We are reporting live from Marina Bay Sands, Expo Centre where ITB Asia has kick-started earlier in the morning today. The ‘Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’, opened its doors with a power packed panel discussion on the next big things that will potentially drive the future of the travel industry.
At the opening panel represented by industry heavyweights including Expedia, Airbnb and the World Tourism & Travel Council (WTTC), personalisation, innovation and technology were cited as some of the leading industry growth drivers.
ITB Asia 2015 Opening Press Conference and Panel Discussion (L to R): John Bailey, Managing Director, Ketchum Singapore (moderator), Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer, Messe Berlin, Dr Michael Frenzel, Chairman, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Ms. Mieke De Schepper, Vice President, APAC Expedia Inc. and Mr. Julian Persaud, Regional Director for APAC, Airbnb, Inc.
As one would expect, mobile is the key growth driver for major players in the region. For Hotels.com, more than 1 in 4 of global transactions in Q2 were booked on a mobile device. Mieke De Schepper, Vice President, APAC the Expedia Group, stated, “We are investing in technology to enable our hotel partners to reach travellers in the way that they want to shop. The speed of innovation is faster than ever and the industry needs to focus on being nimble”.
Julian Persaud, Regional Director for APAC, Airbnb, stated, “The number of travellers looking for a local experience and staying in an Airbnb when they travel across Asia has grown by almost 400% in the last year alone. A growing number of these bookings are now made on mobile devices, a 60 times increase as compared to 2013, when the app was first introduced. Our success in the region would not be possible without a growing community of hosts in this part of the world who share their homes which has become a part of their lifestyle.”
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