Asia Pacific continues to drive strong growth momentum, not least due to the rise of Indian outbound travel; the anticipated Chinese travel resurgence; and Southeast Asia’s ascent as a travel powerhouse.
With travel increasingly a priority for consumers – a category that now accounts for one third of annual transactions amongst frequent flyers – and sports and music tourism on the rise, it presents unique opportunities for brands to build strong relationships with their most valued customers, differentiate from competition and deliver measurable business impact.
ITB Asia 2024 featured Todd Handcock, Collinson International’s Global Chief Commercial Officer and President, Asia Pacific and Monica Pitrelli, Editor of CNBC Travel taking part in an engaging fireside chat, during which they revealed insights on the power and influence of travel on customer engagement and loyalty.
Key highlights from the discussion:
Asia Pacific has been earmarked to be an engine of growth, with Southeast Asia emerging as the next travel powerhouse. Southeast Asia is projected to be the fastest growing commercial aviation region in the next two decades and travellers from this region are already leading the way in travel spend.
Experiential rewards such as travel experiences are now more sought after by consumers than rational rewards like points and cashback, across all generations. It is crucial for brands to evolve their customer value propositions and tailor their travel proposition accordingly to remain relevant.
Sports and music tourism are emerging to be tremendous growth categories. Brands that provide consumers’ access to experiences that align with broader life interests will safeguard their relevance and in turn, better engage with target audiences – particularly younger generations.
Opportunities abound within the travel sector even though it is a hotly contested area. Brands will need to be agile and be open to partnering with carefully-identified brands to help diversify and expand their ability to meet evolving consumers’ interests.
Watch the full video below to learn how organisations can unlock the power and influence of travel-related rewards and benefits on consumer engagement and loyalty.
