Tag: pacific asia travel association

  • News: ITB Berlin 2013: Provides significant impetus for growth

    ITB Berlin 2013 was by far the world’s largest meeting place of international tourism policy decision-makers and business leaders. The German chancellor Angela Merkel, the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, representatives of the sector Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the area Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in addition to greater than 100 ministers of tourism and state secretaries, met in Berlin to assist shape the long run for growth within the tourism industry.

    Dr. Christian Göke, COO Messe Berlin: “Once again, ITB Berlin has kicked off the travel season worldwide. No other place on the earth gathers such a lot of leading representatives from the non-public and public sector. It is where the tone is determined for the way forward for travel for 1000000000 people. The rise in international buyers is proof that ITB Berlin remains an important market for the worldwide travel industry.“

    From 6 to ten March 2013, 10,086 exhibitors from 188 countries presented their services in display halls that were fully booked up. Overall, some 110,000 trade visitors came to Berlin, of whom 43 per cent were from abroad. This year there has been a slight increase in buyers from the united states and the center East. Exhibitors reported holding quality talks and sealing more business deals.

    The ITB Berlin Convention registered record levels of attendance. a complete of 21,000 took part within the 200 lectures, discussions and workshops, 25 percent greater than in 2012. Social Media and Mobile Travel Services proved to be major visitor attractions. The matchmaking event for bloggers involving exhibitors met with an incredibly positive response.

    Visitors thronged the halls at the Saturday of the show. Greater than 60,000 members of the public came to determine concerning the wide-ranging information on offer from exhibitors and providers of niche market products. For the primary time, visitors on the weekend were ready to book their tours directly at ITB Berlin. A poll among visitors revealed that one in three intended to book a visit.

    Big success for the partner country Indonesia

    The participation of Indonesia, this year’s partner country, at ITB Berlin 2013 was spectacular and featured greater than 300 dancers, musicians and performing artists from Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Papua, Jakarta and Java. Besides showcasing its natural wonders, the world’s largest archipelago shined the spotlight on seven other aspects of the rustic: culture and traditions, nature and eco-tourism, leisure sports, cruises, gastronomy and shopping, spas, wellness and MICE events. International trade visitors and most people were capable of sample the country’s culinary delights and revel in its age-old tradition of spas at the stand of Indonesia on the show.

    Esthy Reko Astuty, Director General of selling, Ministry of Tourism and artistic Economy: “We are extremely satisfied with the way in which ITB Berlin 2013 went and are very proud to were the show’s partner country. We had excellent opportunities here to showcase the range of our country: the assorted cultures, the wonderful thing about our natural landscapes and the special those who live there. The joint appearance of the German chancellor Angela Merkel and our president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on the opening ceremonies was renewed confirmation of the great relations that exist between Germany and Indonesia. We felt very welcome and honoured by the visits of many official representatives on our stand in addition to by the big interest shown by the international press. We came to Berlin with near to 50 per cent more exhibitors than in 2012 and will say that we’re very satisfied.”

    Márcio Favilla, Executive Director for Competitiveness, External Relations and Partnerships, UNWTO: “I felt very inspired by the fantastic opening ceremonies and the German chancellor Angela Merkel. It was a big moment when Germany’s head of presidency made the relationship between tourism and creating jobs and growth. By contrast backdrop, UNWTO is worked up to be interested by this partnership between Indonesia and Germany. We are hoping to construct on our long-standing and positive relationship with Germany. In my opinion it was the only opening event I actually have ever seen at ITB Berlin. The whole guests were in a position to experience a small portion of the big progress that was made, witness the cultural wealth of Indonesia, and sense how close relations are.“

    Dr. Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW): “The past few days at ITB Berlin have renewed and boosted our confidence within the months ahead. i’m happy to mention that the mood among exhibitors and visitors at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds was very positive again. The result of numerous surveys and forecasts presented during ITB also gave us cause for optimism. People’s want to travel continues to stay high.

