Washington tips real-time bookings via social media


Real-time booking and support mechanisms will be supplied via social media, and payments made with digital currencies – that was the vision of travel in 2020 presented by dnata Travel boss Andy Washington. The operator’s chief


Claire Mulligan, Kennedys


Lawyer: Keep documented proof to avoid GDPR fines


Businesses need to document their efforts to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) due to come into force next May or risk huge fines and damages, a leading lawyer has warned.


Claire Mulligan, partner at law


firm Kennedys, warned: “Fines can be up to £20 million or 4% of global income. “People who have had data


stolen can bring claims for damages on top, regardless of whether they suffer a financial loss. You could be looking at claims of £2,500 to £12,000 for the anxiety caused by a loss of personal data.” Mulligan warned the penalties


for loss of financial or health data would be “much higher” and advised: “I would get busy now.” Addressing delegates she said:


“A person has to actively affirm you can have their data. You can’t just keep their data because you already have it. “Ask yourself why you have the


data. Consider how you use it. Think about your website – you need clear privacy notices. Think


where you hold the data – is it in the cloud? She added: “This is a board


issue; you can’t park it on the IT director. And you need to document the process. “Do you issue warnings to staff


about phishing emails? Be sure you document that. “If you don’t have documented


proof, you will find it very difficult to prove you have consent [to hold data]. It’s going to cause you a huge amount of problems. “You have to show you’re


keeping data only for as long as is appropriate. If you’re developing


artificial intelligence [using personal data] you need consent to use the data. “If you work with IT experts, get


them in to kick the tyres. You only have till May 2018.” Mulligan warned: “Two-thirds


of cyberattacks [involving loss of personal data] affect SMEs, and one-third is caused inadvertently by employees.” Vito Sepe, senior account director


at insurer Arnold Fisher, agreed saying: “Too many businesses think this will never happen to them, but SMEs are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals.”


Tanzer reveals lessons from data breach


Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said the association had “learnt a couple of lessons” after experiencing a data breach in March this year. “One, have insurance because it can be expensive,” he said. “Two, the best way not to lose data is not to have it. Be rigorous in clearing out data that is not relevant or that you haven’t a licence to use. Even understanding the data we had was more challenging than I thought.” David Trunkfield, partner at PwC, said: “The travel industry has not


yet got together to discuss the risks it faces and how it responds. You will be stronger collectively if you do.”


Andy Washington


19 October 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 17


executive for B2C Europe also intimated that the organisation had ambitions to become “bigger and better” than his previous company, Expedia. Washington would not


be drawn on potential acquisitions. But he predicted more consolidation over the next few years and refused to rule out potential deals in the UK or continental Europe that were likely to arise due to the “current fragmented market”. “We think we can get bigger and better than Expedia and want to make [dnata brand] Travel Republic the best it can be,” Washington said. Travel firms cannot afford not


to invest in technologies such as AI [artificial intelligence] and chatbots, but he admitted that “as an industry we are a bit behind” other sectors. Travel providers “will flock”


to social media in future to offer real-time customer and booking support with payments made by virtual currencies, he forecast. But Washington urged: “If


you are not doing what the customer wants, you will not be successful going forward.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84