Düsseldorf, Germany and Sherman, Conn., USA | PhoCusWright Inc., an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm specializing in consumer, business and competitive intelligence, is proud to announce a superior roster of center stage speakers for The PhoCusWright Travel Conference, 25-27 September 2006, at the Hotel Le Plaza, Brussels, Belgium.

Speakers include:

  • Esteban Walther, Head of Travel, Google UK Ltd
  • Dermot Halpin, President, EMEA, Expedia Inc.
  • Tim Frankcom, General Manager, Yahoo! and Kelkoo Travel, Europe
  • Philippe Chérèque, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Amadeus IT Group S.A.
  • Mike Buckman, CEO, BCD Travel
  • Brent Hoberman, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, lastminute.com Plc and Travelocity Europe Ltd
  • Jan Tissera, President International, TravelCLICK Inc.
  • Bill Walshe, Chief Marketing and Business Innovation Officer, Jumeirah
  • Michael J. Ball, CEO, WORLDHOTELS
  • Michael Flaxman, COO, Hotels, Northern Europe, Accor

A complete and up-to-date speaker list is available here.

Highly-productive networking opportunities will abound as attendees from over 20 countries and five continents gather for these three special days dedicated to fresh ideas, expansive thinking, incredible energy and uncommon community.

In keeping with the concept, “Not another travel conference… A better travel conference…,” Philip C. Wolf, PhoCusWright, president and CEO stated, “Travel industry players work very hard to differentiate themselves and resist commoditization. At PhoCusWright, we feel the same way about travel industry conferences. So we work very hard to create a more valuable, more productive, more stimulating experience for our customers.”

Program Highlights

The PhoCusWright Travel Conference innovative program includes a collection of keynote addresses, case studies, roundtables, exclusive interviews and point/counterpoint that will cover important subject matter and uncover tremendous insight such as:
  • Travel search strategies in Europe: Yahoo! and Google face-off
  • Metasearch versus online travel agencies – unblurring the lines
  • European hotel executives strategize and online hotel specialists differentiate themselves
  • Fresh approaches for search engine marketing and optimization
  • Sorting and explaining competitive pay-per-click options for travel
  • And many more covering tour operators, airlines, corporate travel, and India’s OTA’s

“PhoCusWright conferences increasingly attract high-profile travel experts from Europe as they provide more than just a series of lectures. The program is distinguished by methodical interactions between speakers and the highly responsive audience,” explained Michaela Papenhoff, managing director of h2c consulting and managing director Europe for PhoCusWright. “As PhoCusWright’s representative in Europe, we are convinced that this unique program will once again be an exciting experience for all participants.”

Mr. Wolf agreed, “Attendees will have a tremendous opportunity to join an unparalleled peer group and gain significant insight on critical next steps for their business.”

Exclusive Research

The free research brief Online Travel in Europe: Key Findings is exclusively available to all attendees. Findings include information on the European online travel market as a percent of the total travel market and growth rate by country. Learn about European leading online travel agencies’ gross bookings, European hotel sales by channel and more all in this one brief.

PhoCusWright analysts will also debut newly released research findings on business imperatives in three sessions which are essential for planning and budgeting for next year and beyond. Join them and get ready for 2007 by attending the Business Strategies & Trends debate, participate in a briefing on What’s New In Travel Technology, and learn What You Need To Know About Where To Go in a session on the market-by-market characteristics, and the differences and similarities that all European travel companies need to know.

For More Information

Further details on the complete program, list of speakers and press credentials are available at www.phocuswright.com/events or +49 211 9892558 or +1 860 350-4084 x500.

About PhoCusWright

PhoCusWright Inc. is an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm specializing in consumer, business and competitive intelligence. The company conducts and publishes primary work focused on strategic assessment and segment forecasting, offers a wide range of custom research and strategic consulting services and produces a series of high-profile executive conferences. With pioneering roots in sizing the market’s notable online sector, clients now emanate from six continents across all facets of the industry’s value chain and they use PhoCusWright’s information on a daily basis. H2c consulting represents PhoCusWright in Europe. © 2006 PhoCusWright Inc., Sherman, CT USA +49 211 9892558 +1 860 350-4084

Michaela Papenhoff
+49 211 989 2558

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