The conversations about where the travel industry is headed often converge at Google. Online travel players are always anticipating next moves of the search giant. At the recently concluded Phocuswright India 2017, Rob Torres, Managing Director, Travel at Google engaged in a discussion with Lorraine Sileo, Senior Vice President, Research at Phocuswright about Google’s recent steps in travel and how they will shape up in future.

(L to R) Lorraine Sileo and Rob Torres (Image: Phocuswright)

Over the past year, Trips has been the biggest travel product to come out from the search giant. Rob expressed his happiness on how widely the product has been adopted for the functionality it offers. However, it doesn’t stop here. As many of us have been guessing, Google is looking to add the booking feature for activities available in the app. According to him, it is a natural extension as people love the recommendations they get on the app but have to go elsewhere to book the activities. The partners have also expressed their interest in the same so that they can be a part of it and connect with new customers.

(Also read: Google Trips showcases the true potential of user data)

Along with Trips, Google is also betting big on voice. While Google Home is yet to find its way into many homes, things already look quite positive. Voice activated search will change how we ask questions and it would affect travel as well.

Rob shared that the adoption of voice search is on a constant rise and the younger users are increasingly relying on it as a preferable medium. As machine learning continues to work its magic in the background, the likes of Google Home and Amazon Echo will find more roles to play in the travel industry. From cars to phones, the improved connectivity will allow brands to better understand their customers and thus offer a more personalised experience. However, he also pointed out that there is a long way to go before we reach there. Mobile will be a major driver but before that, a lot of brands, especially in travel, have to catch up on the capabilities of smartphones to offer the users a great experience.

Developments like Hotel Ads and Flights have always been debatable topic in the industry. Responding to queries about the same, Rob claimed that the Hotel Ads product isn’t really cannibalising on their partners and is only an extension of what they excel at, search.

“We are still a big search engine helping people find what they want, while also helping our partners. The Hotel Ads product actually does a much better job of passing qualified leads to our partners and these leads convert better because of more information available to the users upfront,” he said.

According to him, ‘Flights’ also serves as a similar bridge between the users and their partners. The original search result of 10 blue links wasn’t getting the job done anymore and they had to evolve from there to make sure they add value to the chain. For the near future, Flights, Hotel Ads and Trips are the major Google product to keep an eye on.

What are your comments on this? Do share with us. Click here for more stories from Phocuswright India 2017.

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The travel industry is evolving at a pace faster than any of us can keep up with. New business models emerge in space left by the incumbents and push them back on their toes. To further catalyse the transition, development in mobile technologies is driving changes in user behaviour. This is not only creating room for adoption of new technologies but also for the evolution of models currently followed by online travel businesses. The best way to be a part of the future is to anticipate the scenarios and prepare for when they arrive.

Along the sidelines of recently concluded Phocuswright India 2017, Amadeus hosted a discussion on how travel industry will evolve in future. During the discussion, Albert Pozo, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific shared what developments will play a major role in the redefining the experience of travellers and what will be the driving factors behind them while Sebastien Gibergues, Head of Leisure and Online Travel, Amadeus shed light on how the business models of online travel companies could evolve as an increasing number of travellers move online. They also used the opportunity to release a whitepaper titled ‘Online Travel 2020: Evolve, Expand or Expire’ which includes data from their internal researches on the potential scenarios that can emerge in online travel space. According to them, travel is a fast moving space and even a major player like Amadeus has to always keep experimenting and innovating to stay competitive. Here are some highlights from the discussion:

Albert Pozo, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific

Megatrends that will define travel

-IoT

Albert pointed out that right now, less than one percent of the devices that have the potential to generate useful user data are actually connected and serving the function. The data, if utilised properly can work wonders to ease travellers’ pain points. Connected devices will continue to gain importance throughout the entire journey and will help in better understanding the behaviour of travellers. This will go towards improving the service and increasing the degree of personalisation for individual travellers.

