4 January 2002  - The controversial next stage in the e-travel revolution is set to begin when some of the industry's major players reveal their e-commerce strategies at ENTER 2002, the world's leading conference on IT in travel and tourism.

Over 100 top-level speakers, representing all the leading e-travel names, will attend ENTER 2002 (23-25 January, Innsbruck, Austria)  where they are expected to signal a seismic shift away from online selling alone, to multiple-distribution strategies, embracing everything from iDTV to mobile phone and call centre technology.

Speakers will include Simon Breakwell managing director Expedia Europe and senior vice president international Expedia Inc, Dinesh Dhamija, founder and CEO of Ebookers, Michael Madison, Andbook's CEO, Peter Fitzgerald, vice president of Pegasus Solutions, and Ryanair Direct's managing director Caroline Green.
 

The annual event, the most prestigious of its kind, is organised by IFITT (International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism), the world's leading think tank on IT in the global travel and tourism industry. According to IFITT marketing director and ENTER 2002 organiser Karsten Kärcher, the conference offers delegates from travel and tourism, government and academia, a

Karsten Kärcher

unique opportunity to grill the world's top e-travel companies about the future of selling online.

Said Kärcher: "The dotcom bubble has burst. The big question now is: How can travel providers profit online? ENTER 2002 brings together the world's best-known online travel brands under one roof to address the issue and share their predictions for the future of e-travel.

"The event is a rare chance for the travel and tourism industries to discover the future for e-travel from the people who not only survived the shakedown but are leading the field. Anyone who wants to win in the next phase of the e-travel revolution should attend. They cannot afford not to."

In addition to a series of panel debates with top industry figures, ENTER 2002 features a full programme of seminars, including several on specific sectors such as air travel and tourism, together with a programme of networking events.

IFITT's (www.ifitt.org) mission is to enable the travel and tourism sectors to capitalise on breakthroughs in technology by setting the agenda for the development of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The organisations 300 members include Norwegian Tourist Board, Amadeus, Irish Tourist Board, Telewest, Institute of Tourism Management, and Canada's CRS Technology Corporation.

Headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria, the organisation operates regional chapters in Australasia, North America and Scandinavia; each one dedicated to addressing issues specific to that region.

The board also includes president Josef G. Margreiter, CEO Tirol Werbung Group & Tourist Board, vice presidents Roger Carter, former CEO of Edinburgh Tourist Board, and Dimitrios Buhalis, senior lecturer in business information management at the University of surrey, along with honorary president Hannes Werthner, co-ordinator of eCTRL at Trento University, Italy and marketing director Karsten Kärcher, chief
international business officer of Tiscover, central Europe's leading e-travel destination portal and management system.