Tacos: Inspiration for Travel Innovation

There’s no single right way to innovate, but a flash of creative genius never hurts.  You know you’ve found a truly great solution when your customers cry “My God, why didn’t I think of that?!!”

That’s exactly what I said when I saw this video:

If you’re a fan of Mexican food, like me, you know the problem – tacos fall over.  An irritating and extremely common problem. One faced by what, a few hundred million consumers of crispy-shell tacos over the last few decades? That’s a pretty long time to put up with an in-your-face problem, no?

Four Barriers to Travel Innovation

I recently claimed in this webinar that the travel industry’s innovative golden years were in the 1990s, and that our industry hasn’t seen much innovation (with a capital I) since.

Why the lack of innovation, you ask?  I listed three factors, and am adding a fourth here.

Barrier 1: The legacy “Rows and columns” GDS mentality. The GDSs are arguably the most influential – and constraining –  link in the travel value chain. Their products and attitudes about travel technology have driven much, maybe most, of the way suppliers, TMCs and many corporate buyers think about the travel technology landscape, for better or worse.

ACTE to Certify Travel Consultants

ACTE is committed to certifying travel consultants, citing a “strong demand” from buyers.  Exactly how this will work, and whether it will be effective, is unclear.

I spoke today with Ron DiLeo, ACTE’s new Executive Director, to better understand his thinking behind this previously announced initiative. The key points

Is ACTE Headed in the Right Direction?

ACTE sketched out several initiatives this week from its global conference in Berlin. These efforts hope to:

• Find young talent,
• Provide an accredited global perspective to travel buyers and suppliers, and
• Implement a consultant’s certification program.

Two weeks earlier, ACTE announced its intent to form an angel investor network geared to funding new travel industry innovations.

Looks like Ron DiLeo, ACTE’s new Executive Director, is wasting little time trying to put ACTE on a “wake up and shake up the industry” course.  Gotta agree that our industry needs