-Smart Cities

As IoT catches on, we will see the emergence of well-connected smart cities. Various establishments like Airports currently lack the real-time data to deliver their best. Most of the airports don’t have accurate information on the amount of traffic until airlines share the numbers. As they start leveraging user data, they will not only be able to improve logistics but also get more travellers to shop at airports with well-timed prompts and information. And yes, no more getting lost at airports.

-Chat bots

The love for chat apps is stronger in Asia Pacific than anywhere else in the world. The success of WhatsApp, WeChat and even some regionally popular platforms like Path and Line is a clear indicator of the same. As travel brands try to cater to the customers in their comfort zone, they will increase focus on chatbots. Expect to see more brands experimenting with them in future.

-AR/VR

Travel brands have already started using virtual reality to drive inspiration and as tech giants continue to bring down the cost of hardware required, VR will continue to gain momentum. Augmented Reality on the other hand would play an important role during the travel. From providing more information about tourist attractions to improved navigation, it can find important role in places. Over time, AR technologies will not just be limited to providing information but also to provide in-destination services.

-Sharing

While sharing/access economy is already playing a crucial role, not only during our trips but also in our everyday lives, the potential still hasn’t been fully explored. Moving beyond accommodation and transport, we will see an increase in sharing for services. It has already begun with some P2P startups working in the direction. Along with this, the shared accommodation space will get more attention from business travellers.

Sebastien Gibergues, Head of Leisure and Online Travel, Amadeus IT Group

The future of online travel businesses

-Mega Online Travel Retailers

Until recently, OTAs owned a large piece of the online booking space and metasearch companies were directing quality leads to them. However, the lines between OTAs and Metasearch platforms are blurring already. OTAs are looking at monetising their traffic with online advertising while metasearch platforms are moving to assisted booking. This convergence is giving rise to Mega Online Travel Retailers

-Digital Tour Operators

As travellers continue to shift online, a new form of model could emerge where traditional tour operators and OTAs join hands to become the ultimate travel seller. The rise of Digital Tour Operators could offer a mix of digital and human interaction offering convenience and speed. The conventional brick and mortar stores could evolve with technology and the agents will be better connected to assist during journey and cross sell at destinations.

-Mobile Travel Retailers

Instead of different platforms for different travel needs and mobile being a complementary distribution channel, we could see the evolution of mobile as the only distribution channel a travel needs. The mobile travel retailer would bring new ways of search and engagement leveraging developments like IoT, voice and VR while bringing the full booking flow into a single app.

-Travel Marketplace

Leading IT companies have been outlining the model of successful marketplaces and the same could happen in travel. Alibaba created e-commerce travel platform Alitrip (now Fliggy) and it already has 100 million users. Amazon has also been innovating in how people deal with marketplaces and we could see such platforms emerging in travel. A large platform developed by a major travel company for OTAs, airlines, hotels and other travel providers to sell on. The suppliers will have less access to user data but it could be balanced out in other ways.

The Amadeus research report “Online Travel 2020: Evolve, Expand or Expire” is available for free download here.

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Good design is not just about building a beautiful interface but rather a language. It needs to communicate well with the consumers and should be simple enough for them to understand. As the competition intensifies in online travel space, the brands are doing all they can to offer the best experience to their customers and their partners.

Arthur Chapin, Senior Vice President, Global Product and Design at Expedia (Image: Phocuswright)

At the recently concluded Phocuswright India, Arthur Chapin, Senior Vice President, Global Product and Design at Expedia took the stage and shared details of the experiments that are always ongoing to build a great product. While it might not be possible for young startups to actually employ many of the technologies they put to use, it is certainly good to observe and learn from what Expedia is doing and use the learnings to build a better product. Here are some highlights from the keynote:

Observe your users

The team at Expedia spends time with both partners and consumers to observe their behaviour. Not only do they try to understand how the partners and consumers are using their own product but also many other products during the course of their day. This would help in building better products that complement the lifestyle while also offering cues about their preferences.

