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International Meetings: US And Germany Tops

According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), U.S.A. and Germany ranks first and second respectively for the highest number of international meetings organised in 2010. Spain is at the third place. The United Kingdom and France both climb one place to respectively fourth and fifth at the cost of Italy, which now ranks sixth. Japan(seventh) and China(eighth) both also climb one place and Brazil drops two places and is now ninth. Switzerland is a newcomer in the top 10.
The top 5 cities are the same as in the 2009 ranking: Vienna, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin and Singapore. Madrid (jumps from 13 to 6), Istanbul (from 17 to 7), Sydney (from 27 to 10) and Taipei (from 25 to 11) have made significant improvement in rankings. Copenhagen and Stockholm dropped out of the top 10 and Bangkok dropped out of the top 20.

India: Rise In Brand Engagement Through Social Media

According to a study on social media usage by The Nielsen Company, 40 million Indians are using online reviews to inform purchase decisions – 67 percent of Indians who are on the web use online reviews to help them make purchases. A fourth of online Indians were able to recall brands using social media. Increasingly, Indians also want brands to communicate with them using social media. 60 percent Indians who are social media users are open to being approached by brands. This emerging behavior points to the fact that brands need to deliver on consumer expectations much more than ever before, in a world where consumer opinion and brand advocacy, or criticism propagates through social networks much faster than ever before.

While just 8 percent Indians spend between an hour and three hours on personal email, 20 percent spend the same time on social media sites. Nearly 30 million Indians who are online are members of social networking sites and about two-thirds of them spend time on these social networking sites daily. The study estimates that over the next six months 45,000 online Indians intend to join social networking sites each day.

India Remains Most Optimistic For Q1 2011

According to a global online consumer confidence survey by The Nielsen Company for Q1 2011, Indian consumers continue to remain the most optimistic globally, but their confidence levels have not risen from the last quarter of 2010 and remains at 131 index points. Saudi Arabia jumps up eight notches to come in at second place and Indonesia holds third spot. Seven out of the top 10 optimistic countries hailed from Asia Pacific, while European markets dominated nine out of the top 10 most pessimistic nations.
Top 10 Most Optimistic
1. India (131)
2. Saudi Arabia (118)
3. Indonesia (116)
4. Australia (110)
5. Philippines (110)
6. Switzerland (110)
7. Singapore (109)
8. UAE (108)
9. China (108)
10. Hong Kong (107)

Top 10 Most Pessimistic
1. Portugal (39)
2. Hungary (41)
3. Greece (45)
4. Romania (46)
5. Croatia (47)
6. South Korea (51)
7. Italy (57)
8. Latvia (57)
9. Ukraine (60)
10. France (61)

Business Travel: Expenses Reduced Through Online Adoption

GetThere Corporate Travel Benchmark Survey revealed that while business travel is increasing, corporations focus on reducing travel expenses. 61 % of respondents expect their travel budgets to increase up to 10% in 2011 and nearly a third expect their travel budgets to increase up to five percent. . Yet corporations continue to cut travel costs by achieving higher adoption rates of online travel booking tools.
Online adoption rates continue to rise in every region. As a result of higher online adoption rates, respondents reported the following savings:
- An average savings of 70 percent on agency fees
- An average savings of 18 percent and 24 percent on domestic and international airfares, respectively
- An average savings of 12 percent and 31 percent on domestic and international hotel rates, respectively.
- Average rental car rental savings were 4 percent domestically and 18 percent internationally

Travel Patterns Of Millenials

Generations, like people, have personalities, and Millennials – the American group aged 18 to 29,grew into adulthood at the beginning of a new millennium. According to PGAV research their travel patterns are:

Family Oriented: Over 42% of Millennials nationwide who have visited attractions in the past three years have children in their households.

Female Heads Decide: The female heads of household are the decision makers, more so than in other age groups. They are well traveled, sophisticated, self-aware, and seek places with play areas for the kids.

Highly Influenced By Friends And Family: Two-thirds of them visit places recommended by family and friends. They usually depend on social media for such recommendations.

Enjoy Traveling With Friends: Nearly six in ten Millennials (58%) enjoy traveling for leisure with their friends – nearly 20 points higher than older generations.

Savvy: Online sources are most frequently used to plan visits to special places. Always online for information, they search for a deal, read the reviews, book it and go. Majority visit online travel agencies than the website of the special place.

Shorter Planning Cycle: The average amount of time it took to plan their last trip was only 75 days; about 20% less than the amount of time it took the older generations to plan trips (93 days).