    Once again, ITB Berlin showed that modern strategy of communication can indeed make things easier in lots of ways and will thus benefit our industry. However, there isn’t any substitute for face-to-face meetings. It was precisely these personal meetings and this relation-building that ITB Berlin made possible, at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds and at numerous evening events after the show. Again, ITB Berlin provided the platform for the worldwide tourism industry to interchange information, conclude deals and cultivate business relations. Vast numbers of most people took the chance at the weekend to determine more in regards to the wide-ranging services and products that the worldwide tourism industry has to supply, including ideas for his or her next holidays. For 5 days the halls at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds were again the meeting place of the realm of international tourism.“

    Jürgen Büchy, President of the German Travel Association (DRV): “2013 began well for the travel industry. Proof of which might be present in the positive mood during the last few days and inside the travel bookings over the 1st months of this year. We predict this year’s ITB to again set the tone for a successful year in tourism by stimulating further growth on this sector. The signs are good, because German citizens remain keen to travel. Travel destinations which might be traditionally popular among Germans will benefit especially, among them Greece, which has good possibilities of celebrating a comeback. Yet again, ITB has confirmed its role as an indispensable international meeting place for tourism experts and enthusiasts. Even as it provides a fantastic opportunity to spotlight and debate trends and to set the tone for the long run.“

    High level of media attention and political interest

    Around 6,000 accredited journalists from 80 countries and a few 250 bloggers reported on events at ITB Berlin. 350 politicians and diplomats from Germany and abroad were present on the show. The president of the Republic of Indonesia and the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany opened the world’s largest travel trade fair. Besides 98 foreign delegations, Thailand’s Princess Ubolratana Mahidol also attended the show. 77 ambassadors from world wide, 47 foreign ministers and diverse foreign state secretaries were also gathered. Federal Minister of Transport, Building and concrete Development Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister of financial Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel, State Minister for Economics, the Infrastructure, Transport and Technology Martin Zeil, in addition to Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, came to determine what the travel industry needed to offer.

    The UNWTO Silk Road Ministers’ Summit and the Africa Forum at the KAZA beacon project also attracted the notice of international politicians.

    The next ITB Berlin will happen from Wednesday, 5 to Sunday, 9 March 2014.

    Recommended

  • News: PATA: 2012 was a record year for Asia/Pacific tourism

    Asia and the Pacific continued as a hot spot for international tourism in 2012, attracting what’s expected to be in far more than 350 million international visitor arrivals, expanding its collective inbound count by greater than 5% and generating greater than 18 million additional foreign visits, year-on-year. It’s in keeping with preliminary results released today by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

    This is the third consecutive year during which foreign arrivals growth has remained positive for the region.

    Of the 40 separate destinations covered, only 5 reported contractions for the year. Most of these were relatively marginal for the region as a complete. The sole exception was China, which, with a contraction in growth of two.2%, is estimated to have lost around 3 million international arrivals (foreign and compatriot) from its 2011 total international inbound count.

    The picture is rather different for foreign arrivals to China, however (i.e., excluding compatriot arrivals). The year 2012 saw a rise of one.6% in that inbound volume, year-on-year.

    Southeast Asia was the strongest performer in 2012 in annual percentage growth terms, with a gain of 9.9% for the year. This equated to a rise of greater than 8 million additional arrivals over the former year and pushed the ASEAN aggregate international inbound count to just about 89 million.

    Within this sub-region, Myanmar had a staggering increase of virtually 52% in arrivals, while Cambodia and Lao PDR reported gains of 24% and 22% respectively. All 3 destinations created new records with Myanmar breaking the million arrivals mark (in total) for the primary time. Cambodia and Lao PDR both also broke the three million mark. They weren’t alone either as every destination inside the ASEAN region set new highs relating to international arrivals.

    After several years of sturdy double-digit growth rates, South Asia is now settling back somewhat, but still returning strong gains; 2012 for instance saw growth of 6.6% and a rise of well over half-a-million additional international arrivals. Sri Lanka, with growth of virtually 18% saw its foreign arrivals count pass the only million mark, while the Maldives fell just in need of it. India remains the titan within South Asia, however, with greater than 6.6 million arrivals and a year-on-year gain of near to 340,000 additional foreign arrivals, some 59% of the whole additional increase within the arrivals volume to the sub-region.

    Even with the contraction in total international arrivals into China, Northeast Asia still maintained a growth rate of virtually 4% for the year. It dominated the visitor increase count by receiving near 8.5 million additional international arrivals year-on-year.

    Japan turned within the strongest percentage growth with a gain of 35% for the year, a performance that saw the destination recoup the losses in visitor arrivals following the tsunami of 2011 and move again into record arrivals territory. Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, and Korea (ROK) also added to the sub-regional performance with growth increases of 20%, 16%, and 14% respectively.