Ask the right questions

Arthur shared that is very important to ask the right questions to get meaningful inputs. You shouldn’t ask what features your customers would like. Instead you should ask about the problems they are facing. Expedia has a research team all over the globe comprising of behavioural and psychology experts who talk to a lot of people to get crucial inputs for the product.

“It is never the feature they ask for. It’s the problem that they are turning into a feature that they think will help solve.”

Don’t consult your friends

During his keynote, Arthur stressed on the fact that building a product for the whole world requires inputs from a diverse group. You shouldn’t just rely on talking to your friends. They might have needs similar to you and won’t be the right people to provide inputs on your idea (and your friends love you, don’t they). The researchers at Expedia talk to over 5800 partners and 10,000 users every year to build a better product that the users don’t just use but love to use. The research team also leverages Facial Electromyography to gauge how people feel while using their products.

Invest less, learn more

The Expedia team, with the help of various technologies, identifies problems faced by users. Soon after that, they are quick to jump on potential solutions with different ideas. Arthur shared that the goal is to test very quickly if they are starting to solve the problem. His advice is to change one thing at a time and try out your solution with the least amount of investment to see if there is an improvement. Once you see smoke, try to evolve from there.

Neutrals don’t get you anywhere

One of the most important points he highlighted was that building a great product should involve only winning and losing. As you deal with problems one at a time, you should either win or lose to learn something new. Neutrals don’t get you anywhere as you don’t learn from them. It is a wasted opportunity. According to him, this practice is followed religiously at Expedia and allows them to make new meaningful additions almost everyday.

Don’t build MVP targeting final product

He pointed out that at times, entrepreneurs have the wrong idea of how to go on about building a minimum viable product. The objective should be to solve a problem, not to have a final product as initially imagined.

“Don’t build a wheel if you want to build a car. Look at the problem it is solving, which is getting from A to B. A wheel won’t solve that. It is just a part of the solution and the right MVP would be a skateboard.”

He further added that it is hard to know what the final product is going to be in future which makes it even more important to not build with that in mind and instead focus on building a real solution.

We will be bringing highlights of more keynotes and discussions from Phocuswright India 2017 over the next few days. Subscribe to our newsletter below to have them delivered to your inbox.

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Phocuswright India 2017 kicked off yesterday with the highly acclaimed Battleground that offers innovators an opportunity to showcase their product in front of the industry decision makers while navigating the Dragons’ Den. Just like any other Phocuswright event, there were some really interesting products and ideas to see. The startups were given six minutes each to present and then they entered The Dragons’ Den to face some of the industry experts. Six innovators took the stage and Mileslife won the Battleground with their product that allows travellers to earn frequent flier miles on their everyday purchases along with travel bookings.

PKFARE was announced to be the runner up in the race for the award. MilesLife received the maximum votes from the audience to receive the People’s Choice award as well.

(L-R) Jason Song, Founder, PKFARE; Simon Lehmann, President, Phocuswright and Troy Liu, Founder, Mileslife

Mileslife is a lifestyle+travel mile-earning platform for locals and travellers. Users can earn airline miles and points directly via daily spending and travel products at select merchants. Mileslife has already built a large network by partnering with 10 frequent flyer programs worldwide and over 1,500 merchants in China and overseas. Airlines, retailers and brands can use the app to engage the middle class with high spending power and acquire insights by leveraging big data analytics.

PKFARE is a global travel B2B marketplace targeting, aggregating and providing air tickets, hotels and destination product content. By building linkage with multiple GDSs, hotel chains, air ticket consolidators and destination management companies, PKFARE provides a real-time inventory data and best-buy rates as well as 24/7 customer service to its clients worldwide. PKFARE also established direct linkage with leading carriers on NDC distribution worldwide.

You can find more details about all the innovators here.

We will be bringing you some really interesting discussions and stories from Phocuswright India 2017 over the next few days. Do follow us on Facebook to stay updated.

