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Bubble, Sumplex, Tengio, Traveknowledgy, Tineri and Winding Tree – these are just a few of the imaginatively titled start-ups vying for the winning places at this year’s Launchpad at Travel Technology Europe.
The scheme debuted last year with eight companies, but this year’s event (of which TTG is media partner) is set to feature 15 contenders – of which five will be shortlisted to compete for a chance to win the 2017 Travel Technology Disrupt Award, as well as a coveted free stand at next year’s show.
“We’re excited to give double the amount of support to start-ups through Launchpad in 2017,” said Sam Cande, group commercial director, Business Travel Show – which takes places over the same dates on the ground floor of London’s Olympia on February 22-23.
“The show has a history of introducing buyers to innovation, so it means a lot that, by supporting these start-ups, we’re truly helping them excel and drive the industry forward.”
Attendees can experience the rise of the robots, but not the demise of the human race (not just yet, anyway) from 12.30-1.10pm in the Innovate area
As well as nurturing the travel technology companies of tomorrow, TTE will be playing host to a range of exhibitors, as well as debates, keynotes and seminars. On the main floor, delegates can expect to meet Sabre, Vertical Systems, Atcore, Intuitive, Comtec, Codegen and Digital Trip, among others.
Rise of the robots
Of course, a year is a long time in the fast-paced world of travel technology, and TTE will aim to help bring delegates up to speed on many issues. In 2016, setting up a live “Battle of the bots” would have been hard to fathom. However, on the first day organisers will be pitching chatbots in a live head-to-head to see which performs best – including travel app Lola and KLM’s Facebook Messenger – and showcasing new technology from the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home. Attendees can experience this rise of the robots, but not the demise of the human race (not just yet, anyway) from 12.30-1.10pm in the Innovate area.
Few people last year could have predicted the phenomenon that was Pokemon Go, with half a billion downloads and counting – TTE 2017 will dissect its implications for travel. Tnooz founder Kevin May will be joined on stage by Nick Larson from Timelooper and Elizabeth Selby from Etihad to explore virtual and augmented reality in a session entitled “The new reality. Are VR and AR just games or a business tool?”, taking place from 3.30-4.30pm.
Pinpointing trends
Meanwhile, Charlotte Lamp Davies, vice-president travel and hospitality Europe at consulting firm DataArt, told TTG she will be putting blockchain (an autonomous computing system, as used by bitcoin) firmly on the agenda for her CTO Question Time, again taking place in the Innovate area of the show from 10-11am on Day 2. In this panel, a mix of chief technology officers and chief information officers will seek to pinpoint the trends that will affect travel technology, with artificial intelligence and machine learning, personalisation and the traveller-centric world, and the uses of blockchain, up for debate.
Technology is presenting us with an abundance of opportunity for shaking up the way we sell travel and service travellers… TTE is a hub of innovation and, as the largest event of its kind in the UK, a must-attend for anyone working in the industry
Other speaker sessions will see Duetto’s Michael McCartan discuss “How can big data help you get perfect pricing?”; Contiki’s Alexis Sitaropoulos on “Thinking like a publisher – how Contiki are mastering this”; Google’s Shelley Hurley on “Using Google’s Cloud platform to make your travel business smarter”; and Hotels.com’s Thierry Bedos discussing “Smaller screens, bigger bookings”.
Meanwhile, Tech Huddles are set to return. These informal drop-in sessions are places for discussion, networking and knowledge sharing with experts and peers. David Chapple, event director, said: “Technology is presenting us with an abundance of opportunity for shaking up the way we sell travel and service travellers… TTE is a hub of innovation and, as the largest event of its kind in the UK, a must-attend for anyone working in the industry.”
As for Winding Tree? Attendees should head to the Disrupt area to learn more about the start-up, which describes itself as “a decentralised data layer for the travel industry, soon to be open-sourced”. With its goal to “make travel distribution as simple and transparent as possible”, it’s one to watch in the Launchpad finals.
Register to attend TTE 2017 here
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TTE will this year feature 130 exhibitors, with 6,000 professionals attending. The exhibition will see more than 10 hotel conference sessions, 30 hotel exhibitors, 12 marketing conference sessions, 27 marketing exhibitors, 50 travel technology exhibitors and more than 24 travel technology conference sessions. Overall, the conference programme will deliver 50 hours and involve 120 speakers delivering thought-provoking sessions.
Travel Technology Europe (TTE) has invested in new technology for 2017 called Poken. All buyers visiting TTE will receive a Poken – a hand-shaped USB attached to your lanyard that allows you to swap business cards digitally with suppliers, speakers and other buyers by tapping the hands together. Buyers also get access to a show diary through Poken, allowing them to make appointments with exhibitors and maximise their time at the show. Where you see Poken Collect boards, you can also download information straight to your USB ready to be uploaded to your PC when you get back to the office.