    After a somewhat mediocre performance in 2011 (+0.3% growth), the Pacific bounced back strongly in 2012 to post a collective gain across eighteen destinations of 6%. This in turn equated to a rise of higher than 1.1 million additional international arrivals to the sub-region, which now collectively boasts a global inbound volume tantalizingly on the brink of 20 million.

    The Northern Marianas (+17.4%), Vanuatu (15.1%), and Guam (+12.8%) reported the strongest percentage gains, while Hawaii, Australia, and Guam posted the best gains in more arrivals for the year.

    Across the Asia/Pacific region, preliminary figures suggest that the pinnacle 5 destinations, by growth in international visitor arrivals, were: Myanmar, Japan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Chinese Taipei; each had a year-on-year increase of 20% or better.

    In volume terms, there have been 6 particularly significant outcomes with Hong Kong SAR, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Korea (ROK), and Chinese Taipei each securing in way over a million additional arrivals in 2012; the SAR of Hong Kong saw 6.7 million additional international arrivals.

    Martin J. Craigs, CEO of PATA, said: “Asia and the Pacific continues so as to add substantially to the worldwide international arrivals count. We predict that to continue for a while yet. The players shift and alter, after all, and we are able to expect some movement relating to generating and receiving markets. But around the region we predict substantial gains in both the quantity and the worth of those movements for it slow yet.”

    The PATA CEO added: “How we measure and determine the impacts of this growth in traffic is becoming more important, however. For this reason PATA is operating to advertise the idea of the entire Visitor Economy throughout its membership and around the wider industry.”

    Recommended

  • News: CEO of Qatar Airways to take part in World Routes Strategy Summit

    Today saw the official launch of the 19th World Route Development Forum in order to turn up on October 5-8, 2013 co-hosted by Las Vegas Convention&Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.

    World Routes is the most important and most vital commercial aviation networking forum of its kind, and 2013 will see Routes head to the usa for the primary time ever when the development happens inside the entertainment capital of the arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Tourism is the #1 industry in Las Vegas, with record visitation of nearly 40 million visitors last year, and town may be a thriving business destination hosting greater than 21,000 annual meetings and trade shows with almost 5 million attendees in 2012.

    The event attracts all manner of airlines with low-cost, charter, regional, and flag carriers all in attendance and represented by delegates who’re liable for making decisions on both new and existing routes. Early registrations indicate a powerful presence from all regions with greater than 100 carriers already registered to wait, including Air Canada, British Airways, AirAsia X, easyJet, UPS, Delta Air Lines, Southwest, Emirates, Allegiant, Etihad, COPA Airlines, Virgin America, Volaris, and American Airlines.

    This year’s event will see quite a few content streams running through the four days, including the realm Routes Strategy Summit, held in partnership with ICAO and the sector Bank; the arena Tourism Summit, held in partnership with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP), and TTG; Invest and Manage; and a program of social media briefings.

    The summits assemble senior leaders and key stakeholders from aviation, tourism, and load to take part in discussions for you to set the economic and political agenda for the industry. The events attract airline and airport CEOs, Ministers of Tourism, and leaders of industry associations worldwide comparable to Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways; Alain St.Ange, Minister for Tourism&Culture for the Seychelles; Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World; Sani Sener, President&CEO of TAV Airports; and Rossi Ralenkotter, President/CEO of the Las Vegas Convention&Visitors Authority, who’ve all confirmed their participation.

    “Las Vegas is honored to host the primary World Route Development Forum inside the Usa,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, President/CEO for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “As the entertainment and convention capital of the realm and an emerging international business center, Las Vegas offers a very unique experience to the world’s aviation leaders. From our new US$2.4 billion state-of-the-art international Terminal 3 to our ability to repeatedly reinvent Las Vegas as a world tourism destination, Las Vegas is the ideal stage for industry leaders to attach and gain key insight into what the way forward for travel and tourism holds.”

    David Stroud, Executive Vp, Routes, said: “For Routes, taking the development to the usa for the 1st time will further strengthen our position inside the world’s largest aviation market. We predict over 3,000 delegates to affix us in Las Vegas this year, including senior representation from over 300 carriers from world wide. McCarran International Airport’s expansion offers airlines new opportunities, and hosting World Routes will allow town to extend their air services that’s fundamental to the prosperity of the region.”

    “Last year, McCarran International Airport opened its doors to increasingly more travelers from all over the world once we opened our fantastic Terminal 3 expansion,” said Randall H. Walker, Director of Aviation for Clark County, Nevada, which owns and operates McCarran. “This fall, we glance forward to welcoming Routes attendees from world wide, providing each guest a primary-hand opportunity to experience all that our airport and community must offer.”

