Women to drive Asian travel trends – Amadeus chief
Women are driving the Asia Pacific travel industry, in terms of both volume and booking trends, according to the regional head of travel technology company Amadeus.
Speaking with Travel Daily recently, David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific, expanded on a recent study that identified the rise of female travellers as a key trend in the industry. The so-called ‘ME Affect’, as highlighted in Amadeus’ ‘Shaping the Future of Travel’ report, forecast a huge rise in the number of women travelling either individually or in groups in the coming years. And Brett told Travel Daily the trend was already well underway.
“There is definitely a phenomenon of women getting together in groups, travelling together, experiencing shops and spas. It is already happening and is likely to increase. But currently women are travelling to destinations they are familiar with and that they consider safe, such as Singapore and Bangkok. But the trend will definitely continue as women become more independent and adventurous,” he stated.
Brett also noted that as more women graduate from Asian universities, the boardrooms on the future will be “filled with women”. He added however, that destinations – especially emerging markets – need to target female tourists more effectively.
“New markets could open up, but they need to do more to attract the female market. This isn’t to do with offering particular facilities, but more promoting the destination in the correct way and informing people to make an educated decision,” he said.
And according to Brett, women are also driving changes in the way travel is booked. The rise in online travel sites and word-of-mouth recommendations via social media sites such as a Facebook, is meaning that women are now researching and booking travel more than men. And this is causing a shift in the booking dynamic, according to the Amadeus Asia Pacific chief.
“Women tend to be a lot more detailed, they dig a bit deeper and ask more questions,” said Brett. “This is making the tourism providers think more about how they make their offers, making their products more attractive to a female booker. So in future, the more information the supplier is able to provide to the customer, the more they are able to tailor their products to the individual, the more successful they will be. A lot of this will be driven by social media.”
Amadeus estimated that in 2011 there were approximately 4.5 million international business trips by women from China, India, Australia, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. But this figure is expected to increase by 400% by the year 2030.
CLICK HERE to read David Brett’s interview with Travel Daily.