The recently concluded TravelRave 2013 in Singapore provided Asia-centric insights and trends that will be influential in shaping the prospect of travel and tourism in the region. Into its fourth edition, the annual week-long platform of eight travel-related events witnessed participation of travel stalwarts and professionals from across the globe. The eight events under the TravelRave umbrella include; Asia Pacific Tourism Destination Investment Conference, Asia Travel Leaders Summit, Aviation Outlook Asia, Hotel Technology Conference, ITB Asia, UIA Associations Round Table – Asia 2013, Web in Travel Conference and Singapore Experience Awards The event was attended by the region’s influential business leaders such as Michael Frenzel, Chairman, Supervisory Board, TUI Deutschland GmbH; Liu Lu, President, Hainan Airlines, China and Deep Kalra, Founder, Group Chairman & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip and many more.
“As Asia Pacific continues to go beyond development expectations, it is increasingly important for travel and tourism professionals from this region to assemble and converse trends and developments, and explore new business opportunities,” said Lionel Yeo, Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), adding that this year, TravelRave aims to discuss and present insights on the Asian consumer.
Experts at TravelRave believe that Asia is an emergent region that is progressively reshaping the global tourism landscape. Yeo further commented, “The combined GDP of China and India is projected to exceed that of the G7 countries by 2025 while two out of every five travellers are expected to be Asian and will account for nearly half of global tourism expenditure by 2020 (a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). International visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region also registered the strongest growth worldwide; a year-on-year increase of 6-8 per cent over the first four months of 2013. This is proof that Asians are potential drivers of the travel and tourism industry.”
ITB Asia: Asia Pacific is the driver of global tourism industry
The high potential of the Asia’s travel market is reflected at this year’s show as ITB Asia reports a strong participation of 825 exhibiting companies from 73 countries. The show witnesses over 700+ international buyers with a media contingent of over 150. “Asia Pacific has been touted as the world’s largest travel market and it becomes vital for us to maintain our position as an effective platform to network and gain insights about the region’s travel market,” said Christian Goke, CEO Messe Berlin, organiser of ITB Asia adding that China, India and Southeast Asia, has confirmed itself as one of the driving forces in world travel. “The Asian travel market has over powered Europe to become the world’s major regional travel market in 2012, earning gross bookings of US$326.2 billion and this figure is expected to grow another 8 per cent in 2013.”
Elaborating more on ITB Asia’s performance this year, Goke informed that nations represented among the record 50 international pavilions include first time exhibitors Greece and Russia. “This year’s show also saw the largest representation ever from the United States taking up an increase of 90 per cent of booth space with 30 per cent more exhibitors compared to 2012. Exhibitors from Europe have also taken 20 per cent more floor space this year and there are almost 60 per cent per cent more first time exhibitors representing emerging markets in 2013,” he said.
This year, 37 per cent of exhibitors are from non-Asian countries, compared to just 25 per cent in 2012, highlighted said Martin Buck, Vice-President, Competence Center Travel and Logistics, Messe Berlin, “This proves the emergence of Asia not only as a tourism destination, but also as outbound market. More than 8,000 people were expected to attend ITB Asia over the three-day period.”
ITB Asia 2013 aggressively focussed on the MICE sector. “The business travel segment has more than doubled in 2013 compared to last year and representation from Conference and Meeting venues has also tripled since 2012,” Goke opined.
APAC records 7% increase in inbound numbers
The UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2013 Edition showed that Asia-Pacific recorded a 7 per cent increase in international arrivals in 2012, the fastest growth across all UNWTO regions. Experts at TravelRave 2013, dubbed the Asian Millennial Travellers as the most valuable to the travel industry. Michael Frenzel, Chairman, Supervisory Board, TUI Deutschland GmbH said, “These travellers between the age group of 18-35 are the future and hope of the tourism industry. They are well educated, smart connected generation. They have maximum disposable income as they will have hit their peak earning and spending in the next five to ten years. It is very important for all of us as companies and travel leaders to target and capture this market.
The PhocusWright study also reveals projected growth figures for the countries within the Asia Pacific region over the next three years led by China, India, Japan and the Pacific region.”We expect Asia Pacific travel market to maintain its growth through 2015 to reach US$407.3 billion and China will account for a third of that. The Indonesian market is also poised for rapid development in the next three years and double-digit growth is forecast for several Asia Pacific markets through 2015,” said Chetan Kapoor, Research Analyst – Asia Pacific, PhoCusWright.
