Damian Cook, the CEO of E-Tourism Frontiers said new trends are emerging online: "It's exciting to see how the online travel world is evolving and where the new trends are emerging. ZapTravel, one of our presenters and recently named one of the 'Best New Travel Start-Ups' by Mashable, is reinventing the travel booking game. It focuses on experiences rather then destinations and it gives customers the option of looking at what they would rather do, then where they want to go".
Cook went on to say, "The online travel world is undergoing great disruption, social media and mobile are no longer just hype, but hugely important platforms for research, sharing and booking. We are also seeing long established social platforms such as TripAdvisor growing rapidly. Sixty new reviews per minute are listed on TripAdvisor and over 10% of US hotel online bookings are now driven by the site. The online travel world is evolving continuously and it's vital that our tourism sector keep pace with the changes."
Other new features of the summit will include the judging of the Africa App Quest - a continent-wide search, sponsored by South African Tourism and Visa for Africa's Best Travel App. The three finalists of the competition will present their apps on the final day of the summit and the audience will make their decision for the winning app, with a US$10,000 prize for the winner.
South African Tourism is a partner to the E-Tourism Africa Summit and Janine Hutton, marketing officer at South African Tourism, said this year's event was packed with new ways of doing business, sharing experiences and gaining valuable insight.
"This year's E-Tourism Africa Summit is packed with a lineup of great international speakers and global online brands. It's exciting to see how new travel apps are shaking up the industry and I am also delighted we will have a presentation on instagram. Critical to online business now is how our travellers are sharing their experiences during their trip. I am also thrilled that we will have a very familiar face presenting at the summit this year, sporting legend and broadcaster - Bob Skinstad will be sharing how social media is redefining our tourism world. To open the summit this year, we will have the Minister of Tourism for South Africa - Marthinus van Schalkwyk. We are very privileged and delighted to have the minister on board and it really shows how the E-Tourism Africa Summit has gained in statue over the years to become Africa's premiere online tourism and technology event," said Hutton.
The upcoming E-Tourism Africa Summit will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on the 9th and 10th of September 2013.
Registration for the E-Tourism Africa Summit 2013 is available via the website, www.e-tourismfrontiers.com.
