Travel Themes to Emerge in Next 12-18 Months

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. October 14, 2008

OCTOBER 2, 2008. The Travel Innovation Summit at The PhoCusWright Conference will showcase the travel industry's hottest, most innovative Web and mobile-based applications. In assembling this first-ever event featuring innovators from around the world, seven key themes emerge. Following is a preview of the next big wave of ideas that will shape the travel marketplace over the next 12 to 18 months.

1. The growth of pure Travel 2.0 businesses is slowing-dramatically.

The Travel Innovation Summit demonstrators, along with applicants who were not selected for this year's event, described very few applications involving new social networks or pure social networking.

1. Travelers will enjoy easy access to rich subjective, objective and experiential content for trip planning.

Look for the pairing of trip planning and established social network brands and other sources of objective and subjective content. To facilitate the learning and shopping process, first movers are emerging in semantic search. Tools that facilitate an easier trip planning experience by narrowing alternatives based on profiles, stated preferences and observed behaviors are coming.

1. Abundant, varied mobile applications are beginning to emerge.

Interestingly, many of the emerging mobile application innovations focus not simply on shopping and purchasing, but on a variety of content, including day-of-travel and concierge applications. Creative approaches to the mobile business model challenge also are arising.

1. The Long Tail is coming of age.

With low cost computers and more pervasive Internet access than ever, the Long Tail of travel is poised to spread beyond the traditional air, car and hotel market. Unique approaches, including Software as a Service (SaaS), are on the horizon for the effective, efficient distribution of additional content and services.

1. Air shopping is still a work in progress.

Innovators like Air Canada are redefining the airline seat as a product-think of a world where every seat is a SKU with unique characteristics and services-rather than a mere commodity. The complexities of air shopping mean new approaches are still in their infancy-with ample room to grow and mature.

1. Attention shifts from "learn, shop, book" in the travel value chain.

Innovators are recognizing that elements beyond "learn, shop, book" in the travel value chain can be monetized. Expect pre-trip, trip experience, and post-trip technology models to arise.

1. Building supporting business applications loses its luster.

Innovators are focused on the customer-facing applications in the travel value chain, with much less emphasis on the infrastructure services that support content development, content distribution, financial accounting and settlement, and even provisioning of Internet access.

Take a deeper dive on each of these important themes at The Travel Innovation Summit, being held in Hollywood, California on Monday, November 17.