Innovation and inspiration from the brightest minds in travel looking at social media, customer tech and trends - and how your customers interact with you through and beyond 2010?

Access all the video and slides from the Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2010 keynote debates and the Social media and travel conference.
This includes all the conference sessions listed below: KEYNOTE SESSIONS

The big guns - essential strategic advice from the powerhouses of travel: paving the way for a new era of growth.

Between them, the companies and individuals represented on this panel have made travel possible for tens of millions of customers worldwide. Their insight into the economic and technological trends which are shaping our industry is enormous, as is their understanding of the travellers they serve. In this session, these leaders will share their vision and predictions for the travel industry over the next 12 months and beyond.
Economics ? as the global economy rebounds and travel markets begin to recover, which companies and business models will be best placed to capitalise on the new economic paradigm? And what should you be doing now to prepare your company?
Innovation ? what game-changing new technologies and strategies will emerge, and should you adopt a ?first mover advantage? or ?wait and see? approach?
Investment ? Who will go public? Who will be up for sale? And who will buy them? Where will the smart money be invested ? technology, people, product?
Engagement ? the most important thing! As the marketing, distribution and sale of travel becomes increasingly complex, how do you ensure you continue to engage with and inspire your customers and provide them with the service they want and expect?

Chaired by: David Scowsill, Chairman, PrivateFly Leif Vase Larsen, EVP Northern Region, Kuoni
Nigel Pocklington, VP Global Marketing and Strategy, Expedia
Patrick Hoffstetter, Regional VP UK, France and Nordics, lastminute.com

The pioneers ? innovation and inspiration from the brightest minds in travel

The travel industry has never been short on entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe it?s the natural explorer in us, or maybe it's just that our industry attracts more than its fair share of smart cookies. Either way, innovation and ideas abound and make for a dynamic commercial landscape? particularly in the fast changing online space. In this session, we gather some truly successful and pioneering travel entrepreneurs to share their secrets of success and their visions for the future.

Chaired by: David Scowsill, Chairman, PrivateFly

The World around the hotelier is changing, how do we stay connected?
Michael Levie, the man behind the place Tripadvisor users voted the ?world?s trendiest hotel?, assesses how changing consumer behaviour and rapidly evolving technology is leading to a radical shift in the way hoteliers need to run their businesses. He?ll look at what?s hot and what?s not, how to really connect with consumers and how hoteliers and other travel companies need to innovate now to position themselves for the future
Michael Levie, Founder, CitizenM Hotels

Creating, marketing and selling extraordinary travel experiences
Gap Adventures is the world?s largest adventure travel company, named by National Geographic Adventures as the best ?Do It All Outfitter? on Earth. Here, CEO and Founder Bruce Poon Tip, a passionate traveller, leading entrepreneur and thought leader on sustainability, will share the secrets of his company?s success in authentic, inspiring and sustainable travel.
Bruce Poon Tip, Founder, G.A.P. Adventures

The pioneer of travel search predicts the next big shift in online travel
In 2001, Brian Barth created SideStep, the world?s first travel specific search engine. Comparison shopping in travel was born, transforming the way travel products were bought and sold online. Having pioneered one of the defining online travel trends of the Noughties, Brian now looks ahead at the potential game-changing innovations of a new decade.
Brian Barth, Founder, SideStep

Customer tech and trends - how will your customers interact with you through and beyond 2010?

Your customers just won?t stop experimenting. Despite the recession, customers continue to change the way they interact with you. In the meantime many travel companies have slashed their research spend and so have even less of a grip on what is happening. The growth of mobile web browsing is rocketing and the social media channels continue to grow and exert uncontrollable influence. We gather social media owners, device providers and search giant Google to tell you their plans for 2010 and beyond - and two travel industry experts to question, take them task and debate how your customer?s buying behaviour will develop in the future.
Chaired by: Paul Richer, Senior Partner, Genesys - The Travel Technology Consultancy
Robert Hamilton, Product Manager Mobile, Google
Lesley Hay Director of Consumer Segment Marketing EMES, RIM (Blackberry)
David Parfect, Facebook
Robert Rogers, Senior Product Manager, Nokia

To debate with
Marko Balabanovic, Head of Innovation, lastminute.com
Chris Carmichael, Head of BA.com and Mobile Innovation, British Airways

SOCIAL MEDIA IN TRAVEL CONFERENCE

Social Media: Customer Engagement and Brand Recognition - Tourism Queensland on ?The Best Job in the World Campaign?
?The Best Job in the World Campaign? is award winning and rightly so. One of the most innovative and charismatic campaigfns of 2009, learn from Tourism Queensland about how to maximise all your marketing channels and incorporate social media in an effective way.
Jane Nicholson, Regional Director UK, Ireland and Nordic, Tourism Queensland

