In an increasingly unstable economic environment, where do you think the travel industry's most successful money men will be investing in 2008? And is uncertainty in the global economy likely to stifle innovation or will it instead open up opportunities for the right products and solutions to really get the foothold they deserve?

Published: 20 Mar 2008

In an increasingly unstable economic environment, where do you think the travel industry's most successful money men will be investing in 2008? And is uncertainty in the global economy likely to stifle innovation or will it instead open up opportunities for the right products and solutions to really get the foothold they deserve?

These are pretty crucial questions. The online travel industry relies on entrepreneurial innovation – the small guy with the big idea is what makes this space such an exciting and fast moving one to work in. However, these big ideas also need the investments that can turn them into a big company with a successful future. EyeforTravel recognises this and for the first time ever, we will be launching our own “Dragon’s Den” for the Travel Industry, allowing 20 shortlisted entrepreneurs to present their ideas to a specially selected panel of industry experts, venture capitalists and angel investors. The panel includes Dick Porter, Co-founder & Director, STA Travel; Hugo Burge, Founder, Howzat Media; Jason Katz, Founder, KP Capital; Gerry Samuels, CEO, Travel Capital; and John Kent, CEO, youtravel.com.

The EyeforTravel Innovation Initiative will be taking place at the Travel Distribution Summit 2008 on 20-21 May in London. These two days, which are already packed full of learning and networking opportunities, will see over 1800 attendees convene at the Business Design Centre in London, making it the world’s largest meeting place for online travel professionals. To see the event overview click here

Already more than 500 attendees are confirmed for the event. If you would like to see who you could meet, please email simon@eyefortravel.com with Attendees TDS2008 in the subject line.

Only Summit delegates will be able to watch the exciting final of the Innovation Initiative on 21st May (the first round on 20th May will be free to attend). 2 day Summit passes, which give access to the Innovation Initiative Grand Final, 3 co-located conferences and insightful presentations from over 80 expert speakers can be purchased online at https://secure.firstconf.com/travel/tds/register-logix.asp

Are you a budding travel entrepreneur? The Innovation Initiative is free to enter and could lead to exciting investment opportunities for your business. For more information about this event and details as to how you could participate see http://events.eyefortravel.com/tds/innovation-initiative.asp

Entrants have the exclusive opportunity to promote their product to a key audience and the chance to win £7,000 worth of marketing.

To Europe

Early bird for TDS Europe 2008 to expire 4th April