ABA Marketplace To Feature New Technology Providing Attendees Ability To Receive Text Messages Via Cell Phone

January 17, 2008; 07:35 AM

WASHINGTON - The American Bus Association Marketplace 2008 Feb. 2-7 in Virginia Beach will offer delegates the choice of receiving important text messages on their cell phones using cutting edge SMS technology and the new internet domain extension .mobi, short for mobile.

"Goaba.mobi" will include everything from a day by day Marketplace schedule to messages for buyers and sellers to use when they are conducting business on the floor. ABA is the first travel industry trade association to offer the service, which is so new that some domain name registration vendors do not even offer it as an option yet.

"We never permit the popularity of Marketplace to stop us from always looking for ways to keep offering new and better benefits to attendees," said ABA President & CEO Peter J. Pantuso. "Each year we ask ourselves 'What can be done even better next time to improve the experience for our guests?' That's why we've earned the honor of being the must-attend show in the group travel community."

Mobile Marketing, the term of art for this innovative communications technology, is the use of the mobile phone for promoting products and services. Customized mobile software enables ABA to create and send text message marketing campaigns in real time throughout the duration of the Marketplace.

ABA’s Mobile Marketing partner, ITI Marketing Inc, based in Brunswick, GA is a technology and emerging media company serving the travel industry. ITI Marketing puts the power of a full service mobile marketing agency and the technology of the wireless carriers literally in the palm of your hand. ABA worked with the company to develop Goaba.mobi and to create the ABA text messaging platform including keywords that identifies ABA Suppliers and Buyers, and decide what action that should be taken when a message is sent to it.

To sign up, log onto ABA’s special new website section: http://www.buses.org/node/771.

The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with more than 1000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,600 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry.

Source: www.buses.org