There are lot of interesting discussions to look forward to and one we’re particularly interested in is a presentation from Anthony Rawlins, CEO & Founder of Digital Visitor, on using Social Media to increase sales, for travel companies specifically. In addition to tips and advice on how you generate profit from social media and show a real ROI, he will be using real-life case studies and analytics from a ground-breaking study, to show how social media can generate sales for travel companies.
We’re also looking forward to presentations from the likes of iCrossing, LBi, QuBit and Aurasma, among others and there’s a special focus on innovation as three technology forms showcase their latest product.
We caught up with Head of News, Lee Hayhurst from Travel Weekly Group and asked him to give us a bit more insight into the Travolution Summit, ahead of the event…
How did Travolution Summit come about?
Travolution has always been as much about face to face meetings and events as about covering the online digital sector both in print and online. So the Summit was conceived from the outset when Travolution was born in 2005 as the ideal vehicle to get people from the industry together to discuss the key issues and provide some thought leadership.
What is the aim of the Travolution Summit?
The Summit has a fairly wide remit, although all the sessions are going to be relevant to the travel industry and specifically the online sector within that industry.
We have traditionally kicked things off with a broad look at the economic situation and this year the BBC’s Adam Shaw will give that opening presentation, but most of the day will see us looking at the key trends, specifically social, mobile and local. The Summit will always look to reflect what the main issues of the day are, so this year expect to hear a lot about Big Data, customer engagement and the emerging digital travel marketplace. We have also put an emphasis this year on delivering some short data sessions from partners about a new piece of research or case study that highlights an important trend in the sector. These pieces of research will be available to delegates on the day.
Have you noticed an increase in the demand or relevance of Social Media in the Travel sector?
Social Media is constantly in demand and there seems to be an insatiable appetite for people to talk about it, debate it and offer their views on it, but agreement on its relevancy seems to be still some way off. There seems to be a general acceptance that is it important but the jury is still out on exactly why, maybe to some extent because the technology and the activity it enables is developing faster than consumer behaviour, and firms are struggling with the return on investment. However, it’s clear everyone sees this as one area they need to get on top of to future-proof their businesses.
What else can attendees look forward to at this year’s Summit?
They can also look forward to seeing a video exclusively filmed for Travolution sister title Travel Weekly of an interview with one of the online industry’s key players, Priceline’s head of global strategy Glenn Fogel. The event actually took place on the morning of the day Priceline announced the $1.8bn buy out of Kayak – the digital travel sector’s most costly deal ever. Fogel gives a fascinating insight into this giant of the global travel industry and offers his views of what’s to come in the sector.
Delegates can also see a innovators’ pitch session in which three companies will each be given seven minutes to present what they do before a short grilling by a panel of industry experts. We will then assess which the audience feels has the best chance of making a splash in the industry.
You can find the full agenda for the Travolution Summit here.
Image: Travolution
Post Revisions:
- 20 November, 2012 @ 15:08 [Current Revision] by Lezaan Roos
- 20 November, 2012 @ 11:00 by Alastair McKenzie
- 20 November, 2012 @ 11:00 by Alastair McKenzie
Actually I would like to come to a summit like this. I can learn a lot from it.