How will artificial intelligence change life in the future and in particular how will it affect the tourism industry?
That was the topic discussed by speakers and guests attending this year’s VIR Online Innovation Days, which took place on 21 and 22 June 2017 at the Marshall Haus on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds.
ITB Berlin was the co-host and partner of this event at which the speakers focused on the use of and future of artificial intelligence in the travel industry. Thus, metasearch engines for booking flights use chatbots to communicate with their customers via Skype and Facebook Messenger, and in the sports industry electronic pulses are now being used to correct runners’ foot strike.
On day one of the event the Sprungbrett Competition took place again, in which innovative newcomers, i.e. startups, as well as established enterprises took part with new ideas that are relevant to the entire industry. Juvigo came first in this year’s newcomer category. The company has designed a platform for booking holiday and youth camps, targeting young people and their parents alike. DreamCheaper secured top spot for the best idea in the category for established enterprises. The company monitors a price after a booking has been made and if it falls makes a cancellation and new booking.
ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention
ITB Berlin 2018 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 7 to 11 March. From Wednesday to Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. ITB Berlin is the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show. In 2017 a total of 10,000 companies and organisations from 184 countries exhibited their products and services to around 169,000 visitors, who included 109,000 trade visitors.
Parallel with the show the ITB Berlin Convention, the largest event of its kind, will be held from Wednesday, 7 to Saturday, 10 March 2018. Admission to the ITB Berlin Convention is free for trade visitors and exhibitors.
More details are available at www.itb-berlin.com, www.itb-convention.com and at ITB Social Media Newsroom.
