TRAVEL TRENDS - INCORPORATING TRAVELTECH AND NOVACANCY
7 July, 2008, 7:34:21 AM
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Events
Bookings are now open for TRAVELtech 2008 - Australia's leading online travel marketing, distribution and tech event. This year's theme is the open-ended Year of Living Dangerously? It can be taken a couple of ways ... the obvious: oil, inflation, interest rates and marketing costs up - challenges ahead. But it's also a question, and the good news is there's increasing evidence the online channel may be the place consumers turn at times like these. Find out more at TRAVELtech 2008. Confirmed speakers are listed below, while the latest program has just been posted - it's packed with industry leaders and topical content.
TRAVELtech, founded in 1999, focusses on the latest online travel marketing and web-based innovations. It has a well-established reputation for delivering relevant, high-quality content and excellent networking - more than 300 delegates attended in 2007. If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to sponsor, please call Martin Kelly on (612) 9882-1575. Please visit the TRAVELtech photo gallery to see some photographs from the 2007 event. Sponsors include:
INFORMATIVE, educational, provocative and sometimes controversial, Search Engine Room is the leading event for Australasia's rapidly-growing search industry. Founded in 2004, Search Engine Room is locally owned and operated. It's held annually in Australia and New Zealand, attracting widespread industry support, and has a reputation for quality content, excellent event management and staging. The program focus is on respected, well-connected speakers delivering topical, relevant information. Search engine optimisation and marketing is well-covered, while broader industry issues are also addressed through interviews with leading search industry figures. There are case studies and debates, plus panels led by informed journos. Audience interaction is encouraged and Search Engine Room always makes an effort to be forward-looking, tracking the latest search and digital trends. Consumers are also given the once-over, enabling delegates to gain a better understanding of their customers. This format has great appeal and delegates come from around the country. Apart from search marketers, marketing managers, e-commerce managers, online business owners, senior management, digital media executives and agency types predominate. Companies large and small from diverse industries are represented, including travel. Some have been in the game for years, others are just starting out. If all this sounds interesting, and may like to attend a Search Engine Room conference, please subscribe to Search Engine Room News, which is packed with original content and comes out every five or so weeks. If you have any questions, please call Martin Kelly on 612-9882-1575.
A RECORD crowd attended the second No Vacancy acommodation industry conference in Sydney recently. It was a great day featuring industry leaders, panels, case studies, presentations and debate. There was a touch of controversy with hard questions asked - and answered. Program topics included online distribution, consumer trends, channel and yield management, carbon offsetting, star ratings, modern marketing tactics, pricing, social media strategies and plenty more. No Vacancy will return in 2009 - please sign up for the TravelTrends.biz newsletter if you'd like further details. |
Tourism Exchange Australia Attacked as 'Socialisation of Tourism'
By Martin Kelly, Travel Trends Andrew Burnes, Chairman of AOT Group and Deputy Chairman of Tourism Australia, has attacked as “socialisation of tourism” the new direction taken by the government-funded Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW). ATDW, which until now has provided only content to partners, recently signed a controversial agreement with tech provider V3 to set up Tourism Exchange Australia. Tourism Exchange Australia will sell products source from ATDW members and is scheduled to go live within the next three months. “Government should just get out the way,” said Burnes. However, Burnes operates Sunlover Holidays and NSW Holidays under licence from the Queensland NSW Governments through AOT Group, which also owns numerous other online and offline travel businesses. When questioned on this apparent contradiction, Burnes claimed the NSW and Queensland arrangements were “different” and therefore not comparable. Burnes also told delegates at ATEC’s Tourism Directions conference: “I don’t very much agree with the socialisation of tourism which began with the ATDW, and I say that with my AOT hat on.” Jeff Floyd, Chief Executive Officer of AAA Tourism, the national tourism body of Australia’s auto clubs, agreed. “I share your concern,” Floyd told Burnes. Liz Ward, General Manager of ATDW, strongly rejected the line pushed by Burnes and said Tourism Exchange Australia did not represent any kind of commercial threat. “TXA will connect both the ATDW and V3 Travel systems and services to deliver online, bookable Australian tourism products to consumers via ATDW's licensed distributors. It “is an open booking exchange that incorporates inventory and pricing from multiple booking systems and then distributes it widely to various websites. “ATDW will continue in its current role in providing high quality content and images for publishing on licensed distributor websites.” Travel Trends: December 17, 2007 Latest News
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