Web solutions focus of Pata seminar

The Pacific Asia Travel Association's (Pata's) Thailand chapter will host an information-technology seminar at the Holiday Inn Silom in Bangkok on June 27 called "Travelling Bits & Bytes".

In charge will be Har van der Veen, managing director of MindWaves Solutions, which specialises in IT solutions for the travel sector.

The full-day workshop is backed by the Tourism Technology Consortium, a pro-IT public- and private-sector alliance.

A speaker from the consortium will conduct a session entitled "The Effect of the Internet on the Travel Industry", and van der Veen will address issues such as "Changing Travel Patterns and IT", "Front and Back End Opportunities and "Real Life Implementation Tips".

Van der Veen, a graduate in computer science and physics, a former hotelier and IT director at Diethelm Travel, says technology and consumer expectations have evolved rapidly since the inaugural Pata Thailand IT seminar last year.

"The trend is towards more frequent, shorter trips booked online, with the consumer seeking confirmation of the whole package within five minutes," he says. "Travel operators need mastery of IT solutions to meet these increasingly high expectations."

Consortium president Apichai Sakulsureeyadej adds that the Internet is now the key driver of change in the travel industry.

"More than 50 per cent of tourists today access information and book through the Internet. Using Web-based technologies is now a necessity for tourism-business owners."

The seminar concludes with a look at best practice and case studies of companies using computer applications, many of them freely available on the Internet.

"Our objective for the workshop is to demystify technology for travel practitioners," van der Veen says, "and open their eyes to IT-driven sales and marketing tools that can improve their bottom line."

The workshop costs Bt2,850 for chapter members and Bt3,150 for non-members. The price includes seminar documentation, a certificate of attendance, two coffee breaks, lunch and refreshments. The workshop runs from 9am to 4.30pm.