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Top tech experts and travel brands share insights at Travel Forward

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Delegates at Travel Forward – the travel technology event co-located with WTM London – will hear from the likes of Google, Facebook and Expedia about hi-tech ways that travel will innovate from 2020 onwards.

Expert speakers from global tech giants will join executives from multinational travel firms such as easyJet, Accor and KLM at a two-day conference, which is part of the three-day Travel Forward (Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November).

The keynote speaker on the first morning (4 November) is Becky Power from Google UK, who will discuss how advances in digital technology can help travel businesses to stay competitive and improve customer loyalty. Her session will look at the latest innovations in the travel industry, with case studies outlining how technology has been successfully applied within the industry – and how these breakthroughs been driven by the changing needs of consumers. She started her career as a consultant at Accenture before joining Google 13 years ago, and is also a mentor for Ceresa, a mentoring initiative to help more women take on leadership roles.

She will be followed by Harj Dhaliwal from Virgin Hyperloop One, a pioneering mass transit system that aims to transport people and goods at nearly 700 miles per hour. Plans for the world’s first hyperloop project have been approved in India, aiming to link Pune and Mumbai in less than 35 minutes – compared to the current three-and-a-half-hour road journey. Dhaliwal will outline how the $10 billion scheme can create a blueprint for a hyperloop network across India – and update delegates about plans for similar Virgin Hyperloop One projects across the globe, from the US to the Middle East.

The afternoon sessions will showcase hi-tech ways to improve the experience for leisure and business travellers. Anette Schouls from KLM will talk about how she and her team harness the latest digital technology to help the airline’s passengers. Their recent flagship project was the new KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol Airport, which welcomes 5,000 visitors from around the world every day.

She will be followed by three speakers for the session entitled ‘The zero-friction customer journey’ – Alex Dalman from advertising and marketing firm VCCP; Morwenna Francis from EasyJet; and Siobhan McWeeny from Facebook. Dalman helped to create easyJet’s Look&Book app which enables users to book a flight from just a photograph, and she will join Francis to discuss how it has helped the no-frills airline. McWeeny will reveal trends and insights from Facebook showing delegates how they can reduce friction for customers.

Two keynote sessions on the conference’s second day will examine the influence of ‘Generation Alpha’ and explore trends in the hospitality sector. The keynote speech about Generation Alpha by Andrew van der Feltz, from Expedia Group Media Solutions, will feature research findings about the emerging cohort of travellers born after 2010. They have grown up with technology, digital content and instant gratification and can influence family holiday decisions and the future of travel. He will be followed by Accor’s Frederic Fontaine who will use case studies from the hotel giant to demonstrate how organisations can change in a sustainable way, and put the customer at the centre of their planning.

Across the two days of Travel Forward delegates will have learnt about the transformative impact technology across the travel landscape, and how to harness digital capabilities to deliver on the joint goals of better customer experiences, and sustainable business value. In the Final Panel: Rethinking digital transformation session, speakers and panellists from across the two days will review insights and discuss: how can delegates take these learnings forward, embracing strategies to deliver innovation across their organisations?

Now in its second year, Travel Forward at ExCeL London features a conference, exhibition and Startup Showcase programme – which concludes at 16:30 in the TF Keynote Theatre on the Tuesday – designed to help senior decision-makers to plan for the future.

As well as top executives in the Keynote Theatre, the conference will feature other sessions in the TF Conference Theatre 2, looking at issues such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, business growth and marketing.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager for Travel Forward said: “Last year’s inaugural event was a great success and we’re building on that to offer delegates even more in 2019 – more ideas about how the industry will look in the 2020s and more solutions to overcome the biggest challenges facing the travel industry. “Travel Forward is the event that embraces fresh concepts and innovative projects to inspire delegates. The motivational speakers in our keynote theatre will share their stories of entrepreneurship and cutting-edge technology, which will galvanize our visitors.”

Monday 4 November: Conference Sessions in the TF Keynote Theatre

11:10-11:40

Keynote: From booking systems to business value: How to deliver on digital technology advances to stay competitive, improve loyalty and retention, and deliver experiences.

