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“The Asian middle class travels more, is more likely to crave authentic travel experiences, and demands more tailored experiences“ |
Peter de Jong President and CEO Pacific Asia Travel Association |
ASIA PACIFIC. The growing Asian middle class, with its thirst to explore the world, is the driving force behind inbound travel growth to the US, according to Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) President and CEO Peter de Jong.
Addressing PATA’s North American AGM last week, de Jong said: “An accelerating global economy, much of it driven by Asia Pacific, has resulted in increased trade links between this region and North America, together with an Asian population more engaged in discretionary spending.
“Although it can be argued that the potential of Asia is strictly a case of having a population of four billion, the growing middle class with increasing disposable incomes and a thirst to explore the world at large provides a convincing story,” he added.
De Jong also pointed to the importance of cultural and family ties for the rise in inbound traffic from Asia.
“With over 100 years of Asian immigration to North America, there exist deep cultural and ethnic ties between the two continents. Many Asian visitors travel to North America first to visit friends and relatives and secondly for pure leisure reasons. It is these cultural ties that help to stimulate interest in travel to both Canada and the US and form initial perceptions,” he stated.
The growing sophistication of the Asian consumer is a major factor to be considered for future growth, according to de Jong.
“The Asian middle class travels more, is more likely to crave authentic travel experiences and demands more tailored experiences. Asian travellers are no longer considered low spenders. They are interested in stylish shopping experiences, luxury accommodation and top-quality restaurants.
“Also, traditional city-focused trips are no longer the norm, as historical and soft-adventure product is now in demand,” he added.
Other factors likely to drive growth are the possible inclusion of South Korea on the US visa waiver programme in 2008 and the final negotiations between the US and China PRC governments over the status of the US as an approved destination status. De Jong said that this could result in substantial growth among Chinese visitors to the US from the current level of 320,000 a year.
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