·  Key-note addresses from Amazon and Alibaba confirmed alongside guest speakers from Skift, Phocuswright and the European Tourism Association (ETOA).

·   Alistair Watts, Accor’s Vice President Sales & Marketing for the New East Europe region will give a key-note speech.

·  ‘SHIFTING FUTURES’ theme to explore how travel companies can future-proof their technology, distribution, payments and data strategies – whilst tackling the key topic of the complexity of distribution.

Hotelbeds, the world’s nº 1 B2B bedbank, has announced today that guest speakers from Amazon and Alibaba will be participating at the MarketHub Europe event that will take place from Tuesday 28th to Friday 31st May in Istanbul, Turkey.

Julio Faerman, Amazon Web Services Technical Evangelist and a Terry Von Bibra, Alibaba Group General Manager Europe will provide key-note speeches focused on the MarketHub ‘SHIFTING FUTURES’ theme in order to give clarity around how the travel sector should react to changes and shifts in the industry in terms of key topics such as technology, the complexity of distribution, payments and data.

In addition to Amazon and Alibaba, the leading trade media publication Skift and the respected travel technology analyst Phocuswright are both sending senior speakers to provide a key-note talk followed by hosting a round table.

Tom Jenkins, CEO of the European Tourism Association (ETOA) will also participate on stage with a key-note address to the audience.

Hotelbeds is also proud to confirm that Accor, who will host the event in three of its leading Istanbul properties – Swissôtel Istanbul The Bosphorus, Fairmont Quasar Istanbul and Novotel Istanbul Bosphorus – will be also giving a key-note speech at the stage with the participation of Alistair Watts, Vice President Sales & Marketing for the New East Europe region at Accor.  

Platinium speakers have also been confirmed with the participation of Universal, JFS Travel & Tourism Business School, Hard Rock London, Kilit Hospitality Group, Side Crown Hotels and The Bodrum by Paramount Hotels & Resorts.

MarketHub Europe is an invitation-only event attended by up to 300 of the most important Hotelbeds partners from all the key source markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Attendees include tour operators, airlines, loyalty and reward points schemes, top travel agency chains, and online travel agents.

Carlos Muñoz, Bedbank Managing Director at Hotelbeds commented: “I’m very pleased to confirm that at this year’s MarketHub Europe event we will have the honor to have on the stage speakers from two of the world’s leading e-commerce companies, providing invaluable insights into the future of our sector.

“Moreover, our host sponsor and one of the leading global hotel chains Accor, will be also sharing the stage with other guest speakers such as Skift, Phocuswright and the ETOA to give key-note speeches exploring important topics such as the complexity of distribution.”

A key and regular industry fixture since 2009, MarketHubs are one of the leading events for bringing the travel industry together, with eight previous events held in the Americas, five in Europe, and one in Asia. The first MarketHub Europe was held in Seville back in 2013 and since then Hotelbeds has held the event in several top Spanish destinations, such as Tenerife and Ibiza.

The MarketHub Europe event will kick-off with a cocktail dinner on the Tuesday evening, with the Wednesday and Thursday featuring a conference and trade show by day and exclusive entertainment by night.