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Moscow selected to host annual GSMA Mobile 360 Series event

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Eurasia conference, a regional event held as part of the activities of GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association), will be held in Moscow, October 8-9 2019.


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The decision to host the event in Moscow was adopted as a result of an active work of the Russian Convention Bureau which provided the proposal for venues, and organized an inspection visit for representatives of the international association.

The event will be held in Moscow for the second time, following the successful launch in 2018 which gathered over 600 attendees from 21 countries and 52% were Director-level and above.

In 2019, the conference and exhibition will bring together over 600 policymakers, regulatory authorities, international organisations, Mobile Network Operators, mobile technology solution providers and broader ICT ecosystem players from Russia, the CIS region and the international market leaders in 5G technology. The event will be held at the Lotte Hotel Moscow.

Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, said: “The sphere of mobile and high technologies plays a key role in stimulating economic growth, attracting foreign investments and increasing global competitiveness through development of science and technology. Adding more industries to the list of events organized by the Russian Convention Bureau will not only facilitate the development of corresponding areas of the real economy sector but also help create the image of the country on the international arena as one of the most meaningful players on the market of the event industry.”

Alexey Kalachev, Director of the Russian Convention Bureau, said: “We use various tools of working with international associations as we work to attract various business events to Russia. We are ready to offer universal and customized solutions that will correspond to the needs and expectations of conference organizers of various scale in different industries.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Indian travelers expected to spend $136 billion by 2021

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The Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018, on around 2 billion domestic and international trips, helping the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale.

The momentum is expected to continue and the industry will grow at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report, ‘How Does India Travel’. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses till 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing. The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travellers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalised marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorised each against their online research behavior:

Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.

Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.

Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.

Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.

Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Beach Vacation: What you do if a shark is about to attack?

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Shark and humans

Shark attack! The United States is the most dangerous country in the world when it comes to bloody encounters between people and sharks. It’s especially true in regions where tourism is big business.

In Hawaii, children are always taught two things about the ocean and sharks.
Today a 65-year-old visitor vacationing on the Island of Hawaii was bitten on her right inner upper thigh by a shark.  The bite mark was approximately 12 inches in diameter.

She was around several hundred yards offshore and brought in prone on a kayak via bystanders and does not remember events prior to being bitten. The victim was transported in stable condition to the hospital. A helicopter conducted a shoreline check within an hour of the incident, surveying several miles of ocean and along the coastline with no shark sightings.

What children are always taught in Hawaii about the ocean and sharks is to never turn your back on the ocean because then you won’t be aware of wave swells or anything heading in your direction. They are also taught to never go in the ocean alone. You never know when you will need someone’s help or you will need to help someone in distress.

When you enter the ocean, you are going into the domain of many aquatic animals, the scariest of which is the shark. Are there ways to avoid being attacked by a shark? Here, knowledge is definitely power.

If you see a shark and it is behaving aggressively, the best thing you can do is remain calm and as motionless as possible. While it may be hard not to panic, by not thrashing the water or screaming, this will likely be the biggest factor in whether or not you may be bitten.

Don’t attract attention to yourself by wearing jewelry that shines and reflects light. It can cause sharks to mistake you for a fish in murky water.

If you see a bait ball, get out! A bait ball is when small fish swarm in a tightly packed spherical formation and is a last-ditch defensive measure when they are threatened by predators – as in sharks.

Before you even go in the water, if you see animal remains on the beach, like dead seals, fish, or whales, there are more likely to be sharks in the water.

Although a shark will be in the water at all times, they mostly hunt at dawn, dusk, and at night because the low light makes it harder for prey to see them coming, and many fish are most active at dusk. Plan your ocean activities accordingly.

Be vigilant around areas with a steep drop-off, because certain species like the great white shark will use the deep water to ambush potential prey.

If despite all your best efforts to avoid a shark, an attack occurs, punch the shark in the nose or eyes, and use anything you have (surfboard, dive tank, etc.) to put it between the shark and yourself.

Immediately seek help from others. If no one is around, use your shirt, wetsuit, surf leash, or anything long enough to tie a tourniquet above the wound on yourself or the person attacked. If the incident occurs while surfing, put the person on a board.