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Asia Pacific (APAC) is a growth engine of the global travel industry, with travel gross bookings projected to hit US$392 billion in 2017. Southeast Asia accounts for just 11% of that, but the region’s growing economies and burgeoning middle class populations make it a key area of focus for forward-thinking online travel agencies (OTAs), investors, startups and suppliers.

Much of the appeal is Southeast Asia’s upside. Its online travel population of 39 million represents just 11% of the region’s adult population. As that figure rises, more travel providers are prioritizing this growing population of young, tech-savvy consumers, eager to travel.

Phocuswright’s The Southeast Asian Traveller offers a detailed look at the behaviours, attitudes and preferences of travellers in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Each country has distinctive market realties and consumer habits, as revealed by detailed examination of online travel booking habits.

They’re Young, Especially in Indonesia and Thailand

While online travellers tend to skew younger than the total travel population globally, Southeast Asian travellers are significantly younger than in most other travel markets.

Overall, nearly seven in 10 Southeast Asian online travellers are millennials (18-34). In Indonesia and Thailand, the traveller population is even younger: 45% of online travellers in Indonesia and 41% in Thailand are age 18-24. In all four markets, the young traveller population is a defining characteristic that has important implications for online travel. These digital natives came of age in an interconnected world, and many rely heavily on the Internet and mobile devices.

Mobile travel adoption is high, led by Indonesia and Thailand

With high smartphone ownership incidence across Southeast Asia, mobile shopping in general is popular among consumers in the region. The same is true for travel, even though desktop/laptop computers remain the most popular device type for travel shopping and booking across markets.

Mobile travel booking habits reveal a contrast in Southeast Asia – between the more established economies and online travel markets of Singapore and Malaysia, compared to the more recently emerging markets of Indonesia and Thailand.

More Indonesian travellers report booking travel via smartphone in the past 12 months than report booking via laptop or desktop. And although Thai travellers are more likely to use desktop platforms, more than half have used mobile for travel purchases in the past year. Travelers from the more mature markets of Singapore and Malaysia are testing the mobile waters. But they are holding onto desktop bookings in a way their neighbours – who skew younger and have less experience with online travel – are not.

They Prefer General Search for Destination Selection

When Southeast Asia travellers research travel destinations, general search engines are the most popular type of websites/apps used. Roughly seven in 10 travellers in Indonesia and Malaysia used a general search engine to research the destination for their last trip; a smaller share of Thais and Singaporeans use general search, but it is still their top source of information.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) also play a major role at the top of the funnel in Southeast Asia. Overall, travellers are supplementing their general search engine sessions with visits to a variety of information sources – including sites and apps for social networking, traveller reviews, travel providers and messaging.

Get deeper insights on the Asia Pacific market and network with the change makers in the industry at the upcoming Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurgaon, NCR, India). The three day event features several sessions with APAC’s leading OTAs including a Joint Interview of MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group, Keynote by Yatra.com and Joint Interview of Fliggy (Alitrip) and Paytm among others.

View the full program here.

The registrations are open for just the last few days. Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

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While rising Internet and smartphone access fuelled growth in Asia Pacific (APAC) in 2016, varied infrastructure development, digital payments adoption and regulations make for an uneven e-commerce landscape across the region. Phocuswright’s Asia Pacific Online Travel Overview Ninth Edition: Online Travel Agencies analyses the competitive dynamics throughout APAC, with insight into online travel agency (OTA) gross bookings and growth rates. The report takes a deep dive into the four major OTA trends in APAC.

APAC is the world’s third-largest OTA region: Gross bookings hit US$44.5 billion in 2015, up 15% over 2014 and are forecasted to reach $96.5 billion by 2020.

1- APAC Is the Fastest-Growing Major OTA Region Worldwide

Internet and smartphone penetration continue to rise, supporting travel bookings’ migration from offline to online channels in the region. With relatively underpenetrated online travel markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia fueling OTA growth, APAC OTA gross bookings grew 21% in 2016.

