An Express TravelWorld Exclusive Abacus International Conference Roundup

Inspiring Asia, inspiring India

That it is the power of Asia that rules today's global economy was made plenty clear during the two days of the 7th Abacus International Conference 2007 held in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia, from September 5 - 8. By Reema Sisodia

Don Birch, president and CEO of Abacus International, in his inaugural speech was loud and clear when he said that Asia has become the new travel landscape. India, according to him, is an extremely interesting market and Abacus aims to continue its focus on the region by tapping into new regions and strengthening new ties.

"For all of us, GDS and travel agents alike, the challenge is getting and growing a share of Asia's dynamic action, and challenging opportunities facing the region's travel industry today”, felt Birch. Just how would one respond to the growing power of traveller communities? What should the agency be doing to manage customer relationships? How does one keep connected with a mobile generation and how to move Web 2.0 from vision to reality?

A promising landscape

Powered by Asia's unique demographics and the rising wealth of its 3.4 billion people, Asia Pacific is set to become the largest regional aviation market in the world within the next three years. Changing airline models including the emergency of long-distance/low-cost models and the growing markets of India and China, supported by a resurgent Vietnam, are driving unprecedented levels of investment in hotels, aircraft and infrastructure. While the market is still prone to shocks from natural and political events, it is displaying an underlying resilience and energy to grow.

Despite the overall growth, Asia's travel agents are experiencing price pressure. Not only among themselves, but in the face of rising competition from online and supplier-direct travel distribution. Recognising this, Birch called on travel agents to align more closely with the traveller than any other travel distribution channel and partner with their GDS provider to target the high-value, high-growth emerging sectors. Detailing the opportunities among sectors such as medical tourism, Birch contends that the future belongs to travel agents who are willing to embrace the changes and to differentiate themselves.

Panel Discussion

The changing role of a travel agency
The panelists:

• Tunku Iskandar, chairman, Intra-ASEAN Travel Committee, ASEANTA
• Sudhir Patil, director, Kesari Tours, India
• Jason Wang, president, Lion Travel Service
• Roland Jegge, vice president, Asia Pacific, WORLDHOTELS
• Brett Henry, vice president, Agency Marketing, Abacus International

Don Birch, President & CEO, Abacus International

The session was moderated by Richard Willis, chairman, S.K.Y. Travel. The convention this year had only one panel discussion i e ‘changing role of the travel agency’. The discussion revolved around the evolution of the travel industry and how successful travel agents will be those who are able to adapt to the changing landscape. It also discussed the importance of understanding how travel agencies are adding value and successfully contributing to the supply chain.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) was considered one of the most important tools in the business and Sudhir Patil, director, Kesari Tours, India spoke about his company's contribution towards CRM and how it has helped it grow. The panelists were of the agreement that zero commissions are a reality and it is time for travel agents to work as consultants and change their style and model to meet the changing times. Embracing technology faster will only help.

Workshops in action

The seminar included two workshops: Track One, titled Agency trends and business, which was facilitated by Brett Henry, vice president, Agency Marketing, Abacus International, and Track Two, titled Enabling Travel Agencies which was facilitated by Lim Lai Hock, director, Strategic Agency Marketing, Abacus International.

Track One addressed two topics:

A) Power to the people

Agencies got an insight into the basics of User Generated Content (UGC) and communities, what they are, how they change consumers approach to every stage of the travel buying process as well as what agencies can do to capitalise on these trends. The speaker of this session was Tony Cheng, founder and CEO, Tripfilms.

B) Practical guide to CRM success

To thrive in a competitive marketplace, the best hope of success is an optimised Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy and increased customer retention. This workshop track addressed questions like: What is the real meaning of CRM? How can one make use of CRM solutions to acquire and retain customers and boost revenue, and the best practices for choosing the 'right' CRM solution.

Track Two addressed two topics:

A) Keeping up with the mobile generation

In this session one explored the emerging trends in the mobile space, its acceptance and adoption amongst travel agencies and suppliers in Asia. We are moving away from the view that mobile phones are the next 'cool' thing to an understanding that they play an essential part in the new travel process. Here one could understand how one can open up the mobile as a new channel to market and how one can enable customers to manage and make reservations quickly and easily via their mobile phones and PDAs using SMS and the mobile internet. Offering enhanced services to customers when they are on-the-go or do not have access to an internet-connected PC was also addressed. Mobile Travel Technologies (MTT) provides the technology which powers leading worldwide mobile travel services. MTT demonstrated live, GDS-connected mobile air, hotel and car services.

B) How will Web 2.0 impact travel?

Also known as the Live or Social Web, Web 2.0 is driving significant changes in human behaviour, especially in the ways humans communicate with each other around the globe. Like all other industries, the travel industry is destined to change as a result. Key questions addressed in this session were:

• What impact is Web 2.0 having outside of travel?
• How will Web 2.0 impact travel as it evolves?
• In what capabilities must travel companies invest to succeed in Web 2.0?

Non-Air workshop

Apart from the two workshops, there was an exclusive Non-Air workshop which was moderated by Craig Fong, vice president, Non-Air Content Associates, Abacus International

Profiting through partnerships in Non-Air businesses

This workshop was designed to focus on profiting from the sales of non-air products through strategic partnerships with non-air travel content providers. Strategic non-air providers like major hotel chains, Hertz and AIG have reaffirmed that selling their products through Abacus would generate new and exciting revenue opportunities.

Through this session agents could gain a better understanding of how to profit from these business opportunities in this workshop. Abacus shared with its associates how to unlock these non-air business opportunities with our partners and pave the way to a wider array of travel product offerings which will improve bottom-line significantly.

Speakers at this session included Christina Spykerman, senior director of sales, Asia Pacific, WORLDHOTELS International, William Chua, vice president, (revenue management & distribution), Meritus Hotels & Resorts, Magdelene Low, regional director, Asia (except Japan & Korea), The Leading Hotels of The World. Lo Li Wen, regional marketing manager, Asia, Hertz Asia Pacific, and Alexander Blake, vice president, Travel Insurance, AIG SE Asia.

The Abacus convention proved to be fruitful for agents, both online and offline, as it gave them opportunities to enhance their business and improve and strengthen their position in the present fickle business environment.