January 28th, with a keynote performed by with Irene Cano, CEO of Facebook Spain, who will explain social networks’ influence on travel sector and how Facebook will evolve in the coming years.
Later on, Antón Álvarez, Managing Partner of evercom, will present the second edition of International Travel Media Meeting (ITMM@Fiturtech2015), in which travel companies will explain how they are preparing themselves for a scenario in which devices will get smarter, smaller and connected with other things (IoE); producing enormous amounts of data (Big Data) that should be properly managed; and consequently, will lead to the rise of new products, services and business opportunities.
Thus, Tim Cannon, biohacker, will explain how devices will show the possibilities of a new generation of chips that will change the way humans relate to the world and the way we travel.
Afterwards, three live interview panels will anticipate strategies, technologies and tools in which world-leading companies in hospitality and technology are already working, looking 20 years ahead into the future. The first panel, Devices and Connectivity, will feature Filip Filipov, Head of B2B at Skyscanner and coordinator of Skyscanner 2024 study; José Petisco, CEO at CISCO España; and Daniel Kerzner, VP Marketing EMEA at Starwood Hotels & Resorts; right after, David Alonso, B2B Director at Samsung España; David del Val, CEO at Telefónica I+D and David Benito, Mobile Innovation at Melia Hotels International will analyze Mobility in the era of IoE; and finally, the Future of Search and Big Data will be examined by Álvaro de Nicolás, Chief Technology Officer at TUI Travel A&D; Frabrizio Giulio, Managing Director Italy & Spain at Expedia; and Mikael Quilfen, Europe Regional Manager de HotelsCombined.
The morning session will conclude with a presentation, performed by Luke Bujarski, Research Director; and Florence Kaci, European Market Specialist, from PhoCusWright, who will forecast some technology trends which will impact European travel market. Several workshops on segmentation, global management and business intelligence for travel and hospitality industry will take place in the afternoon session.
On Thursday, January 29th, several keynote speakers will address the audience about new economy and technology, tools for travel industry management, among other issues, and Kike Sarasola, President and founder at Room Mate Hotels, will put forward alternative, disruptive business models for hotel industry. Also, several workshops will be celebrated, as “Hosteltur Workshop: Communications to drive revenue”, by evercom Consultores de Comunicación; as well as Fiturtech’s traditional Hoteliers’ Roundtable, this year devoted to discuss about the how major Spanish hotel chains (such as IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts, Meliá Hotel International or NH Hotel Group) have taken the lead in new technologies and which projects they are already developing. On the afternoon, several innovations models for travel destinations will be analyzed with experts from Escuela de Organización Industrial (EOI) and Ashotel.
Friday4Tech: financing travel technology
FITURTECH 2015 last session, known as Friday4Tech, will be devoted to analyze funding and development options available for startups and early-stage companies. On January 30th, experts such as Andrés Leonardo Martínez, Head of Developers at Google Spain, will explain the alternatives entrepreneurs and new companies have to finance, incubate, develop and get support for their innovative projects within both technology and travel industries.
In addition, during Friday4Tech’s section “Third Generation Hotel”, named after ITH Hotel GEN3 Program, several technologies, tools and disruptive proposals for hotels will be showcased. ITH Hotel GEN3 is a R&D plan designed for the Spanish hotel industry which aims to promote integrations between technologies and management tools, operations and customer experience in hotels, in order to reach the full potential connectivity, mobility and IoE to increase revenues, optimize management and improve guest experience at hotels.