Social Media: Discover The Latest Trends for Measurement and Response
So now we?ve covered engagement and brand recognition, how do you calculate the success or failure of a social media campaign? Hear from industry experts on the latest tools and techniques to analyse customer reaction and response.
Check out the latest analytic tools being tested by top brands and see how they may change the way we measure social media?s impact on business
Measuring success on Social Media Sites: what is ?success?? and what sort of ROI can you expect, if any?
Answering questions to customers on social media sites. What is the status quo?
Barbara Pezzi, Director Web marketing & Ecommerce, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
Steven Wakeling, Head of Sales, WAYN
Anthony Rawlins, MD, Digital Visitor
Globalisation in Marketing: International language restrictions and how to make your overall marketing program globally viable Subtle distinctions of locality which can make or break a campaign
The competitive advantage of language: learn how to deliver a product in a way that it looks like it was developed in that country and reap the benefits
Combine website optimisation with all the existing parameters to create a seamless global campaign
Understand the mechanics of message translations: how to fine tune and personalise your online communications whilst maintaining appropriate buzz words and keywords within the text
Recognise local requirements and legislations for marketing, along with local service provider restrictions. Go beyond the landing page and think about the infrastructure for that country or region.
Failed attempts: learn from other people?s mistakes on global expansion in marketing and make sure you don?t make the same blunders
Designate the work: the pros and cons of localised marketing versus head office or global marketing initiatives
Frank Skivington, VP Sales and Marketing, Skyscanner Alex Gisbert, Director, Online Partner Marketing, EMEA, Expedia Jo Briody, Head of Marketing UK and IRE, Royal Caribbean International Meredith Hanrahan, CMO, Cheapflights
Maximising your visibility online

The evolution of search ? best practice SEO strategies in travel
• Twitter Feed on search engines: what does this mean for travel?
• Consumer searches have become much more complex. How do you adapt your website to accommodate these changes?
• Personalised search result mechanisms- discover how this can directly affect your SEO rating
• Search engines are the ultimate direct marketing channel.? Is this still a plausible statement?
• SEO and advertising: what are your options outside of the mainstream search engines?
• Learn why optimising page speed affects page ranking more than ever before
Xavier Vallée, Head of Direct Marketing EMEA, Avis Europe

Successfully targeting your audience: a guide to increasing your brand awareness online
As an increasing number of consumers head online for the best deals, brands need to get savvy in order to cut through the competition. Effective targeting can have a huge impact on the success of your online advertising campaigns, but do you really understand how and why different types of targeting work? What happens when consumers change their behaviour, can your campaign keep up and should it even try to?
Ian Dowds, VP UK, Specific Media

Panel discussion with:

Xavier Vallée, Head of Direct Marketing EMEA, Avis Europe Ian Dowds, VP UK, Specific Media Arnaud Bertrand, Founder, HouseTrip

Online versus offline advertising: minimising risk and re-allocating marketing spend
Hear how Disney, one of the world?s most successful travel brands use both online and offline mechanisms and see how they divide their marketing spend.
Check out successful campaigns both on and offline and decide for yourself which methods are proven to work
What about brand recognition: can you realistically launch a campaign that relies solely on viral impact or online advertising?
Your target audience: online or offline? How can you reach out to the maximum number of potential bookers? Which markets can you hit better offline than online, and vice versa?
Learn how to create a faultless marketing strategy with the maximum ROI
Amélie Bourgeois, Internet & Direct Marketing Director & Stéphanie Sabourin, Media Director Europe, Disneyland Paris Resort

Real-time web and geo-location: what does this mean for destination marketing?
Understand ways in which you can benefit from real time information: scheduling tweets, integrating social media messages into your blog, press releases and Google Hot Trends
How to use geo-location in a productive way: learn from brands who have already successfully tapped into location based applications and how this will directly affect destination marketing
Look at Social Media sites that incorporate geo-tagging already and identify the opportunities this may hold for travel providers in the future
Witness the potential benefits of check-in applications for mobile for anyone wanting to engage the local sphere
Claire Higgins, Head of Marketing, vtravelled.com (Virgin Atlantic)

Reputation management: use travel reviews to boost sales and CRM
65% of people who make bookings online check hotel reviews before they make a choice. 90% of them make a final decision based on the reviews they read. Learn from industry experts how to use review sites to increase both brand awareness and conversion. Own your traffic: the pros and cons of the travel review site link.
The trust issue: what is the best way to use reviews in order to gain maximum customer confidence?
Discover how to maintain direct online sales without diverting to review sites
The future of reviewing: What?s new for 2010 and onwards?
Amy Ziegenfuss, Head of Marketing, UK and EU, Choice Hotels Sandra Leonhard, Director of Web Strategy & Business Development, TUI Travel Severine Philardeau, Director of European Partnerships, TripAdvisor