The World Travel Market 2014 (WTM 2014) that has finished today at the ExCel centre was in full swing on Wednesday 5th. The event began on Monday 3rd November, and the energy that came from the exhibitors was something to be admired. It was surprising that one could visit so many countries all over the world in one day, wandering from Switzerland to the Caribbean in a couple of minutes.The Travel Tech Show, which was part of the WTM 2014 exhibition, was packed. Holding their free loot and Swiss chocolates, potential customers gathered around the stands. The travel technology exhibitors were dedicated to showcasing the latest trends in the sector, with ecommerce and digital packaging the words on everyone’s lips. It was a competition of marketing for many travel tech companies to see who had the fastest, most economical booking systems…and the biggest exhibitor stand. As a B2B player, Multicom (www.multicom.co.uk) was there in full force, showing ‘the UK’s most trusted search and book platform’. They boasted 10 million searches per day on their ‘FindandBook’ system, with dynamic packaging, single XML API cuts cost, and Multi GDS connectivity. Their ‘WebVoyage’ customisable website solution was also highlighted, which integrated the contents of ‘FindandBook’. Another online booking system that drew a lot of attention was the Luxoft Team (www.luxoft.com), whose technology expertise lies in Custom Application Development, Product Engineering, R&D, and mobile apps, among other things.
Destinationbook’s (www.destinationbook.com) expertise lied solely in mobile apps, named the ‘Digital Travel Wallets’. Their creative platform – equipped with an XML interface – ensured that all valuable travel information clients needed was available in just three steps, with over 500 useful travel guides available to download, travel tips, emergency contacts, as well as vouchers and etickets being stored and organised within. Another organisation that focused on the customer, rather than the B2B, was cultuzz, (www.cultuzz.com) who ‘sell hospitality and destinations via eBay’ as part of their brand. Potential custom was dense near cultuzz, which goes to show that simplicity could actually be rather effective.
If one was not technologically sound and was rather unaware of the jargon, peakwork, (www.peakwork.co.uk) ‘the player hub company’, was far from simple. The travel industry software specialists were there to sell. Allegedly faster, higher quality, and accurate, their ‘innovative and unique’ Player-Hub technology is set to do very well, with Germany being big clients. The unified data format, called EDF, apparently enables a ‘finely tuned mapping of travel products’, and the Player maximises capacity, which improves the quality in ‘real time.’
In real time, there was definitely not enough of it to appreciate and enjoy the vast array of stands at the WTM’s Travel Tech Show. It is safe to say that the collection of exhibitors was rich in innovation, which provoked undeniable interest from the many visitors.
Engineering & Technology magazine 