    Recommended

  • News: PATA connects Digital Innovation Asia to its annual summit

    Located alongside, the Digital Innovation Asia events are deliberately timed to guide into the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Annual Summit on April 25-28, so that they can attract around 400 of probably the most senior travel and tourism executives. PATA has partnered with E-Tourism Asia the producer of Digital Innovation Asia (DIA) to stage digital events, which come with the Digital Innovation Asia Awards, Blogger Match-Up Asia, Speak-Up Asia, and the China Boot Camp.

    Kicking off Digital Innovation Asia (DIA) on April 23, hosted by ChinaTravelTrends.com, the China Boot Camp helps companies know the way to succeed in and fix with affluent and complex Chinese consumers. With China being the fastest growing source marketplace for many destinations in Asia and around the globe, and the complex social media and digital landscape being essentially the mostsome of the most influential medium in modern China, learning the best way to adapt to marketing to this new group of holiday makers is essential for any travel and tourism organization today.

    Followed by the primary Blogger Match-Up in Asia on April 24, hosted by the Aloft Hotel Bangkok, where speed-dating sessions connect bloggers from the region and from around the globe with travel and tourism providers from Asia. Workshops on learn how to deal and leverage citizen journalists provide vital knowledge and insight. A to not be missed session by the second one highest ranked Twitter account in Thailand (@Mr.scotteddy) with over 130,000 followers in precisely three years, will give insights on how even the smallest travel company with low budget may be effective and interesting on Twitter and other social media platforms.

    In the evening, the primary Digital Innovation Asia Awards (or DIA Awards) recognize the most effective in digital innovation within the travel and tourism industry from the region. Hosted by Bed Supperclub Bangkok, some of the innovative nightlife entertainment venues in Asia, the awards will recognize within the following categories: “Most Engaging Website,” “Most Viral Campaign,” “Most Creative Use of Technology,” “Most Inspiring Content,” and “Most Innovative Digital Organization.”

    The DIA Awards are judged by the brand new Digital Innovation Asia Council, an invitation-only forum of the foremost senior e-commerce executives and digital marketing thought-leaders from hotels, airlines, tourist boards, cruise lines, tour operators, and travel media from all corners of the Asia Pacific region.

    On April 25, the 1st Speak-Out Asia, hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, will launch at uber-trendy Zuma Restaurant on the St Regis Hotel Bangkok, and emceed by famous blogger, Thai-TV Show host, and co-founding father of travel company Smiling Albino, Daniel Fraser.

    The vision of the development is to wow, inspire, engage, and stimulate the audience, feature respected and well-known digital revolutionaries, showcase technology solutions, and source innovations from around the region. Apart from normal online travel conferences, Speak-Out Asia embraces the entire Visitor Economy – meaning it’s not pretty much marketing, sales, and distribution, but a novel forum to have a look at all aspects of tourism, including but not limited to e-visa, mobile crisis management, and social crowd-funding powered micro-financing. Speak-Out Asia will even feature Digital Aid Asia @ Speak-Out Asia. Digital Aid is an initiative to leverage technology in developing responsible tourism. This unique and critical session will analyze how digital and social media can combat human trafficking and child prostitution, an immense issue when tourism is increasing emerging tourism destination. The session is hosted by Destination Innovation Asia CSR partner SISHA.

    Mr. Martin J. Craigs, CEO of PATA said: “We are excited to be partnering with E-Tourism Asia, the producer of Digital Innovation Asia. This event is an ideal primer for next gen minded mentors the day before our summit. The growing importance of mobile, digital, and social media in Asia in ‘m-powering’ the total Visitor Economy is among the catalysts of travel and tourism growth inside the region. Speak-Out Asia won’t only be inspirational but may also be thought provoking by raising issues like crisis management, and human trafficking, and the way technology can play an essential role.”

    Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, Govenor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand commented that: “TAT, which has made using social media a concern in marketing Thailand as an awesome tourism destination, is proud to be the rustic host of the 1st Digital Innovation Asia, including the DIA Awards and Speak-Out Asia. Thailand is worked up to welcome digital thought leaders from the region and world wide. Exchanging ideas with bloggers and influencers on social media platforms on the Blogger-Match-Up is the future of any travel and tourism organization, being it small or large.”