Washington, DC | The U.S. Travel Association has announced the start of online voting for its Innovator of the Year Awards, which will be presented at the Association’s eCommerce and distribution conference, TravelCom’09, March 31-April 2 in Atlanta.

Replacing a traditional judging panel, the entire travel industry is being invited to vote online for entries that appear as five minute video pitches. Voting concludes at midnight Monday, March 23, with finalists announced on March 24, one week prior to TravelCom. View the entries.

This year’s competitors include: Hilton Hotels Corp., Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Orbitz Worldwide Inc., TravelMuse, TripAdvisor, TripIt, Tripology, TripTelevision, Virgin Charter and WorkLight. Last year’s winners were Kayak.com and Travelocity.

The Innovator of the Year Awards recognize companies or organizations whose outstanding efforts in the areas of technology, innovation, eCommerce and distribution have transformed their business and had a broad impact across the travel industry. Two awards are presented each year: one for companies less than five years old and a second for established companies, five years or older.

Also at TravelCom, the U.S. Travel Association will be presenting its Second Annual Steve Fossett Innovation Award to Herb Kelleher, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Southwest Airlines. The Fossett Award recognizes a worldwide travel industry leader, who has broken new ground, pushed boundaries and revolutionized the travel business, leaving a legacy of beneficial change.

This year’s TravelCom conference focuses on the growing role of eCommerce and digital distribution during the recession. To provide financial assistance to attend the conference, the U.S. Travel Association has established a Three-for-Two registration rate. Organizations that purchase three registrations receive one for free.

Besides Kelleher, other TravelCom speakers include OTA presidents Hugh Jones from Travelocity Global and Barney Harford from Orbitz Worldwide, David Tessier, senior vice president and chief financial officer, the Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group and more than 40 executives from brands such as Google, United Airlines, TripAdvisor, Travelzoo, Kayak.com, Forrester Research, and Virgin America.

TravelCom session topics include: generating ancillary revenue, merchandising through distribution, strategic sourcing, loyalty programs, outsourcing/off-shoring, mobile marketing, meta search, and new digital opportunities. For the latest program, go to .

Cathy Reynolds
Manager, Media Relations and Lead Manager, IPW Press Operations
+1 202 408 2183
U.S. Travel Association

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