Travel Technology Association Plays the Name Game

In an effort to clarify just what industry it represents, the Interactive Travel Services Association officially changed its name last week to Travel Tech: The Travel Technology Association—a move not uncommon among associations  (opens in a new tab).

“Because the industry had changed significantly since ITSA’s founding, [our] name became anachronistic, and it became a bit of a chore to explain to people what exactly it is that our companies do,” said Simon Gros, chairman of Travel Tech.

Established in 1999, the association represents online travel companies and global distribution systems such as Expedia, Orbitz Worldwide, Priceline, Travelport, and Sabre Holdings and works to protect consumers while making travel more accessible.

“We decided a couple of years ago that we wanted to rebrand,” Gros said. “So we did a lot of soul searching … to [figure out] what it is that binds us together as companies—what are our commonalities, what are not our commonalities, so things we needed to avoid.”

To ease its identity transition, Travel Tech also hired a private branding and PR company to pinpoint the right name and develop a redesigned logo and website. The new look and feel was a couple of years in the making, but Gros said it was a worthwhile investment.

“As an association, we are striving to become more relevant in Washington and beyond, and we want to be the place people come to if they have questions about what Orbitz.com does, or what Travelocity does, or what some of our less consumer-facing companies do,” Gros said. “We really want to be the clearinghouse for the travel technology industry, and we think that this rebranding is the first step in that direction.”