John Howell to speak at the House of Lords on travel cybersecurity
Howell Tech founder John Howell will join the panel at the TTI Summer Forum on the Terrace of the House of Lords on 17 June 2026, sharing the stage with Mark Thompson, CIO of the Palatinate Group, to explore cybersecurity and data privacy in the connected travel ecosystem.
A timely conversation in a fitting venue
The Travel Technology Initiative (TTI) brings together the senior technology community across UK travel — operators, OTAs, suppliers and platform providers. Each summer, the forum is hosted on the Terrace of the House of Lords, and this year's theme could not be more pressing: Fortifying the Journey: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy in the Connected Travel Ecosystem.
Travel has always been a high-value target for attackers. Personal data, payment details and complex supplier integrations create a uniquely interconnected attack surface — and the bar is rising as AI-powered tooling changes how itineraries are searched, booked and serviced. The forum will look at what realistic, business-aligned defences look like for organisations that don't have unlimited budgets.
On the panel
- •John Howell — Founder, Howell Tech. Previously led Multicom Products, building and running travel platforms for Thomas Cook, TUI and LoveHolidays.
- •Mark Thompson — Chief Information Officer, Palatinate Group.
What we'll be discussing
Four threads we expect to dominate the conversation on the Terrace.
Protecting personally identifiable information
Passport data, payment details and itineraries are among the most sensitive records any business handles. We'll look at where the real risks sit in a modern booking flow and how to reduce blast radius when something goes wrong.
Securing the booking & payment ecosystem
Travel rarely runs on a single system. Tour operators, OTAs, GDS connections, payment gateways and channel managers all share data. We'll explore how to harden these integrations without strangling the business.
GDPR, PCI and global privacy obligations
UK GDPR, PCI DSS and a growing patchwork of international privacy regimes all apply at once. We'll talk practically about what "good" looks like for an SME-sized travel business that can't staff a 20-person compliance team.
Threat intelligence & incident response
Travel is a heavily targeted sector. We'll cover sharing threat intelligence across the industry, building an incident response plan you'll actually use, and what zero-trust really means in a multi-supplier environment.
Why it matters for travel SMEs
Cybersecurity in travel isn't a back-office IT concern — it's a board-level question about resilience, customer trust and brand. We'll be making the case that good security can, and should, be a growth enabler rather than a tax on innovation.
- •Travel runs on trust. A single breach can erase years of brand-building overnight.
- •SMEs in travel face the same threat actors as the global brands, but with a fraction of the budget.
- •Regulators are increasing scrutiny — the cost of getting privacy wrong is rising every year.
- •AI, agentic booking tools and richer personalisation are widening the attack surface fast.
After-forum drinks at St. Stephen's Tavern
Howell Tech is delighted to be sponsoring the post-forum drinks reception at St. Stephen's Tavern, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament. If you're attending the forum, do come and find us — we'd love to talk travel, technology and what's keeping your CIO awake at night.
View on TTI eventsTalk to us about travel technology and cyber security
Whether you're a tour operator, OTA or platform provider, we help travel businesses modernise safely — from booking platforms and integrations to cyber security strategy and Cyber Essentials certification.
Related insights
How to build a cyber security strategy that protects the business and supports growth.
Specialist technology consultancy for travel operators, agencies and tourism businesses.
A practical, step-by-step checklist for achieving Cyber Essentials certification.