January 2025 will see a new trade event dedicated to digitalization and tech in the travel sector: Travel & Tech 2025. Digitalization and innovation is necessary to make the Dutch travel sector safer, more efficient and sustainable. Large travel companies have mostly made the step to digitalization but the adoption of digitalization lags behind. For Royal Jaarbeurs, as market leader with its own trade shows within the travel industry Vakantiebeurs and Trade Days, the reason to introduce the trade event Travel & Tech. Travel & Tech 2025 aims to prepare the travel industry for the future and promote this transformation. Jaarbeurs is organizing Travel & Tech as part of the Dutch Travel Week, during the Dutch Travel Week Utrecht will be 'the center of the world' for a week. Travel & Tech 2025 will take place on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 January 2025 at Royal Jaarbeurs.
Travel & Tech: towards a future-proof travel industry
Travel & Tech promises to be the meeting place for travel professionals to explore the latest trends and innovations in digitalization. Themes such as digital transformation, marketing automation, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual & augmented reality (VR & AR) and cybersecurity take center stage during the first edition. Marleen Rompen, exhibition manager Dutch Travel Week: "The playing field of the travel industry is in full swing. Both in terms of technology, e-commerce and marketing. Travel organizations have to think more and more about the use of smart data and software. Developments to which we, as fair organizers, want and need to respond adequately."
Travel & Tech offers a collective look into the future of the travel industry with a full program of field experts, including a special startup zone focusing on innovation in the travel industry. Frank Oostdam, director ANVR: "Travel & Tech is a wonderful new initiative within the framework of the Dutch Travel Week. This event is a very nice addition to the already extensive program of the Dutch Travel Week, because it responds to a major overarching trend in our sector in the field of digitalization. Highly recommended for every travel professional." Jeffrey Kusnadi, Sales Manager Strategic Travel Trade Benelux & Nordics at AirPlus adds: "We see that technology and payment solutions are essential to the travel industry and will become increasingly important in the future. It is good that Travel & Tech offers a prominent place for technology, trends and strategies." AirPlus is one of the launching partners of Travel & Tech 2025.
Expansion Dutch Travel Week
Changes in the travel industry and developments in the world require the travel industry to take a new look at business. A future-proof travel industry now more than ever requires cooperation. Therefore, based on recent research among the travel industry, Jaarbeurs has decided to expand the Vakantiebeurs Travel Trade Day to two days and open the Vakantiebeurs for consumers for three days. The new trade event Travel & Tech will be added to the full program of the Dutch Travel Week. Jeroen van Hooff: "The Dutch Travel Week brings all target groups together in Utrecht. From visitors and professionals to journalists and international ambassadors. This makes the city the center of and for the travel world for one week a year."
Travel & Tech and the Vakantiebeurs Travel Trade Days are part of the Dutch Travel Week and will take place on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 January 2025 in Royal Jaarbeurs. The Vakantiebeurs will be open to the public from Friday, January 10 to Sunday, January 12.