Travolution@ITT - Part 17 - Final farewell

For some here it will certainly feel like the morning after the night before.

Bloodshot eyes peer around the breakfast room, trying to avoid bumping into someone new and the inevitable introductions that are synonymous with an event like this.

But for others it’s a time of reflection: most delegates are making their way home to the cooler climate of the UK and their day jobs – running travel businesses.

One far from bleary eyed boss says over breakfast that he has found the event a massively useful exercise for networking with very senior figures from the industry.

And the second day of sessions was more useful than the first. Fair comment, most delegates would probably say.

What is clear, and has been reflected in many comments from delegates, is how online travel has become an important part of discussions, both on stage, in the bars and restaurants and at the various functions.

“Just a few years ago we would never have had a session about online consumer trends followed by a double header from the search engine guys,” one delegates said last night.

[Read our posts on the Opodo presentation and Google and Yahoo!’s]

Progress? Or the reality of an industry being dragged into the digital world at a blistering pace?

We think the latter.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution