Helsinki to host ENTER 2003 conference on m-technology

ENTER, the worldwide conference on IT in travel and tourism, has selected Helsinki to host its next annual event, which will focus on the future of mobile technology in the travel industry.

The conference – ‘Travel on the Move’, from 27 January to 1 February 2003 – will aim to bring together over 100 speakers from the major players in the global m-travel revolution to debate how travel providers and tourism bodies can profit from the next generation of mobile applications and other new distribution channels.

In particular, the event will examine mobile technology’s ability to meet consumers’ growing desire to make bookings and obtain information while on the move. Furthermore, the conference will build on ENTER 2002’s theme of multiple-distribution strategies by examining how travel providers can maximise profitability by harnessing new and emerging distribution channels, from the internet to WAP technology.

Technologies under the spotlight at the event include internet access across mobile phones (GPRS); GPS (Global Positioning System) solutions, enabling travel providers to send information to mobile users based on their geographic location, and 3G mobile phones, offering users visually-rich, internet-style content direct to their handset.

According to ENTER’s organisers IFITT (International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism), Helsinki’s position as the centre of the global mobile technology industry was a key factor behind the organisation’s decision to choose the city as its conference venue.

IFITT’s president Josef G. Margreiter, CEO of the Tirol Werbung Group & Tourist Board said: “M-travel is about more than just mobile phones. It goes to the heart of how travel providers will sell in the future. Waiting for the customer to come to you is no longer enough. The travel industry needs to distribute its products and services wherever the traveller is.”

The Finnish Tourist Board’s IT development manager Inkeri Starry: “We are honoured to be hosting this prestigious event. Helsinki is the hub of the world’s mobile technology revolution, with hundreds of top wireless application companies headquartered here, including Nokia and Benefon.”

Headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria, IFITT operates regional chapters in Australasia, North America and Scandinavia, each one dedicated to addressing issues specific to that region. IFITT’s 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).
For more information, see www.ifitt.org