Becky Power, Travel Sector Director, Google UK

11:40-12:00

Virgin Hyperloop One: Pushing the boundaries of transportation

Harj Dhaliwal, Managing Director Middle East & India, Virgin Hyperloop One

14:15-14:45 

Transforming the digital airport experience for business customers

Anette Schouls, Manager Digital Airport Services, KLM 

15:15-15:45

The zero-friction customer journey

Alex Dalman, Senior Account Director, VCCP; Morwenna Francis; Marketing Manager, EasyJet; and Siobhan McWeeny, Client Partner Travel UK, Facebook

Tuesday 5 November: Conference Sessions in the TF Keynote Theatre

11:00-11:30

Keynote: Generation Alpha: How the World’s Youngest Generation is Already Influencing Travel

11:30-12:00  

Keynote: Customer-centricity and personalisation in the hospitality industry

Frederic Fontaine, Innovation Lab Senior Vice President, Accor

16:30-17:00

Startup Showcase finale

17:00-17:30

Final panel: Rethinking digital transformation

Moderated by Jon Collins.

To reserve your place at the Travel Forward conference click here.

 About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises eight leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next event: Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November 2019 – London #IdeasArriveHere

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

eTN is a media partner for WTM London.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julia Newbound – WTM Portfolio Press & PR Lead

E: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7056 / M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

Nicole Smart – WTM Portfolio PR & Events Consultant

E: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510

Travel Forward Tech Event Hosts its first #HackTravel Hackathon

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Travel Forward is hosting its first Hackathon on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, at ExCeL London.

 
A hackathon, well known among technology experts globally, is a non-stop digital product development event, where problems are posed in order to come up with innovative solutions.

As tech innovation is constantly changing, it creates both new benefits and pain points for travelers. It is important, therefore, to understand and solve these challenges as efficiently as possible.

Travel Forward have teamed up with hackathon specialists Winding Tree to host their latest #HackTravel event.

The #HackTravel hackathon will bring together forward thinking travel industry players such as travel start-ups, airlines, hotels and software companies to collaboratively tackle real world industry pain points. Travel Forward #HackTravel will be a platform for self-expression and innovative perspectives through technology.

Richard Gayle, Exhibition Manager for Travel Forward explained: “We’re delighted to be working with the well-established Winding Tree to host such a dynamic, forward thinking and industry changing event such as the #HackTravel hackathon.

“Whether you are an OTA, hotel, software vendor or an independent travel tech expert, there are great challenges to take part in for both technical and business hackathon participants. This is a unique opportunity to share the problem solving process with people you would not normally be able to, to learn from and collaborate with peers and create actionable solutions at pace.

“So we look forward to welcoming all experts, so that collectively we can turn ideas that will move the Travel industry forward, into reality.”

Pedro Anderson, COO, and Co-Founder of Winding Tree, said: “We are honoured to be able to participate in World Travel Market in such a profound way. WTM London is one of, if not the, biggest event in the travel industry, and we’ll be able to showcase our technology to an audience like never before.

“Each Hackathon we’ve held in the past has had impressive results, showing the possibility and necessity for open-source technology among travel and hospitality companies, and I’m sure this one will be no different.”

The technology-focused conference, exhibition and Startup Showcase is co-located within WTM London at ExCeL London from 4 – 6 November 2019.

To register for Travel Forward, please click here.  

Travel Forward is the travel technology event co-located with WTM London and part of the WTM Portfolio of events. The second Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer program will take place on 4–6 November 2019 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality.

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises eight leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next event: Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November 2019 – London #IdeasArriveHere

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julia Newbound – WTM Portfolio Press and PR Lead

E: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7056 / M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

Nicole Smart – WTM Portfolio PR and Events Consultant

E: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510

ATM to launch inaugural M.E. edition of Travel Forward in 2020

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Travel, tourism and hospitality professionals from around the world will have an opportunity to explore the next generation of industry innovations at the Middle East’s first ever edition of Travel Forward, which will take place alongside Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2020.

The travel and hospitality innovation event will connect buyers and suppliers from across the Middle East and beyond, enabling delegates to try out the latest industry tools and take advantage of technologies that could boost efficiency and improve the customer experience.

The event will cover the full spectrum of industry tools, from emerging innovations such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and machine learning, to existing systems such as booking engines, business management software and end-user technology.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “In today’s ultra-competitive travel, tourism and hospitality markets, the effective implementation of innovative technologies is essential to the long-term success of any business. By identifying the right tools to meet their needs, industry professionals can give themselves a competitive edge.

“That is why events such as Travel Forward are so important to our sector’s future. By bringing together buyers and suppliers, and facilitating face-to-face interactions, the show will make it easier for participants to identify and test innovative technologies and applications that could help to achieve their long-term goals.”

