Online travel ‘legend and pioneer’ Philip Wolf dies

Online travel ‘legend and pioneer’ Philip Wolf dies

Founder of US research and events firm Phocuswright was 64

Online travel champion Philip Wolf, founder of Phocuswright, has died aged 64 after a short illness.

He established the internet travel research authority in 1994 after entering the travel industry five years earlier.

The company he founded is recognised the premier source for travel, tourism and hospitality intelligence.

Wolf retired from an executive role after selling Phocuswright to Northstar Travel Group, parent company of Travel Weekly in the US, a decade ago.

He then became a director for travel technology companies around the world, including European OTA eDreams Odigeo, MakeMyTrip, Travel.ru, Hopper and TrustYou.

Phocuswright managing director Pete Comeau said: “Philip was more than our founder; he was Phocuswright’s guiding light.

“A legend and pioneer of online travel and travel tech, he touched so many in the industry. He gave freely of his knowledge and expertise, and we are all poorer with his loss.”