BOARDING pass please, sir.

Here, take my mobile.

It sounds surreal but this system is being trialed by Lufthansa and BMI as technology grips its jaw around more aspects of travel and tourism.

The industry is not 100 per cent certain where the boarding pass swipe and bar code idea will lead.

But the mobility of the world is being matched by future trends centred on the mobile telephone. You can check in while lazing on the beach with your children building sandcastles, revealed Chris Carmichael, British Airways' innovation and planning manager.

He told World Travel Market technology and online travel audience : "I have a young family and 24 hours before the flight I could check in, choose good seats together and do all that without leaving the beach.

"This asset is a great boon for the business traveler, too. There is a lot of potential for this. We had 3,000 unique users in our first week on introduction.

"There are so many of the population with a mobile phone."

He adds: "As for boarding, I am watching at the moment to see what develops. "On the one side you have the technology there today allowing this to happen; on the other you have regulators wanting more and more stringent checks on visa and things.

"The customer wants to walk in the airport flashing his phone and getting straight through whereas the Government wants you to have had the passport and credit card checked and every detail about you looked at before you get on that aircraft.

"I think the use of mobiles in travel is in the next few years to become an expected part of the scene - just as everybody expects you to have a website these days. But I don't think the fact that people can do things on their mobile is going to drive a sudden boom in travel." -Ends-

For further information please contact the WTM Press Office on +44 (0) 207 069 6119/6120 or visit the WTM International Press Centre onsite at ExCeL London, Level 3.

After 13 November, for further information please email katy.kenyon@reedexpo.co.uk

-Ends-

NOTES TO EDITORS World Travel Market - New Admissions Policy World Travel Market (WTM), the global trade event for the travel industry announces a new admission policy, designed to benefit both exhibitors and visitors alike. The new WTM policy includes changes to the structure of the daily format, with WTM Opening Day on Monday 10 November, open to Exhibitors, Exhibitor Invitees, Ministers, and press. The following three days, Tuesday 11 November - Thursday 13 November, will be accessible to all Meridian Club members, Travel Trade professionals, Ministers and press, giving participants more flexibility to choose the days they wish to visit the exhibition.

Students will be invited to attend WTM on Wednesday 12 November and Thursday 13 November, where they will participate in a structured education programme. Individuals from the retail arm of the travel industry including travel agents, homeworkers and call centre staff will be invited to attend WTM on Thursday 13 November.

WTM remains a trade only exhibition. A full programme of conferences, seminars, B2B meetings, and industry initiatives will run across three days, Tuesday 11 November - Thursday 13 November and includes the UNWTO Minister's Summit, WTM World Responsible Tourism Day (WTM WRTD), along with a number of new initiatives on Thursday 13 November, such as an extended Responsible Tourism programme and exhibitor to exhibitor networking initiatives. For further details visit www.wtmlondon.com

Reed Exhibitions Reed Exhibitions is the world's leading events organiser. In 2007 Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 39 fully staffed offices. Reed organises a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 500 events serves 47 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, building & construction, electronics, energy, engineering, entertainment, environment, food & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, IT, jewellery, life sciences & pharmaceuticals, property, manufacturing, medical education, packaging & converting, printing & visual communication, security, sports & recreation, travel.