Travel Technology
- Back to the Future?
Autumn Conference - Live & Streamed
Wednesday 14 Sept 2022 - 10:00 to 13:00 followed by lunch
Venue
Holiday Inn Regent’s Park, Carburton St, London W1W 5EE (nearest underground: Great Portland Street)
or at your home or office via Zoom
Where is technology taking the travel industry?
Travel could reasonably be described as an information industry. When a flight or a hotel stay is booked, it does not yet exist. The reservation is for a date in the future. Pre-computerisation, the reservation would have been recorded in a ledger or on a rolodex or a wall planner.
The first computer system specifically for travel was the airline reservation system, SABRE, which launched in 1964. (Incidentally, SABRE stood for Semi-Automated Business Research Environment.)
In the UK, International Leisure Group, one of the UK’s largest tour operators in the 1960s was reputed to have developed the first tour operator reservation system. As passenger numbers grew, ILG’s warehouse sized call centre ran out of wall space for its booking charts and so had no choice but to computerise.
In the mid-1970s, Viewdata came into widespread use in the UK travel industry. This was a screen based system used by travel agents. Their Viewdata terminals could directly connect to tour operators’ reservation systems to check availability, pricing and make bookings. This was b2b e-commerce, long before this phrase was ever coined.
Clearly, the travel industry has an illustrious history of technological innovation. As we move further into the 21st Century, the industry has fully embraced the opportunities presented by the Internet, but are we still moving forward or is it a case of back to the future?
For its Autumn Conference, TTI assembled a group of forward thinking technologists to present their views to you on where the industry is heading. They gave us the lowdown on some of the latest technologies, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality, from Blockchain to mobile apps. We learnt how these technologies are being applied to the travel industry to create new opportunities for improved efficiency and completely new ways of doing business.
Speakers
(Click on speakers' names to view presentations)
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Andrew McGuiness, Chief Executive Officer, Layered Reality (PowerPoint slideshow - 256mb) (pdf - 586kb)
Sponsors
TTI wishes to thank the following for sponsoring this event
Detailed Agenda
10:00 Welcome & TTI Update - Tim Wright, Chairman, TTI
Keynote Presentations
Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain are two new technologies being deployed in travel. One of the key advances that have taken place in recent times is the ability to analyse customer data, using methodologies including AI to better engage with customers. Blockchain is the foundation for immutable ledgers, or records of transactions, that cannot be altered, deleted, or destroyed. This technology is being put to use by Travel Ledger to provide faster settlements for non-air travel transactions and at reduced cost. In this opening session, you will hear from two senior executives from top travel technology organisations that are on the front line of change.
10:10 Taking Customer Engagement to a New Level - Richard Baker, Chief Commercial Officer, Inspiretec
10:25 A Revolutionary Travel Payments Platform - Justin Morshead, Commercial Director, Travel Ledger
10:40 Keynote Presentations Panel Session
10:55 Coffee Break - Time to check your email and get yourself a coffee.
Maximising Mobile
Mobile handsets are incredibly powerful computing and visual display devices with always-on high speed connectivity and an extremely accurate GPS location capability. In this session, you will hear from two business leaders who are harnessing this computing power by developing pioneering new apps that maximise the utility of mobile, providing new travel experiences that were not previously possible.
11:25 Delivering a 21st Century Trip Experience - Alisdair Luxmoore, Founder & Director, Vamoos
11:40 Travel Reinvented - Owen Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Cluecation
11:55 Maximising Mobile Panel Session
New Technologies, New Business Models
There are some exciting, new technologies that are, only now, finding their way into the travel industry. One of these is chatbot technology which can improve customer service whilst helping travel companies to run more efficiently. Another new technology is virtual reality, providing immersive events that, quite simply, would not otherwise be possible to experience. Layered Reality has created experiences such as Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds and The Gunpowder Plot where live actors, virtual reality and stunning special effects place you inside the action. In this session, you will learn more about these new technologies and how they are succeeding.
12:10 Chatbots - Realising the Potential - Jill Stephens, Sales Director, Click4Assistance
12:25 Virtual Becomes Reality - Andrew McGuiness, Chief Executive Officer, Layered Reality
12:40 New Technologies, New Business Models Panel Session
12:55 Chairman’s Summary - Tim Wright, Chairman, TTI
13:00 Close followed by sit down lunch
Moderator: Paul Richer, Genesys Digital Transformation