The supplier market structure also adds to OTA growth in the region. Broadly, the APAC air market is crowded and the hotel segment is highly fragmented, offering OTAs an advantage in aggregating and distributing varied content in one place.

2- Mobile Is the Norm

With ever-increasing smartphone penetration, APAC OTAs are allocating more resources toward mobile product development and marketing. Abetted by sales via apps, mobile share of OTA gross bookings in China hit 45% in 2015 – the highest in the world.

As technology companies, OTAs have a strong lead over suppliers across markets when it comes to mobile development and products. While suppliers largely focus on and distribute a single product/segment, most OTAs distribute an array of products within a single mobile platform, thus appealing more to consumers.

OTAs accounted for the majority of mobile gross bookings share in the region in 2016: India (86%), Japan (54%), China (52%).

Combined OTA mobile gross bookings for China, India and Japan were $14.7 billion in 2015, up 52% year-over-year. Continued discounting and price wars on mobile, however, dragged down transaction values (and put pressure on revenues) particularly in China and India, restraining OTA mobile gross bookings from growing at a faster rate.

3- Online Travel Funding Swells, Competition Intensifies

Aggregate publicly disclosed funding to APAC digital travel startups exceeded $14 billion from 2005 through 1Q16, accounting for 43% of global funding. New entrants are challenging the established order and deploying capital toward price wars to win customer loyalty.

Funding to the region’s online travel companies has accelerated dramatically in the last decade; Chinese startups attracted 75% of the total regional funding.

Incumbent OTAs face competition – and a threat of displacement – from emerging intermediaries, which are tapping into new categories, attracting investor dollars and gaining consumer traction.

4- Consolidation Hits APAC Shores

As the region’s online travel industry matures and growth softens, major e-commerce players and OTAs have made notable investments and acquisitions to strengthen their positions in several markets.

As consolidation looms in the region, it’s eat or be eaten for APAC OTAs.

Want more information on OTA trends in the region? Get it straight from the leaders of APAC’s biggest OTAs at Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurgaon, NCR, India). This year’s program features several sessions with APAC’s leading OTAs including a Joint Interview of MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group, Keynote by Yatra.com and Joint Interview of Fliggy (Alitrip) and Paytm among others.

View the full program here.

Phocuswright India provides an unmatched opportunity to meet, learn from and collaborate with Asia Pacific’s top decision makers. It brings together a good mix of speakers and attendees carrying wide experiences boosting the value for attendees. You can find details about all speakers here.

Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

The post Here are the top four Asia Pacific OTA trends to help you plan ahead appeared first on TravHQ.

Asia Pacific (APAC) continued to fuel the global economy last year, which was otherwise stifled by geopolitical uncertainties, the Zika virus endemic, multiple terrorist strikes in Europe and the related refugee crisis in the Middle East. APAC’s middle class population is at the core of the booming regional economy. Their rising discretionary income makes them a highly attractive demographic for lifestyle and service-oriented companies, including travel suppliers.

Phocuswright’s Asia Pacific Online Travel Overview Ninth Edition analyses the competitive dynamics throughout APAC, providing travel companies and marketers with a comprehensive view of the region’s travel market performance from 2014 – 2020.

Online outpacing total market growth

Varied market and segment online maturity will allow the APAC online market to grow at a faster pace than the total market through 2020.

With China accounting for 39% (and increasing) share of the APAC travel market, its online dynamics – and progress – will significantly influence regional online travel growth.

Most online travel markets within APAC will grow in double digits through 2020, with the exception of Japan and Australia – New Zealand (ANZ). Once the online frontrunners in the region, these countries are experiencing slowing growth due to high online penetration. Japan’s share of the APAC online travel market will shrink eight points to 18% by 2020. ANZ’s share will also reduce, from 10% to 6%, during the same period.

