SHERMAN, CT--(Marketwire - Nov 14, 2012) - Travel industry research authority PhoCusWright Inc. has announced the award winners of The Travel Innovation Summit, held on Nov. 13, the first day of The PhoCusWright Conference currently underway in Scottsdale, Ariz. Each year, 30 innovators are selected to demonstrate groundbreaking travel applications and solutions that are set to change the industry, and the winners represent the best of this elite group.
Winners are chosen by a panel of judges comprised of travel and technology experts, who determine the top innovation in each of seven categories. This year, in addition to the top award -- The DEMO Award for the Most Game-Changing Travel Innovation -- the judges also selected one company to receive the $250,000 General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation.
WINNERS
- The General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation: TourWrist
- The DEMO Award for the Most Game-Changing Innovation: TourWrist
- The 2012 Travel Innovation Summit People's Choice Award: Rome2rio
- The Most Innovative Startup Company: WeHostels
- The Most Innovative Emerging Company: TourWrist
- The Most Innovative Established Company: Tagman
- The Most Innovative Business to Business Company: Tagman
- The Most Innovative Business to Consumer Company: Couchsurfing
RUNNERS UP
- The 2012 Travel Innovation Summit People's Choice Award: TourWrist
- The Most Innovative Startup Company: DealAngel
- The Most Innovative Emerging Company: KnowDelay
- The Most Innovative Established Company: Amadeus
ABOUT THE COMPANIES
Amadeus Featured Results boosts the leisure traveler's purchasing experience by making travel search more relevant. Couchsurfing connects millions of travelers and locals in over 96,000 cities around the globe to share activities, events, accommodations and advice. DealAngel makes getting the best hotel for your money easy, fun and fantastic. KnowDelay helps travelers avoid weather-related flight delays by predicting them up to three days in advance and providing potential alternatives. Rome2rio delivers multi-modal, door-to-door travel search results through B2B partnerships with websites and mobile apps. TagMan enables agencies and advertisers to manage online marketing tags / pixels -- and the data they provide -- in one single system from a "single line of code." TourWrist 360º is a virtual tour panoramic (pano) capture and viewer technology. WeHostels allows travelers to book hostels from their mobile devices and to connect with other travelers on the route.
"In the past several years, we've seen unparalleled innovation in the travel sector, with applications and solutions that are truly disrupting the industry," said PhoCusWright chairman Philip Wolf. "The companies participating in the Summit are continuing this innovation and will make a major impact on how we select, book and manage travel in the future."
View all Travel Innovation Summit demonstrations, Center Stage presentations and more via the free Online Ticket. On-demand content is available through May 31, 2013.
About PhoCusWright Inc.
PhoCusWright is the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Independent, rigorous and unbiased, PhoCusWright fosters smart strategic planning and tactical decision-making.
PhoCusWright is the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Independent, rigorous and unbiased, PhoCusWright fosters smart strategic planning, tactical decision-making and organizational effectiveness.
PhoCusWright delivers qualitative and quantitative research on the evolving dynamics that influence travel, tourism and hospitality distribution. Our marketplace intelligence is the industry standard for segmentation, sizing, forecasting, trends, analysis and consumer travel planning behavior. Every day around the world, senior executives, marketers, strategists and research professionals from all segments of the industry value chain use PhoCusWright research for competitive advantage.
To complement its primary research in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia, PhoCusWright produces several high-profile conferences in the United States and Germany, and partners with conferences in China and Singapore. Industry leaders and company analysts bring this intelligence to life by debating issues, sharing ideas and defining the ever-evolving reality of travel commerce.
The company is headquartered in the United States with Asia Pacific operations based in India and local analysts on five continents.
PhoCusWright is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northstar Travel Media, LLC.