Debate to tackle rise of search engines
A technology conference next month will explore whether internet searching has become a new avenue of distribution.
The Travel Technology Initiative has lined up a series of speakers to examine the effects the major search engines have had on the industry.
The event will feature two panel sessions. One will see search engines Google and Yahoo! go head-to-head with two travel companies who use their services extensively, Open Roads and Great Hotels Organisation.
Panel two meanwhile will feature a debate between the new travel resellers, Travelzoo UK and travelsupermarket.com, and their established rivals, Teletext and Cheapflights.
Among the speakers are Anite Travel director Ed Spiers, Google UK head of travel Daniel Robb, Travelzoo UK managing director Chris Loughlin, Cheapflights director of business development Liz Faherty and Hitwise UK director of research Heather Hopkins.
The conference: Search – The New Travel Distribution Channel?, takes place at the Institution of Electrical Engineers in Savoy Place on September 26.
Report by Steve Jones
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