The Passeig de Gràcia Association participated in the ILTM Asia Pacific in Singapore

For a second year, we attended the ILTM Asia Pacific edition that was held for the second time in Singapore, the last week of May. The Passeig de Gràcia Association participated in the stand of the Agència Catalana de Turisme.

In the case of the stand of Catalonia, as Spain, the representation of companies was quite limited; attended: Barcelona and Costa Brava Premium, Hotel Alàbriga, Premium Traveler, The Real Thing, Torres, Paradores, El Corte Inglés, and Turismo de Madrid. It is a fair still small, but that is growing every year.

The day before the opening of the fair, the ACT organized some work sessions in which information was presented on all the important markets of the region. It was emphasized that the focus is moving from the west to the east. In 2009, 28% of the population considered to be middle class was in the East, the forecast is that, by 2030, it will be 60%.

At present, a quarter of the trips are of Asian people. The only country that has suffered a decrease has been Indonesia, of 50%, due to the fall of the rupee. Australia is the country in the region that spends the most per day.

Countries like Korea stand out, with 9 weekly direct flights from Asiana and Korean Air, and a more adventurous customer profile, and Japan, with an average age of travelers 45-65, since the ACT will hold a workshop in November. The enormous growth in the arrival of Koreans to Catalonia stands out.

A networking event was organized on one of the nights, jointly with Monaco and Croatia, called Mediterranean Luxe.

In total, we met with some 50 travel agents, mainly from countries such as Australia and Korea. Another of the countries was Taiwan, the newest market for us and interesting because it has already traveled a lot, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The profile of the agents, since they are from very different countries, is very varied and many of them are specialized, in subjects as diverse as honeymoons, cruises, trips for women, MICE, corporate, etc. This market represents a great opportunity and we believe that we must continue investing in it because there is a lot of opportunity for growth.

El perfil de los agentes, dado que son de países muy diferentes, es muy variado y muchos de ellos estas especializados, en temas tan diversos como lunas de miel, cruceros, viajes para mujeres, MICE, corporativo, etc.  Este mercado representa una gran oportunidad y creemos que hay que seguir invirtiendo en él porque hay mucho margen de crecimiento.