Helsinki to host travel technology conference

HELSINKI -- One of the world's largest conferences on information technology in the travel and tourism industries, ENTER 2003 has selected Helsinki as the location for its next annual event, which will focus on the future of mobile technology in the travel industry. The conference, with the theme of "Travel on the Move," will be held 27 January through 1 February 2003.

According to ENTER’s organizers, IFITT (International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism), Helsinki’s position as the center of the global mobile technology industry was a key factor behind the organization's decision to choose it as the city for the next conference. ENTER 2003 is expected to bring together more than 100 speakers from the major players in the global m-travel revolution to debate how travel providers and tourism bodies can profit from the next generation of mobile applications and other new distribution channels.

"M-travel is about more than just mobile phones. It goes to the heart of how travel providers will sell in the future," said IFITT’s president Josef G. Margreiter, CEO of the Tirol Werbung Group & Tourist Board. "Waiting for the customer to come to you is no longer enough. The travel industry needs to distribute its products and services wherever the traveler is."

Consumers' desires

Margreiter said the event will examine mobile technology’s ability to meet consumers’ growing desire to make bookings and obtain information while on the move. Also, the conference will build on ENTER 2002’s theme of multiple-distribution strategies by examining how travel providers can maximize profitability by harnessing new and emerging distribution channels, from the internet to WAP technology.

"For anyone interested in the future of selling travel, ENTER 2003 is a must-do event," Margreiter said.

Technologies to be discussed at ENTER 2003 include Internet access across mobile phones (GPRS); GPS (Global Positioning System) solutions, enabling travel providers to send information to mobile users based on their geographic location, and 3G mobile phones, offering users visually-rich, Internet-style content direct to their handset.

"We are honored to be hosting this prestigious event. Helsinki is the hub of the world’s mobile technology revolution, with hundreds of top wireless application companies headquartered here, including Nokia and Benefon," said the Finnish Tourist Board’s IT development manager Inkeri Starry. "The city is also a great place for tourists, with its enchanting architecture, lakes and forests it really is a winter wonderland."

Future of mobile

ENTER 2003 will offer delegates from travel and tourism, government and academia a unique chance to cross examine the world’s leading m-travel companies on the future of mobile technology at a series of debates and seminars. The conference, which will be chaired by industry heavyweight and IFITT vice president Dimitrios Buhalis, senior lecturer in business information management at the University of Surrey, also features a full social programme and extensive networking opportunities with around 500 top industry participants expected to attend. 

IFITT’s mission is to enable the travel and tourism sectors to capitalize on breakthroughs in technology by setting the agenda for the development of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). Headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria, IFITT operates regional chapters in Australasia, North America and Scandinavia, each one dedicated to addressing issues specific to that region. 

The board also includes marketing director Karsten Kärcher chief international business officer of Tiscover, central Europe’s leading e-travel destination portal and management system; vice president Roger Carter, former CEO of Edinburgh Tourist Board, and honorary president Hannes Werthner, co-ordinator of eCTRL at Trento University, Italy. 

Organization's mission

The organization’s mission is to enable the travel and tourism sectors to capitalize on breakthroughs in technology, by setting the agenda for development and dissemination of knowledge concerning new information and communication technologies (ICTs). 

To achieve its goal, IFITT organizes ENTER, the world’s leading conference on ICT in the travel and tourism industries. Established in 1994, the annual event promotes best practice in IT by bringing together decision-makers from the travel and tourism, technology, media and telecommunications sectors in a series of high-profile seminars, debates and networking events.