Amadeus study reveals the biggest factors to shape the future of travel in APAC

ETW STAFF – New Delhi

A major new pan Asia Pacific study released today, ‘Shaping the future of travel in Asia Pacific: The big FOUR travel effects’ outlines four key themes that will drive significant change in the Asia Pacific travel ecosystem over the period to 2030. Commissioned by Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry, the report points to the geopolitical, social and technological changes that will have a fundamental effect on Asia Pacific, and details the implications for travellers, travel service providers and the industry at large.

The study observes that as economies in the region converge – driven both by a narrowing of the wealth gap between developed and emerging economies, and greater liberalisation of trade and travel – travel behaviours will become more divergent. A much greater variety of people will be travelling, for a more divergent set of reasons, with a much broader range of aspirations, behaviours and expectations from the travel experience.

Developed by business research and consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, the Amadeus-commissioned study surveyed 1,531 business and leisure travellers across the seven key markets of Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Singapore. Beyond quantitative traveller research, Frost & Sullivan also conducted 13 in-depth executive interviews with industry thought leaders from Asia Pacific.

Key themes included:

• The Me Effect: The fragmentation of the travel market into ever-increasing niches
• The Red Tape Effect: The breaking down of barriers to travel within the Asia Pacific region
• The Leapfrog Effect: Technology, infrastructure and behaviours in the Asia Pacific region will leapfrog ahead of those elsewhere
• The Barbell Effect: Growth will occur particularly at the upper and lower ends of the travel market

Mark Dougan, managing director of research, Frost & Sullivan said, “Asia Pacific is arguably the most rapidly evolving travel market in the world. We wanted to paint a broad yet perceptive view on the future of travel in Asia Pacific, to enable travel providers to understand where the travel industry is headed and take advantage of the opportunities present in this growing market. To that end, we needed to understand all facets of change – social, geopolitical and technological – underpinned by economic trends. We hope the study will stimulate discussion and debate on these developments and what needs to be done to effectively respond to these changes.”