Passive experiences will not appeal to Millennials: They have clear preferences for experiences that are fun and entertaining (78%), immersive (70%), and interactive and hands-on (68%).

Small Hotels And Homestays Rated High: TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Hotels’ list for India indicates that many small hotels and homestays with negligible marketing budgets, offering personalized services and value for money have been rated high. While Taj and Oberoi still dominate the list of top 25 hotels, with five properties of each group in it, lesser known properties such as Bangalore’s Purple Lotus and Munnar’s Camp Noel have also made their mark. Majority of the hotels in the Top 25 list are from Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka.

Premium Travel Highest Between USA and Canada

The number of passengers traveling on premium seats between the United States and Canada was the largest market, with more than 400,000 passengers in 2009. Economic size at both origin and destination is the most significant factor in explaining differences between country pairs. The economic size explains about 76 % of premium traffic flow between United States - Canada and more than 80 % between United States - Japan and United States – United Kingdom. All other things being equal, a 10 percent rise in GDP would lead to a 6 percent increase in the number of business passengers.

Medical Tourism: Middle East, Lucrative Source Market

According to Frost and Sullivan report, the Middle East is one of the most lucrative source markets for medical tourism, with 20% of healthcare seekers worldwide coming from Gulf and other Arab states. Patients from the UAE alone spend US$ two-billion in healthcare travel on an annual basis. Currently a US$78.5 billion industry, the medical tourism sector will become a US$100-billion sector by 2012. The annual growth rate of the sector is 20-30%. Germany is the prime medical tourism hub, followed by Thailand, India and Malaysia.

Chinese Tourists Among Top Four Spenders

Mainland Chinese tourists have become the world’s number four tourism spenders, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Chinese tourists spent a total of US$ 44 billion outside the country in 2010. This is a 21% rise over 2009, placing them behind only Germany, the US and the UK in terms of international spending. The Chinese big-spenders are mostly middle-class travellers from a younger age demographic who value tourism as a cultural experience, and take the opportunity to buy luxury goods abroad.

UK: Low-Cost Business Travel To Stay

Businesses will remain reluctant to upgrade staff to premium class, despite the improving global economic outlook, according to the UK air regulator Civil Aviation Authority report. The recession significantly reduced the amount of UK business travel with an increased shift to economy and no-frills.The number of business passengers in premium seats on routes from London collapsed from 41 per cent in 1996 to 9 per cent in 2007, and only 5 per cent in 2009. Companies that downgraded staff travel during the downturn are unlikely to reverse this trend as they have become accustomed to the significant cost-savings made by travelling in economy and low-cost. European Union and the US will remain the most important markets for UK business travel.

US: Multi-Generational Leisure Travel And Cruises To Increase

Multi-generational leisure travel will continue to grow: one third of all leisure travelers are grandparents, and three out of ten took at least one vacation with their grandchildren last year. This incidence will continue to grow as the population continues to age.Cruises will continue to gain popularity because of the inherent appeal of the experience and attractive pricing. Almost six out of 10 leisure travelers are now interested in taking a cruise during the next two years, more than the proportion who express interest in visiting even the most popular states in the U.S. The Caribbean and Western Europe (Italy) tops the list of “international dream destinations” while California and Florida will, top the list of domestic “dream destinations.” Disney parks (Orlando being the favorite) will continue to dominate the list of “dream destinations” for family travelers (including multi-generational family travelers).

Price-Cautious European Markets: Russia, Germany, Spain

Europeans are spending less on their holidays. According to World Travel Trends Report, Russia, Germany and Spain are the most price-cautious European markets. The largest proportion (44%) plan the same amount of travel in 2011 as in 2010. 57% plans to spend about the same on travel next year, while 37% plan to reduce travel spending. Spending per trip dropped 4% to €874. The financial crisis is expected to impact the travel behaviour of 65% of Europeans in 2011.

European Outbound: Shorter Trips Increase, Nordic Markets Stronger

Europeans are taking shorter trips; the average length of stay declined 7% to 8 nights, with a 10% rise in the number of short trips (1-3 nights). In terms of major outbound markets, Nordic markets are stronger with 5-8% growth; the British market is trailing badly with a 6% decline and Germany is stagnating with 0% growth. France, Spain and Italy have low growth of 2-4%. The number of trips taken by Europeans rose 1% from January to August, 2010 but the numbers of room nights dropped 2% and spending was 3% lower, according to the European Travel Monitor.
The IPK Travel Index indicates 1% to 2% growth in 2011 for European outbound.Russians, Austrian, Swedes and Belgians are most optimistic about 2011 outbound travel; while Germans and British are the least confident.

