Australia to hear WIT and wisdom

PhoCusWright’s latest Asia Pacific Online Travel Overview Fourth Edition this week paints a picture of a rapidly growing online travel market but with extraordinary differences among the individual markets.

Some of Asian’s leading experts will be gathering in Sydney on June 21 to discuss this phenomenon and its implications on travel marketing.

Web in Travel (WIT)’s first Australian conference features Kei Shibata, CEO of Venture Republic, Japan; Fritz Demopoulous, CEO of Qunar, China; and Morris Sim, CEO & Co-Founder of Circos Brand Karma. The program has just been released, online of course,www.webintravel.com/wit-australia

“We believe the winners in the next phase of growth in the Asian travel market will be those who know how to tap into the customers’ online groove in what is the most dynamic market in the world in terms of social media adoption, smartphone consumption and Internet savviness,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, producer of WIT.

Have younger Japanese stopped travelling?

How can Australia’s travel suppliers increase market share in a traditional stronghold which seems to be slipping away?

And is it time to start thinking of China not as one market but of several emerging segments that need to be addressed separately and smartly?

What are some of the differences that need to be understood if Australia’s inbound tourism industry is to garner its fair share of what is now the world’s second largest regional travel market, and one whose growth is being propelled by rising Internet access and an organic shift toward Internet purchasing, as noted by the PhoCusWright report.

The WIT Australia program includes CEOs of leading OTAs who have built up strong brands in Asia – Robbie Cooke, Group CEO of Wotif Group and Adrian Currie, chairman of Agoda and managing director of Booking.com in Australia and New Zealand.

Shedding light on other emerging markets such as Indonesia and other South-east Asian markets are Darren Wright, head of commercial for AirAsia X, whose direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne and the Gold Coast have brought in a new segment of travellers to the country, and Graham Hills, general manager Indonesia of travel search website, Wego.

TripAdvisor’s commercial director, Alvin Ch’ng, will also shed light on the customer truths behind the reviews on the world’s largest travel website while Siva Ganeshandan, vice president-Asia Pacific of Autonomy Optimost, will peel away the layers to expose certain customer truths in the region.

According to the PhoCusWright study, the Asia Pacific travel market surged 17 percent in 2010, surpassing the US to become the second largest regional travel market worldwide.

It grew faster than all other regions to reach US$255.8 billion in 2010.

Rising Internet access and an organic shift toward Internet purchasing will help propel strong double-digit growth in APAC’s online leisure/unmanaged business market through 2012, when gross bookings will reach $70.6 billion, it said.

The market is valued at more than $53 billion in 2010.

For more details, go to www.webintravel.com-witaustralia