Amadeus and World Travel Market have agreed a year-round partnership that will see them work together to develop a detailed understanding of the 21st century leisure traveller.
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Amadeus and WTM strike partnership to map out the 21st century traveller
Amadeus and World Travel Market have agreed a year-round partnership that will see them work together to develop a detailed understanding of the 21st century leisure traveller.
The deal will see Amadeus, one of the world’s leading travel technology developers and GDS, host suppliers in a VIP Lounge at the annual trade show in London’s Excel exhibition centre.
In addition the partners have come up with a new Amadeus and WTM Awards programme for destinations that will form part of a broader strategic analysis of today’s leisure traveller.
This will see a series of high-level round-table discussions held in the run up to the event in November, focusing on the key areas identified in leisure travel.
The first will take place on Thursday, looking at the future of luxury travel and honeymoons, and each will tie in with an awards category of which 10 have been selected.
The round-tables will form the basis of white papers that will be unveiled at the trade show ahead of further analysis conducted by Amadeus in the aftermath into the trading patterns in the various sectors.
The destinations that are picked out as winners in each category by a panel of judges will win the services of a vlogger (video blogger) to capture the experience.
This footage can then be used to promote the destination either directly or through third parties.
As well as Luxury and Honeymoons, awards categories picked out by Amadeus and WTM also include Blow the Budget, Most Authentic Travel Experiences and Benefitting Communities and Conservation. Family and disabled travel will also be looked at.
Rob Sinclair-Barnes, Amadeus director of marketing, said: “We want to get a better understanding of the 21st century traveller: what are they doing, what are the trends, how they search.”
Sinclair-Barnes said he hoped the tie-up with WTM would reflect work Amadeus has previously done on the corporate traveller.
“What we hope to end up with is something that will help travel providers or agents better service the needs of their customers,” he said.
Amadeus UK and Ireland managing director, Diane Bouzebiba, said: “It is vital that all stakeholders evolve to provide a superior service for 21st century travellers.
“This means adapting to a more customer-centric approach that reduces stress from the initial travel search right through to in-journey information services. Amadeus is committed to helping all stakeholders succeed in travel.
“Our continuous investment in smarter technology enables travel consultants to search and match the travel options most suited to their customer’s unique needs, which is why we are delighted to be partnering with The Travel Tech Show at WTM.”
The Travel Tech Show at WTM head of marketing and communications Micaela Juarez said: “I am delighted to be able to welcome Amadeus as a partner of the new The Travel Tech Show at WTM.
“Travel technology is an increasingly important area for the industry, which has been demonstrated by the astronomical growth at WTM over the past few years and the decision to create ‘a show within a show’ concept.
“The year-round relationship will see The Travel Tech Show at WTM and Amadeus create a body of analysis and information which will benefit the whole industry.”
The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony in the Travel Tech Theatre on Wednesday November 6 at 4.45pm followed by a Champagne Reception.
The Amadeus VIP Lounge at WTM (TT160) will be the centre-piece of The Travel Tech Show at WTM available for the industry’s VIPs and senior executives.
Travolution is the global travel technology media partner for WTM and will be producing a special edition of the magazine for the event.