Biz Travelers Need Both Online And Agent Services

Business travelers prefer to book online but want 24-hour access to agents when they are on the road and need help, reports a survey by American Express. Majority of them agree that services by an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent, and the travel agent having access to the most advanced technology, are the most important services available. More than half of business travelers preferred to book their travel online (55 percent), while almost half (46 percent) of travelers said they are more likely to turn to an agent when they need help on the road. This reveals an emerging demand for a service option that offers the best of both online and offline service. Eight in ten business travelers feel that the location of the travel agent is not relevant, opening up consolidation of servicing opportunities for companies that will allow cost savings.

Brits For More Long Haul Travel In 2011

TripAdvisor's Travel Trends Survey reveals that 2011 will see Brits travel more, with a significant number (66%) of people planning to take a long-haul holiday. Only a third of Brits are planning a stay-at-home holiday next year. Over a third (36%) of Brits plan to spend more on their holidays in 2011. The findings were:

- One in 10 Brits are planning to travel more on holiday in 2011 than they did in 2010

- Two-thirds (66%) of Brits are planning at least one long-haul holiday in 2011

- Just 38% of Brits are planning a staycation in 2011, compared to 45% in 2010

- Over two-thirds (67%) are planning at least one domestic holiday, a slight decrease from 73% in 2010 

 - A third (32%) plan to spend between GBP2,000-GBP4,000 in total on  leisure travel in 2011

 - An extravagant 14% of Brits intend to spend over GBP8,000 on travel in 2011 

Increase In Traveller Need For Add-Ons

A survey of Consumer Travel Trends by Travelport reveals that there is a traveller need for additional services, such as insurance, meeting facilities, restaurant reservations and other travel services. More than two-thirds of travellers booked at least one additional service at the time of booking their last trip. Both business and leisure travellers want to buy accommodation, insurance and more at the same time as key trip components:

49% of business travellers booked accommodation at the same time as key segments, as did 47% of leisure travellers; 33% of business travellers booked insurance, as did 32% of leisure travellers; 29% of business travellers booked car rentals, compared with 21% of leisure travellers. Levels of consideration for additional services are higher among leisure travellers than business. The most highly valued extras that make trips more pleasurable are leg room (34% business and 38% leisure travellers), seat assignment (30% and 35% respectively), and fast track security (29% and 31%).

US, Australia and UK: Online Travel Buying Highest

According to Travelport’s report ‘The Well Connected Traveller’, travel researching and buying online is highest in the United States, Australia and the UK – all countries with relatively high Internet access and use of credit cards. The UAE, Hong Kong and Russia have the highest levels of researching and buying offline. Among survey respondents’ 52% of leisure travellers and 42% of business travellers research and book travel online. A further 23% of leisure travellers and 19% of business travellers research trips online but book offline. 17% of leisure travellers and 27% of business travellers researched and booked travel offline. For business travellers, this relatively high proportion of offline bookings is certainly a reflection of the use of travel management companies.

Indian Luxury Travel Segment: Self –Drive Experiences Popular

Self drive experiences are popular in the Indian luxury travel market and many operators offer such products primarily for Europe and New Zealand. This comprises travelling in high-end cars like Ferrari, Audi, Mercedes and Rolls Royce where the travel operator provides mapped out routes. Customisation is to the level of providing concierge services to deliver the clients’ luggage, suggesting stay at high-end boutique hotels, reservations at Michelin star restaurants and offering vineyard visits and other sight seeing experiences en route. Spa holidays, adventure sports, high-end shopping trips, culinary tours, wine trails and cruise tourism are rapidly gaining acceptance in the market. Popular and upcoming destinations for luxury travel include: Monaco, Namibia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Caribbean Islands, Greece, Cyprus, East Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam and Cambodia. Luxury travellers in India consist primarily of FITs, families, honeymooners and young professionals. The luxury travel segment in India is growing rapidly at about 10-12 per cent annually.

Pre Trip Approvals – Top Business Travel Guideline

Deloitte’s 2010 Business Traveler Survey reveals the top travel guidelines at companies for business travel were pre trip approvals (50%),per diem amounts for daily expenses(48%), book accommodations in advance(42%), purchase air tickets in advance(42%), dollar limit for accommodations(32%), dollar limit on client dinners, entertainment (31%), first or business class seat restrictions on domestic flights (29%).

The top 6 ways the respondents monitored travel expenses in 2010 were:

37% cut back, overall, on travel expenses

33% stayed away for fewer days

32% spent less on food, restaurants

24% spent less on air travel

24% scheduled conference calls, video conferencing instead of traveling

21% stayed at less expensive hotels than before