Experts gather today at the annual event to discuss 
the latest developments in the industry

Dubai, 26 September 2018:

The second edition of Travel Tech ME Congress launches today in Dubai, the leading event is organized by Verve Management UAE, and will be held over two days with participation of local and regional travel & tourism experts from the travel industry, with key speakers from the leading travel & tourism operators, top solution providers, and academics to exchange ideas, to discuss the recent challenges and strategy to promote to this sector. 

'From CRM to bitcoin, from meta to click and mortar, there are so many things happening at the same time, that the opportunities Travel Tech congress offers networking and direct access to the latest trends is very important, special focus for start-ups and business in need to enter digitalization. Travel Tech offers the chance to learn from the top players to help drive the right decisions to run and execute business plan'. said Diego Lofeudo, Sr Executive Digital Expert, former member of Expedia Leadership Team EMEA. 

' At this point in the evolution of the travel ecosystem in the region, we understand that regardless of the stage of your business, from a new idea in need of a POC to a full-fledged travel business, being customer centric means understanding and using technology'. added Diego Lofeudo. 

About the role of latest technology in developing the travel sector in the region, said Albert Fernando, COO, Travelwings: ' Though Globally, voice technology, AI, IOT etc. have been the focus in Travel technology, in the middle East, strategies of implementing chatbots, inception of AI, Social Listening, Automation in Corporate Management has been the focus which helps in reducing cost of operations, understanding our customers and giving relevant content and making it easily accessible'. 

'Travel & Tourism in the region is shifting to theme based travel such as echo travel, Bi-Leisure which differs for different age groups and demographics. For the Future travellers, truth as blunt as it is matters and thus UGC is going to play a key role in decision making for travellers and this would be fulfilled by the embracing Augmented reality, Real time content etc. Also, the introduction of cryptocurrencies for travel is going to be popular in the region. we are going to have a very dynamic and interesting future'. added Albert Fernando.

The local and regional travel & tourism experts will discuss over two days several pressing issues related in the travel and tourism sector such as: Industry challenges for travel start-ups to solve, future of Bitcoin: how will it revolutionize the travel industry, Artificial Intelligence: Future of Customer Engagement & Travel Experience, travel tech trends to watch: current & future, the evolution of metasearch for travel and tourism, top traveller’s behaviour trends to watch by airlines, hoteliers & OTA’s, Alternative Accommodation Models and the Future of Hotels, Blockchain technology and future usage in the travel ecosystem, connectedness & use of technology amongst older persons, leveraging data-driven insights in corporate travel, and more.