Travel Forward will form part of next year’s Arabian Travel Week, an umbrella brand comprising several co-located shows including Arabian Travel Market 2020; ATM Holiday Shopper; CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa; and ILTM Arabia.

The original edition of Travel Forward was launched during World Travel Market 2018 in London. Based on the success of the event to date, organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions rolled out a Latin America edition earlier this year, and plans to introduce both Middle East and South Africa editions in 2020.

Richard Gayle, Event Manager, Travel Forward at WTM London, said: “The London edition of Travel Forward has attracted widespread industry interest since its launch in 2018. The event not only allows technology suppliers to showcase their products and services to buyers on a one-to-one basis, but also enables travel, tourism and hospitality professionals to get hands-on experience with technologies that could transform their operations.

“The Middle East edition of the show will enable industry players from across the Gulf to engage with the latest innovations by bringing these technologies to their doorstep.”

Delegates at the Middle East event will have access to high-profile keynote speakers and a world-class line-up of technology experts, and the event’s organiser plans to limit the number of exhibitors so that suppliers and buyers can be more effectively aligned.

Travel Forward will include a dedicated product theatre, enabling exhibitors to conduct live demonstrations for attendees. The event will also feature ‘Pitch It – Prove It’ start-up challenge, in which suppliers will not only explain the theory behind their innovations but also demonstrate their advantages in real time.

The standalone event will build on the success of ATM 2019’s theme, cutting-edge technology and innovation, which has been integrated across all show verticals and activities, including its focused seminar sessions.

For more information about ATM 2019, visit: https://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

To find out more about Travel Forward, visit: https://travelforward.wtm.com.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre.  Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28 April to Wednesday, 1 May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: NATHALIE VISELE, Director, Shamal Communications, Arjaan Office Tower, Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tel: +971 4 365 2711 | Mobile: +971 50 457 6525, E-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.shamalcomms.com

Lufthansa makes dedicated staff look bad: The eTN Hero is Patricia Dzai of Swissport Johannesburg

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Lufthansa

“My personal hero today is Ms. Patricia Dzai. Patricia works for Swissport in Johannesburg, South Africa,” said eTN Publisher Juergen Steinmetz. Swissport is one of the largest aviation ground-handling agencies operating in countries around the world.

Major airlines hire Swissport to manage customer relations and logistics when it comes to baggage handling, including lost or misplaced items.

Lufthansa German Airlines’ ground handler in Johannesburg is Swissport. I recently traveled from Nice to Cape Town via Frankfurt and Johannesburg on Lufthansa German Airlines. I am a United Airlines Star Alliance Gold member and traveled on Lufthansa in Business class. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance.

When I arrived in Johannesburg, I heard my name called by Lufthansa’s lost baggage office handled by Swissport.

I was told my tube was still in Frankfurt, and they would put it on the next flight to Johannesburg. I explained it was of utmost importance to have the tube for an important trade show event, the World Travel Market in Cape Town, in the morning.

Patricia Dzai, the Swissport agent in Johannesburg, wanted to make sure this would be possible and sent an urgent message to Lufthansa in Frankfurt. The message said:

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased to know my tube would go on LH 576 directly to Cape Town almost in time for the start of World Travel Market.

I went on to fly to Cape Town and received a text message in the evening saying my tube would be on the Lufthansa flight to Johannesburg, which was different from what Patricia had requested. Since it was late and the Swissport office in Johannesburg was closed, I was able to find a non-published phone number for Lufthansa baggage service in Frankfurt. Lufthansa, like most airlines, is hiding phone numbers to encourage passengers to communicate only by email.

I was told by Lufthansa Baggage Service in Frankfurt no such message to forward my tube to Cape Town was ever received by Swissport Johannesburg. The agent went on to say that passengers are often not told the truth by Swissport agents.

The Lufthansa agent in Frankfurt explained that his job was not to help me, since this was only handled in Johannesburg. I argued my tube is in Frankfurt and not Johannesburg, and the handling agent for Swissport in Johannesburg was closed.

The agent then said he was now doing a one-time exception for me and would reroute my tube on LH576 directly to Cape Town. He said there were 5 hours to get this done, still plenty of time according to him.

The next day I received another message telling me again the tube was on its way to Johannesburg instead of Cape Town.

