The blurring of the distinction between operators and agents will be amongst the issues debated at the European Tour Operators Association annual summit in London.
The event on November 2 comes against the background of enormous change in European tourism and a convergence between inbound and outbound operators.
ETOA said: “The function of tour operators – in many cases – becoming similar to that of travel agent. And suppliers are attempting to approach consumers direct.”
Speakers confirmed for the summit at the Copthorne Tara Hotel include Travelport international markets chief operating officer Chris Vukelich, Opodo CEO Simon Vincent, Kuoni’s destination management CEO Ron Schrafroth and Robin Tauck, president and CEO of Tauck World Discovery.
Other speakers include TripAdvisor Europe managing director Marc Charron and Google industry markets manager Andrew Pozniak.
Representatives from the European Commission will be speaking as will VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright and his VisitLondon counterpart James Bidwell on the impact on tourism from the 2012 Olympic Games.
Report by Phil Davies