Stay in a group as this will deter sharks from investigating further.

When you get to the beach, keep the legs elevated by pointing the attacked person’s head toward the water as the shore slopes down into the ocean.

Apply pressure directly to the wound with a towel or shirt until emergency responders arrive.

And in the ultimate prevention, first aid and CPR classes are extremely valuable for unexpected situations like a shark attack. Preparation is key and will increase your confidence in the ocean and in life.

Here is a story on the Great White Shark Attack in Australia.



Travel News | eTurboNews

Airbus selects seven finalist teams to shape the future of aerospace

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Airbus experts have selected seven teams for the 2019 final of world-class competition Fly Your Ideas which invites students from around the world to innovate in key areas for the industry: Electrification, Data Services, Cyber Security, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality. The finalist teams were selected after a three-month development phase working with support from Airbus mentors.

Fly Your Ideas gives students the opportunity to develop exceptional or radical ideas for tomorrow’s aerospace industry. The selected concepts represent a range of trendsetting topics such as a ‘Smart Wheelchair’ for air travel or a ‘Solar Windmill’.

The finalist team members represent 11 countries (Argentina, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Moldavia, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom), 8 different universities and were selected from over 270 entries worldwide. Their academic backgrounds vary from Engineering to Information Technology and Natural Sciences to Finance.

In June, the teams will travel to Toulouse, France to work in Airbus’ innovation and R&D facilities to further develop, prototype or visualize their ideas using state-of-the-art equipment with support from Airbus. On 27th June, the students will present their projects in front of Airbus experts and personalities from the aerospace and academic world, live-streamed in parallel to a global audience.

The students, competing for a share of the €45,000 prize fund and the chance to further evolve their idea in the aerospace industry, are clearly motivated by the digital nature of this year’s challenge, and the chance to change the world with their ideas.

The seven finalist teams are:

Airbus Integrated Fisheries Information Services (Data Services Challenge) – Team AirFish, University of Cambridge, UK

AirFish is an ocean monitoring system using satellite imagery and video imaging technology. It can help governments combat illegal fishing, reduce bycatch of endangered species, and generally decrease damages to the marine habitat. This project aims to improve the efficiency of fish farming, making food production more affordable whilst reducing open-water fishing and thus environmental impacts.

Automated Intelligent Real-Time Quality Inspection Exploiting Human-Robot-Collaboration (Artificial Intelligence Challenge) – Team AIQinspect, Saarland University, Germany

AIQinspect will assist the human operator in performing rivet inspection by using Artificial Intelligence. Quality is predicted based on images and physical parameters while riveting in real time. The resulting information is communicated to the operator via Augmented Reality.

Batteryless Wireless Switches for Airplanes (Internet of Things Challenge) – Team “Zero” Heroes, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Application of wireless systems in aircraft instead of traditional wired systems. This idea solves the main limitation for IoT in aircraft by removing battery integration – a current challenge for safety and regulation. Furthermore it reduces fuel consumption and weight while simplifying aircraft retrofit and maintenance needs.
Motor Intra-body Cooling System – MICS (Electrification Challenge) – Team Osprey, University of Strathclyde, UK
Replacing the traditional method of cooling electric motors with a water jacket or submerged cooling with a cooling system integrated inside the body of the motor itself. This project has the potential to provide mass effective motors for future Urban Air Mobility and Hybrid Electric aircraft.

The Solar Windmill (Electrification Challenge) – Team Seren, University of Cambridge, UK

A novel method of electricity generation for spacecraft using trapped high energy particles. Using two concentric aluminium spheres, the energetic electrons flux from solar wind trapped in planetary magnetic fields can be collected and harnessed to generate power. This innovative approach aims to store and generate energy in deep space where the current density from sunlight is low.

Swan – Smart Wheelchair for Air travel Needs (Internet of Things Challenge) – Team Move-ez, Technical University of Milan, Italy

SWAN is an innovation that aims to revolutionize the air-travel experience of Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) using IoT technology. It converts a redesigned class of detachable airplane seats into smart electric wheelchairs that passengers can use from check-in to arrival. It is fully controllable by smartphone through a dedicated app.