I called Swissport in Johannesburg, and the news not could have been worse. They told me, apologizing, that my tube was still in Frankfurt for a second day, and they did not know why.

I again called the baggage-handling office in Frankfurt and was again told it’s all Swissport’s mistake for not telling them where to send it.

This time I was angry and called Swissport Johannesburg again. I asked Patricia why she was lying about this. I told her she never sent this request to Frankfurt, according to Lufthansa.

Ten minutes later, I received an email with a time-stamped screenshot from Patricia Dzai showing me exactly what was requested by her in the first place.

Patricia actually had gone out of her way originally to make sure I would be united with my tube on time and in Cape Town. I felt bad thinking she didn’t care and didn’t do anything, when in fact she did.

It shows that big companies like Lufthansa have a serious customer service issue. They hide behind a huge system and are trained to say it’s not their job and simply blame others for company shortcomings.

There was no way I could talk to anyone at Lufthansa about this, and my urgent email to them on the day I was trying to get the tube re-routed was just responded to 2 weeks after I was already back home in Hawaii. Lufthansa offered a 200 euro compensation.

No explanation was given and no apology for accusing Patricia Dzai and Swissport for not doing their job.

I finally received my tube on the last day after the trade show and took it back to the US unopened. When I changed planes in Frankfurt, I asked the agent working in the Senator Lounge to speak to a supervisor in baggage handling about this case and compensation. She told me I have to send an email, which I had already done days ago.

She gave me some chocolate and said they get customers’ complaints all the time and do their best to help and respond, but the back-up system by the airline is not there.

It’s all about a giant non-caring anonymous machine.

I extend my apologies to Patricia Dzai from Swissport, as I now understand she was also a victim of shortcomings created by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Patricia Dzai is the eTN Hero for today.

Travel News | eTurboNews

SITA: Tracking airline passenger bags drives 66% improvement in baggage delivery

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Airlines that are adding tracking at more points of the baggage journey are enjoying a huge improvement in bag delivery globally. The SITA 2019 Baggage IT Insights – officially launched at an event in Abu Dhabi International Airport today – shows that where tracking is done at check-in and loading onto the aircraft, the rate of improvement is as high as 66%.

These results come as the record drop in the baggage mishandling rate achieved globally over the past decade plateaus, with the rate steady at around 5.7 bags per thousand passengers over the past three years. In 2018, the rate was 5.69 per thousand passengers.

Over the past year, an increasing number of airlines and airports have started to introduce tracking at key points in the journey – check-in, loading onto the aircraft, transfers and arrival – to improve baggage management and further reduce the chances of a bag being mishandled. SITA’s research provides the first glimpse of the success of this tracking. It reveals that where bags were being tracked when loaded onto the aircraft, the rate of improvement ranged between 38% and 66% depending on the level of tracking introduced.

Peter Drummond, Director of Baggage at SITA, said: “While the mishandling rate has started to plateau over the past few years, this comes against a continued growth in passenger numbers and their bags. In 2018, 4.36 billion travelers checked in more than 4.27 billion bags. More bags makes things more challenging. Everyone across the industry needs to look beyond the process and technology improvements made in the past decade and adopt the latest technology such as tracking to make the next big cut in the rate of mishandled bags.”

Ahmed Juma Al Shamsi, Acting Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “For our passengers the timely delivery of baggage is key to ensuring a seamless passenger experience and therefore an area in which we continue to make further improvements. Looking forward, baggage tracking is fundamental to driving more accurate bag delivery not only at Abu Dhabi International Airport but across the entire passenger journey. We have led the way with the introduction of tracking on arrival and we have already seen significant improvements.”

Transferring baggage from one aircraft, or airline, to another remains a pinch point in the journey and in 2018 it was again the main reason for bags being mishandled. Transfer bags accounted for 46% of all mishandled bags.
Drummond added: “Transfer is by far the most difficult stage to track a bag as there are multiple airlines and airports involved. However, data from this year’s report shows that tracking at key points in the journey, such as transfers, will go a long way to eliminating mishandling and will allow airlines and their passengers to keep tabs on where their bags are at every step of the way.”

Over the past decade, total number of mishandled bags per annum has plummeted 47% from 46.9 million in 2007 to 24.8 million in 2018, while the annual bill footed by the industry has shrunk 43% to $2.4 billion, down from $4.22 billion in 2007.

Travel News | eTurboNews