One of my favorite things about speaking at conferences and seminars around the World is what I learn while I’m there.  I often find that I learn just as much being at these confernences as the attendees learn from me.  One such experience was at the Creative Lapland Seminar in Rovaniemi, Finland.  The theme of the seminar this year was “The Best Show Cases in the Experience Economy Focused on Tourism”.  My contribution was...

One of the most powerful aspects about tourism is that it is an industry that everyone in a destination can participate in.  Whether they know it or not, everyone from the local bus driver to the hot dog vendor on the corner is contributing or benefiting from the tourism industry.  In a mature market like Vancouver, most businesses recognize that they are part of the tourism equation and most have found a way to participate.  The local...

Cadabra Limited Product Description: Cadabra is creating a worldwide online travel agency specializing in experiential tour planning by combining its innovative software with a network of destination expert inbound tour operators. Cadabra’s Web-based technology allows consumers (or travel agents) to research, plan and book all aspects of complex multidestination touring type travel itineraries in one place including accommodation, activities,...

Be on the lookout for these themes derived from the most creative and innovative minds in the business. The Travel Innovation Summit at The PhoCusWright Conference will showcase the travel industry’s hottest, most innovative Web and mobile-based applications. In assembling this first-ever event featuring innovators from around the world, seven key themes emerge. Following is a preview of the next big wave of ideas that will shape the...

The theme for this PhoCusWright 2008 is “The Perfect Storm: Search, Shop, Buy.”  The potential for discussion around this theme is intriguing because I think there is a lot of opportunity to show how online travel is blurring the entire process and how some opportunities are clearly being lost because of a lack of consolidation between these distinct travel purchase steps. In my opinion there are actually four distinct steps in the travel...