V.A.C.A. – Earth-obserVation-data based Application for stoCkbreeding Administration (Data Services Challenge) – Team V.A.C.A, National University of La Plata, Argentina

VACA is an integrated service for stockbreeders, based on Earth observation, meteorological and IoT data applied to agriculture. VACA aims to provide actionable information to stockbreeders on quality and quantity of pastures, number of animals in paddocks as well as the physical condition of cattle.

Teams will share project updates, photos, sketches and stories using #flyyourideas with their posts captured on the social wall of the competition website.

Airbus Fly Your Ideas is a global competition challenging students worldwide to innovate for the future of aerospace, designed and launched by Airbus in 2008 and organized in partnership with UNESCO since 2012. Since 2008, over 22,000 students have registered for Fly Your Ideas from over 700 universities and 100 countries worldwide, with more than 500 Airbus employees contributing their mentorship and expertise to support the competition.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Hawaii Tourism: New York City MetroCard might just be your ‘golden ticket’ to Hawaii

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The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau (HVCB) launched an initiative today that will bring one lucky New Yorker (and a plus-one) all the way from the island of New York to one of the Hawaiian Islands. The key to winning an exciting trip could be right in their pocket. All they need to do is input the number on the back of their Hawaii MetroCard when entering, and if they are selected, the getaway could be theirs. This marks the first time a New York MetroCard can be used for entry into a giveaway.

“New Yorkers are some of the hardest working people on the planet and the subway is a pivotal part of their everyday lives,” said Jay Talwar, chief marketing officer, HVCB. “We appreciate the hustle of New York City, but know that New Yorkers crave time to get refreshed and inspired. Last year, we gave New Yorkers the chance to Work From Hawaii (WFH), but this year it’s all about seeing the islands in a new way before going back to the bustle of the city.”

Here’s how it works:

From Tuesday, April 23, until Tuesday, April 30, participating MTA subway MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) will be filled with 250,000 Hawaii-branded MetroCards. Anyone who purchases one of these refillable cards should go to www.hawaii.nyc to enter the code printed on the back. By completing the registration, you’ll then be entered into the giveaway. A drawing to select the winner will be on or about Wednesday, May 8, and the winner will be notified on or around that date.

There are eight MTA subway stations participating in the initiative, with nearly all of the New York City subway train lines included. Your lucky station could be one of the following:

•72nd and Amsterdam – (1, 2, 3)
•86th and Lexington – (4, 5, 6)
•59th and Columbus – (A, B, C, D)
•23rd and 8th – (C, E)
•14th and Union Square – (L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6)
•Broadway & Lafayette at Houston – (B, D, F, M)
•Fulton Street – (A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5)
•Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr – (B, Q, 2, 3, 4, 5)

“New Yorkers use the subway to travel to different neighborhoods for their unique experiences, in similar fashion each of the six islands of Hawaii provides a unique set of experiences,” continues Jay Talwar, chief marketing officer, HVCB. “The MTA brings New Yorkers to the places they want to go, and our goal is to remind New Yorkers that they can maintain this mindset when planning a vacation in the Islands of Hawaii.”

Hawaii’s MetroCard promotion marks the launch of a larger campaign focused on attracting New Yorkers to the Hawaiian Islands. The campaign, dubbed HIxNY, includes Hawaii’s New York MetroCard promotion, as well as six additional promotions, following MetroCard, in collaboration with six other distinct New York-based brands. These brands range from fashion to fitness to cuisine. Itineraries for these six additional giveaways are tied to each of the six Hawaiian Islands and have been co-designed specifically for New Yorkers and will take place every month from May through October 2019. A win-win for those who didn’t get a free trip from the Hawaii MTA MetroCard giveaway.

Upcoming HVCB New York brand collaborations and their corresponding island giveaway include:

•Oahu x The Governors Ball (May)
•Island of Hawaii x Barry’s Bootcamp (June)
•Molokai x Best Made (July)
•Maui x The Infatuation (August)
•Kauai x Saturdays NYC (September)
•Lanai x Four Seasons Lanai (October)

Travel News | eTurboNews