Supplier websites lead online travel distribution

Three out of five online dollars were transacted on supplier websites in 2015. Skewed by direct online distribution mechanisms already in place for low-cost carriers (LCCs) and railways, supplier websites have an upper hand in online distribution.

APAC supplier website gross bookings will climb 89% from US$60.7 billion in 2015 to $114.8 billion by 2020. Chinese airlines will add to supplier websites’ momentum. Per the new government policy, state-owned airlines have to sell at least half of their tickets through online direct channels by 2018.

However, by focusing on underserved segments, OTAs will grow faster than supplier websites and the online travel market. Supplier websites will steadily lost share through 2020.

APAC has the world’s highest mobile travel penetration

With a rising number of APAC travelers having access to the Internet and digital banking via their smartphones, mobile will be the fastest-growing online platform in the region. Combined mobile gross bookings of China, India and Japan will reach $105.9 billion by 2020, up 325% over 2015.

OTAs win at mobile

In APAC, online travel agencies are at the forefront of mobile innovation, development, marketing and distribution relative to the suppliers. In India, OTAs accounted for 88% of the mobile travel market in 2015, while their counterparts in China delivered 60% of the market’s mobile gross bookings in the same year. OTAs will remain the major force behind mobile bookings in APAC.

You can purchase the full report here for the trends, individual market dynamics, projections through 2020 and key findings from various segments and countries.

Want more information on APAC trends? Get it straight from the leaders of APAC’s travel companies at Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurugram, NCR, India).

Phocuswright India provides an unmatched opportunity to meet, learn from and collaborate with Asia Pacific’s top decision makers. Explore the trends, technology and turmoil affecting Asia Pacific travel market. See industry innovators during Battleground. Hear from the most influential travel leaders during Center Stage. Find practical advice you can put to work in your own business during workshops.

This year’s program features several sessions with APAC’s largest OTAs:

• Joint Interview: MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group. Two of india’s largest online travel companies have merged. Hear from their CEOs, Ashish Kashyap and Rajesh Magow, on where they go from here and what it means for the rest of the market.
• Keynote: Yatra.com. Hear from Yatra’s co-founder and CEO, Dhruv Shringi, on distribution, competition, discounting and running an OTA in the public eye.
• Joint Interview: Alitrip and Paytm. Step by step, Alibaba has emerged as a prominent force – and investor – in the Chinese digital travel distribution space. Hear about Alibaba’s travel ambitions through a combined interview with the heads of its travel businesses in China and India, Tony Duan and Abhishek Rajan.

View the full program here.

This year’s speakers include:

• Oliver Hua, Managing Director, APAC, Booking.com
• Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd.
• Amanpreet Bajaj, Country Manager, India, Airbnb
• Albert Pozo, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific, Amadeus IT Group S.A.
• Geeta Jain, CEO, India, Carlson Wagonlit Travel
• View all speakers

Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

The post Here are the top trends you need to know about the Asia Pacific travel market appeared first on TravHQ.

The conversations about the Asia-Pacific travel market often converge around China or India. The past 15 years have moved the pointer from markets like Australia and Japan to these countries. Larger population and improved Internet connectivity, primarily via mobile helped this transition. However, on the sidelines, the Southeast Asian market has also evolved into a lucrative proposition for online travel businesses and new products in travel. Companies like AirAsia, Grab and Traveloka have headlined the growth in this region. Young internet connected travellers open to new technologies have created room for e-commerce companies. A recent report by Phocuswright looks closely at this region, primarily the key markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, to understand the trends driving the market and behaviour of travellers. Here are some quick highlights from the report that indicate how the Southeast Asia region is a market ripe for innovators in travel:

USD 55.7 billion opportunity

By the year 2020, travel gross bookings in Southeast Asia- comprising of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand will near USD 55.7 billion. During this period, the region is expected to account for 11% of the total Asia Pacific travel market. A growing GDP across the region (over 5%) is also seen as a contributory factory towards the growth of not only online travel but entire e-commerce industry.

