24 SEMINAR SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY 26TH APRIL 10:30 - 11:30
Phocuswright Fast Track: Global Overview and Middle East Market Panel Discussion Fast-paced mini-sessions leverage Phocuswright’s travel industry research and event expertise. Learn from recent Phocuswright research about the global online travel market – including analysis, data and charts – with European market special- ist, Florence Kaci. A panel discussion follows with key industry players. Moderator: Cristina Polo, Research Specialist, Middle East Phocuswright Inc. Speakers: Florence Kaci, Director, Sales, EMEA and European Market Specialist, Phocuswright Inc; Paul Mulcahy, Senior Vice President Commercial Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts; Amer Al Halabi, General Manager EMEA, HotelsCombined; Paula de Keijzer, Senior Director, Middle East, Africa & Indian Ocean, Greece and Turkey, Expedia Lodging Partner Services; Jeff Strachan, Director, Dubai College of Tourism
11:50 - 12:50 10:30 - 11:00
THURSDAY 27TH APRIL
The Evolution of Experiential Travel: Evolving From ‘Visitor’ to the ‘Experiencer/Immerser’ Paradigm The travel world has witnessed a shift from check-box destination visits to holistic immersive experiential travel. This traveller behaviour trend is shaping destina- tion, airline, culinary and spending choice patterns. In this session, we explore how the travel and hospitality industry can unleash experiential travel potential with renowned expert in travel and tourism research Milind Samant. This session will also unravel the traveller trends powered by a 2017 survey conducted by Feedback. Keynote Speaker: Milind Samant, General Manager and Executive Director, Feed- back Market Research Middle East
11:15 - 11:45
Using Technology and Storytelling to Create Immersive Marketing Experiences Content marketing has changed the way we sell travel, and technology is constantly providing new ways to create immersive travel experiences for consumers. This panel will discuss how technologies old and new are used to virtually transport consumers to your destination and sell them your product. Moderator: Matt Gibson, President, Professional Travel Bloggers Association Speakers: Elena Nikolova, Editor, MuslimTravelGirl; Amanda Ponzio Mouttaki, Publisher,
MarcocMama.com
13:10 - 14:10
How to Make Travel Videos that Will Win the Internet In any given month, over 100 million of YouTube’s unique visitors are travellers and 60 percent of them narrow down their brand, destination, or activity choices based on the videos they view. As internet speeds and the accessibility of video increases, so will its influence on travel purchase decisions. This panel of popular travel vloggers will share their tips for making videos that inspire travel consumers. Moderator: Shane Dallas, Social Media Specialist & Travel Photographer, The Travel Camel Speakers: Alona Ballard, Blogger and Vlogger, HoneyI’
mTheDesert.com; Mitch Hyde, Co-founder of AdventureFaktory; Thuymi Do, Co-founder of AdventureFak- tory; Jeff Johns, Founder, What Doesn’t Suck?
14:30 - 16:30
The Shift to Digitalisation: From Targeting to Talent? In this session we’re going to look at why transformation really matters to all busi- nesses, from global multi-nationals to local SMEs, as the race to adapt and be more creative is on in winning customers. Nick Hall from the #DTTT will look at how they’ve worked at both ends of the scale, transforming the SMEs in a destination to be strong in digital, to transforming marketing teams of major leaders to change the way they work. Moderator: Nick Hall, Founder and CEO, Digital Tourism Think Tank Speakers: Avi Arya, CEO, Internet Moguls; Joshua Beckwith, Sales Director, Sojern
16:50 - 17:50
The New-Age Travel Agent This session looks at how travel agents are evolving to better meet the rising needs of today’s traveller. They’ve realised the transactional model doesn’t work anymore and are becoming increasingly focused on end-to-end customer experience, acting in part as concierge, advisor and confidant. We ask panellists what steps agents must take to stay relevant to customers; how they can focus on in-depth conver- sations via a range of channels, and how to tailor products and services. Moderator: Dan Pearce, Managing Director, TTG UK Speakers: Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Head of Commercial Strategy and Business Management, Amadeus MENA; Peter Whittle, Director Global Sales, Traveltek Group Ltd
Living in an earned media economy Empowering your advocates into your strongest marketing asset. Keynote Speaker: Andrew Burgess, Middle East Director, TINT, UAE
TRAVEL AGENTS' ACADEMY
HALL 1, THURSDAY 27TH APRIL, MORNING SESSION 10:00, AFTERNOON SESSION 13:30
The ATM Travel Agents’ Academy is a series of two half-day programmes of free training and networking specifically aimed at Travel Agents who are attending ATM. The programme will cover: destination briefings, sales training by InLearning and itinerary planning by TRS Consulting.
Host: Dave Crane, motivational speaker Speakers: Rohit Bassi, Managing Director, In Learning, Sundar Vasudaven, Principal Consultant,TRS Consulting
Showcase Theatre MONDAY 24TH APRIL 12:45 - 13:15 13:30 - 14:00
Amadeus: Mobile in Travel Keynote Speaker: Ghassan Teffaha, Global Head of Sales, Amadeus Mobile
Re-defining Lifestyle Hotels in the Airbnb Era Boutique or lifestyle hotels have become homogenous; all offering social spaces, free WiFi connectivity and so-called off-the-wall design and F&B concepts to attract Millennials. Our panel of experts discuss reinvention strategies, and examples of hotels brands that are re-imagining the boutique concept well. Moderator: Crystal Chesters, Group Editor, Hospitality, BNC Publishing Speakers: Michel Nader, Area Manager, Starwood Hotels Abu Dhabi / GM Manager Aloft Abu Dhabi: Ms. Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk, VP of Sales & Marketing, Dusit International: Anke Glaessing, GM, Vida Downtown Dubai
14:15 - 15:00
Middle East Hotel Supply Development The region’s hotel supply has grown rapidly in recent years, and STR’s pipeline data shows that this growth is not slowing. Philip Wooller, Middle East & Africa Area Director for STR, will lead a panel discussion with local experts to discuss challenges and opportunities in the market as it continues to expand. Moderator: Philip Wooller, Area Director, Middle East and Africa, STR Speakers: Guy Wilkinson, Chief Operating Officer, PCFC Hotels; Grant Salter, Director, Head of Travel, Hospitality and Leisure Advisory Middle East Region, Deloitte; Costas Verginis, Vice President Lodging Development, Marriott International
15:15 - 15:45
How and Why to Reach Generation Z Generation Z is the new ‘must watch’ consumer segment – the under 19s demo- graphic is already worth US$44 billion to the travel industry. This session looks at this sector’s traits, behaviours and ambitions – how do Gen Z-ers browse and book travel options and what type of experiential travel activities do they aspire to? Moderator: Patrick Ryan, Editor, Hotel News, BNC Publishing Speakers: Nila Pendarovski, Hotel Manager, Rove Downtown, Dubai; Alex Schneider, General Manager, Nikki Beach; David Allan, Cluster Manager, Radisson Blu Dubai Waterfront and Radisson Blu Canal View
16:00 - 16:30 Women in Travel Leaders Interview A conversation with Suhair Mohammed Saleh, Director Human Resources, Gulf Air. The interview will focus on her experiences as a female leader in the region: How did she get to where she is today? What obstacles did she face? Moderator: Rick White, Managing Partner, Dunleavy White Speakers: Suhair Mohammed Saleh, Director Human Resources, Gulf Air
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