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| Abacus International President and CEO Robert Bailey at the media briefing for the 7th Abacus International Conference in HCMC on Wednesday evening - Photo: Mong Binh |
Bailey quoted the latest Abacus Asia Travel Sentiment Survey conducted by Asia’s leading provider of travel solutions and services as saying that up to 62% of travel agents anticipate a promising industry outlook for the next half year.
Bailey highlighted the survey findings at a media briefing on Wednesday evening ahead of the 7th Abacus International Conference 2010 that will kick-off in HCMC on Thursday. He said in a welcome letter handed to the Daily that the event would touch on rewarding topics, with the focus on the changes within Asia and how these changes will lead growth opportunities in this region.
Bailey said recent positive growth in travel bookings had fuelled optimism for the industry’s outlook and for Abacus as its total booking volumes to August recorded 11% year-on-year growth with the number of travelers rising by 15%.
“This trend is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2011. This has been a better than expected result from our earlier forecast of 3-5% in the first half,” Bailey said. He credited the growth to the pent-up demand for leisure travel as well as the return of corporate travel.
Bailey said China and India continued to lead Asia’s travel industry growth but stressed the important role of countries in Indochina. In his presentation at the media briefing, Bailey listed Vietnam alongside China and India as key markets in Asia Pacific growth spurt.
Bailey said Asia certainly remained the most dynamic region, as proved by a surge in international arrivals to Asia Pacific and the expected US$5.2 billion profits from carriers in the region this year.
Preliminary data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) showed the number of international visitors to the region in July increased by 15% year-on-year and the January-July figure was up 12% over the same period last year.
Though corporate travelers remain cautious with their travel expenditure and leisure travelers continue to look for the best bargains, Abacus’ survey indicated travel agents still believed the corporate segment as having the most room for growth.
On another aspect, Bailey said mobile platform was standing out within the travel industry and its applications were rapidly being developed to meet the demand, particularly in Asia Pacific where there are over 450 million mobile Internet subscribers.
The dynamic online landscape in Asia, online and mobile solutions and applications for the industry, corporate productivity and opportunities in Indochina are among the topics on the table at the international conference. The event will end this weekend.
