The U.S. Travel Association reports that the newly named CEOs for Orbitz Worldwide, Barney Harford, and Travelocity Global, Hugh Jones, will be headline speakers at the U.S. Travel Association’s TravelCom‘09. The event will be held March 31–April 2, in Atlanta.
Harford and Jones will appear together on a CEO Roundtable to discuss the industry’s latest developments, including the growing global focus of online travel agencies (OTA’s) and online travel. Their appearance at TravelCom will be one of first major public speaking engagements for both executives since being named to their new leadership roles.
Themed, “Transform Your Business: How to Adapt and Prosper in the Travel Ecosystem”, TravelCom’09 will feature senior executives discussing how eCommerce and digital distribution channels are playing larger roles in the down economy. Among the topics to be covered will be the latest practices of loyalty programs, offshore business operations, metasearch, ancillary revenue opportunities, mobile marketing and reaching travelers through new technologies.
Tapped to lead Orbitz Worldwide on January 7, Harford is also a director on the Orbitz Worldwide board. Prior to joining Orbitz in 2007, he previously served in a variety of roles with Expedia, Inc. from 1999-2006, including leading the company’s entry into China, Japan and Australia as President of Expedia Asia Pacific.
Jones, also appointed on January 7, oversees businesses around the world, including Travelocity, lastminute.com in Europe and ZUJI in Asia Pacific. Previously, Jones served in varying positions at Travelocity Global’s parent company, Sabre Holdings, including senior vice president and chief operating officer for Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions.
For more information visit www.ustravel.org/travelcom.