The Travel Weekly conference brought together about 1,000 people
involved in travel technology. Hundreds of them were travel agency
owners, managers and senior sales and technical staffers from the
retail sector. The remainder were a diverse group of travel
suppliers, technology company representatives and industry
consultants.
The "love bug" virus broke out on the morning of the second day
of the conference, causing one panel session to be abruptly ended
in order for an announcement to be made, allowing the attendees to
get on the phone to find out how their companies were handling the
attack.
The availability of cell phones was critically important. If
people had been forced to line up at pay phones, as in the old
days, there would have been a wild scene. But just about everyone
at the conference had a cell phone so individuals calmly sat in
their seats or found a quiet place in the hotel to make a call.
The need to get on the cell phones to sort out the "love bug"
underscored once again how important mobile technology has become.
At least one speaker at the conference carried a Palm Pilot onto
the stage and used it to refer to notes, taking the place of index
cards or yellow legal pads.
Speaker after speaker talked about wireless technology that
would liberate people from the need to find the nearest wire. One
suggested that cell phones and hand-held personal digital
assistants would consolidate rapidly into a single product that
would combine telephone, e-mail and Internet access.
Instead of having to use a variety of devices to accomplish
these tasks, imagine the day when it will be commonplace to carry
around with you a lightweight instrument that allows you to combine
all your telecommunication needs.
Imagine further how this device will allow travelers to download
information about air schedules, hotels, car rentals, local events
and attractions, and other useful destination information.
You won't have to imagine it much longer. The technology is here
and if the speakers at the conference are right it won't be long
before it becomes a part of everyone's life.