With all the talk and buzz around new technologies and bold ideas, now is a good time as any to take stock of where we are in the journey to this new future.
Speakers and delegates to the upcoming The Phocuswright Conference, aptly themed “Are we there yet?” will try and answer the question of when.
This year’s conference from November 19 to 21 at Fort Lauderdale, Florida will feature six hot topics:
The Frictionless Future
Discussions around true seamlessness that easily stores and intelligently uses information relevant to trips being taken, planned or dreamed about; customisable plans that combine modes of transport, lodging and things to do with painless payments across all segments.
Global Gains
China leads m-commerce. New Delhi, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are home to some of the hottest and best-funded travel startups, and Asian investors’ influence is surging. China and Japan boast more high-speed rail than the rest of the world combined. Will Asia’s upstarts, giants and travellers set the course from here? And how far away are Latin America, the Middle East and Africa from entering the arena as hotbeds of growth and innovation?
Right Product, Right Time, Right Device
From phone calls to chat, paper to screens, desktop to mobile, camera film to live video – the tech that consumers use to engage has undergone massive change. But matching device to use case has proven challenging for travel providers. Where – and when – will tech advancement and preservation of the human touch ultimately collide into its promised ideal?
Truth in Ad Tech
Hopes are high that AI and personalisation will distinguish brands amid the clutter, but traveller trust must first be earned. The implications that will accompany new conduits like voice, AR and VR remain uncertain, yet advertisers must stay ahead of it all or risk falling behind.
Countdown to a Showdown
A ton of market influence is in the hands of a powerful few. Three OTAs dominate global travel shopping, but what are the biggest tech giants’ plans for this US$1.4 trillion industry? Travel’s biggest may have the best head start, but first in doesn’t always mean last out.
Smart Data
Will AI’s impact be felt most in voice? Search? Customer acquisition? Loyalty? Personalised UX? If AI is the next big differentiator in online travel, when will we see that impact, and who will lead?
Recent addition to the growing list of speakers for the conference is Kara Swisher, once once described as Silicon Valley’s “most-feared and well-liked journalist” in a profile piece for New York Magazine. Now, the editor at large for tech media site Recode and host of the Recode Decode podcast. She joins a number of high-profile names to lend their brains and experience of the tech world and digital travel economy at the conference.
Click here for a sneak peek at the conference programme. Early bird rates end shortly on August 30. Click here to register now.