Savvy young audience

Seven out of 10 travellers from the region are millennials aged between 18-34 years and are comfortable searching and buying online, including mobile. The players in online travel space have an opportunity to tap into this behaviour. Indonesia and Thailand have the youngest travellers in Southeast Asia and these travellers are well connected via their mobile devices. Taking a mobile first approach and embracing not only popular social platforms like Facebook and Instagram but also regionally popular channels like Path or Line will help brands connect with these travellers.

Window to inspire

Last year, a majority of travellers from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia travelled to domestic destinations. However, thanks to the visa-free travel across ASEAN countries, efforts by travel companies to inspire travellers and competitive fares by LCCs, the outbound travel has also registered growth. Up to one in two Indonesian and Malaysian travellers, and more than three in four Singaporeans travelled overseas to other SEA countries last year.

Investors’ attention

During 2014, travel startups across Asia Pacific collectively raised over USD 2.5 billion in funding and the number more than quadrupled in 2015. Travel startup funding in 2016 neared USD 9 billion, significantly higher than North America which indicates the increased interest of investors across the entire region and SEA won’t go amiss.

During the upcoming Phocuswright India 2017, Chetan Kapoor – Research Analyst, Asia Pacific, Phocuswright will share deeper insights from the research to help brands looking to tap into the region. Executives from brands who have pioneered the market will take the stage to share their expertise. Phocuswright India will also see participation from the most influential leaders from around the world offering an opportunity for the attendees to connect with the decision makers and explore synergies to grow together.

The event is scheduled for February 28-March 2, 2017. Registration options and full schedule can be found here.

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The Asian travellers are demanding in nature. While the massive scale of the market and fast growing internet population provide opportunities for travel brands to set foot and grow, the buyers don’t like to settle for anything less than the best. The trends observed in the market appear to be similar to other geographies but in reality, APAC is a diverse region with multiple niche markets and unique traits.

Phocuswright has been at the centre of the online travel industry for over two decades with research and events. Phocuswright India, their first ever conference centred around the Asia Pacific travel market, was launched last year. It saw participation from the leaders of top travel companies and for 2017, they are bringing back the event carrying the theme “The Asian Advantage”. It will pack together compelling content, top-tier attendees and an electrified atmosphere.

Here is why we think Phocuswright India 2017 is a conference one can’t afford to miss:

Industry leaders

Phocuswright India is attended by the most influential leaders from around the world. At the 2016 event, a third of the attendees were C-level executives while 23 percent were at Senior Director/Director level. This offers a great opportunity for the attendees to connect with the decision makers in leading brands and explore synergies to grow together.

Diverse experiences

The event brings together a good mix of local and international speakers and attendees. The 2016 event saw attendees from 19 countries including major travel markets outside Asia as well. This brings wide expertise and knowledge to the event boosting the value for attendees.

Learning from changemakers

A lot is speculated about the major develops in the travel industry. Whether it is about the travel products by Google, international investments by Chinese brands or the consolidation of leading players, we only get to know what is being talked about. However, the event will bring these leaders under one roof during the ‘Center Stage’ to learn the real story and driving force behind the developments.

Actionable insights

The industry has leveraged Phocuswright research for long and the events serve as an extension to the research. Phocuswright India 2017 won’t be any different. The team brings the learnings from their extensive researches to live discussions during the event. The data driven insights will allow brands to plan better and stay ahead of the curve in the competitive market.

Battleground

Phocuswright India will also give the travel industry innovators a platform to showcase their ideas on a global stage through ‘Battleground’. The innovators get ten minutes on stage to pitch, demonstrate and face off with Phocuswright Dragons-industry’s most informed insiders, to explore opportunities with potential investors, incubators and partners.

Phocuswright India will be hosted at The Leela Ambience Gurugram, February 28 – March 2, 2017. You can find more details and register for the event at www.phocuswrightindia.com. Discounted tickets available until February 3, 2017.

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