Phocuswright Launches European Edition of its Flagship Phocuswright Conference

Phocuswright, the travel industry research authority, announced today the launch of Phocuswright Europe, a European counterpart to its preeminent United States-based conference. The two-day event will be held 20-21 May 2014, and kicks off with an opening-night reception on 19 May. The event will take place in Dublin, Ireland, at The Convention Centre Dublin, and will feature travel innovators, executive keynotes, panel discussions and debates, as well as exhibition and networking opportunities.

Building on the success of its United States-based conference – which gathered 1600+ attendees in 2013 – Phocuswright Europe will bring together European travel leaders to network, learn and build strategic partnerships with the industry's most influential leaders, innovators and visionary thinkers. Registration is now open: Phocuswrighteurope.com/register.

Topic discussions will include alternative accommodations, the state of startups, impact of social media and online reviews, multi-modal development, the business of business travel and Phocuswright research highlights. Phocuswright Europe places the most informed and dynamic speakers in the spotlight with keynotes from Darren Huston of Priceline and Booking.com, Gilles Despas of HolidayCheck and Gary Morrison of Expedia. View the current speaker panel below.

"The pace of change and the growing impact that innovative new technologies have across the travel industry in Europe are unprecedented," said Phocuswright's managing director, Tony D'Astolfo. "We bring a live research project to the stage, putting theory into practice to delve into the innovations, issues, trends and disruptions impacting the European market."

Phocuswright Europe will feature three key events: The Travel Innovation Summit, Center Stage and Workshops, as well as an awards program, exhibit hall and numerous networking events.

The Travel Innovation Summit (20 May): Selected companies (exclusively from Europe) reveal the travel industry's latest innovations through onstage demonstrations of their technologies and tools. Attendees have open access to the innovators and are encouraged to connect and provide feedback throughout the event. The award for Phocuswright's European Travel Innovator of the Year will also be presented during the event. Applications are now being accepted: Phocuswrighteurope.com/travel-innovation-summit.

Center Stage (20-21 May): Phocuswright analysts probe Europe's travel luminaries about what's next on the horizon and delve for the inside story on some of the industry's most noteworthy developments. Center Stage contains a mixture of one-on-one interviews, keynote addresses, roundtable discussions and Phocuswright's signature "Talkback."

Workshops (21 May): Industry leaders present a range of dynamic, educational content via interactive workshops. Sponsors take the lead in tailoring the content, along with Phocuswright's expert guidance. The presentations are efficient, thought provoking and insightful. Workshop sessions are still available.

Phocuswright EUROPE 2014 SPEAKERS
Harry Nelis, General Partner, Accel Partners
Olivier Grémillon, Managing Director, Europe, Airbnb
Thomas Drexler, Global Head of Rail and Ground Transportation, Amadeus
Christophe Peymirat, Senior Vice President Europe and APAC, Egencia.com
Eric La Bonnardiére, CEO, Evaneos.com
Gary Morrison, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Retail, Expedia Inc.
Dr. Johannes Graßmann, Managing Director, fromAtoB GmbH
Johannes Reck, CEO, GetYourGuide Inc.
Michael Tangney, Global Travel Manager, Google
Gilles Despas, CEO, HolidayCheck AG
Petra Friedman, President EMEA, HomeAway.com Inc.
George Hadjigeorgiou, Chief Operating Officer, HouseTrip SA
Dean Forbes, CEO, KDS
Glenn Fogel, Head of Worldwide Strategy, The Priceline Group
Darren Huston, President and CEO, The Priceline Group and CEO, Booking.com Ltd.
Jochen Mundinger, CEO and Founder, RouteRank
Peter Long, CEO, TUI Travel PLC
Matteo Coló, Co-Founder and CEO, Wanderio
Maxim Nohroudi, Managing Director and CEO, Waymate
Geoff Cowley, Managing Director, Wyndham Vacation Rentals UK

View the full speaker listing at Phocuswrighteurope.com/speakers-presenters.

Phocuswright Europe gathers the leaders in the travel industry to share their knowledge and expertise of consumer expectations and how to prepare for tomorrow's changes and challenges. The most engaging, informed and insightful professionals collaborate here. More information about sponsorships, Travel Innovation Summit applications and registration is available at Phocuswrighteurope.com.