WIT Conference Singapore examines trends changing travel

The annual WIT Conference in Singapore returns this October 27-29 with the theme “Little Big 10” to mark its 10th edition.

Since the first event in 2005, the WIT conference has explored the evolution of the online travel industry in Asia Pacific as the web, and now mobile, have changed the way Asians consume travel.

According to PhoCusWright, a sister company under the Northstar Travel Media umbrella, in 2012, online travel penetration was at 24% across the region, and is projected to grow to 29% by 2015. In 2012, Asia Pacific was also the world’s largest regional travel market worth US$326 billion in gross travel bookings, and is projected to grow 12% from 2012 to 2015.

“When we started our conference, there was some recognition that indeed the internet would change travel but I don’t think any of us imagined how fast that change would be,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of WIT, which was acquired by Northstar in April.

“Asian consumers have embraced technology, low cost airlines have changed the way people travel and tech infrastructure in some Asian countries is ahead of that in the West."

“With this next wave, change will come even faster. The web has moved from websites to interfaces and data, marketing has shifted from pull to push and everything is moving to real-time. Lines are blurring everywhere. Travel is no longer confined to a vertical but has become a horizontal when you consider that brands such as Google, Facebook and Apple are all getting into travel.”

With its “Little Big 10” theme, the WIT Conference, which is held in partnership with ITB Asia and is part of Singapore Tourism Board’s TravelRave week, will examine 10 trends that are changing travel.

They are:
1. OTAs: The Coming Wave
2. Search: The Next Mile
3. Loyalty: The Future Battle
4. Offline to Online: The Great Migration
5. The Challengers: Changing The Status Quo
6. Hospitality: The Next Generation
7. Marketing: Math Drives Mad
8. Aviation: The Transformers
9. The P Factor: The Ultimate Differentiator
10. The Wild Card

The WIT Conference includes the WIT Bootcamp for Innovation & Entrepreneurs on Oct 27, the Conference Oct 28-29 and the ITB Asia Clinics, powered by WIT, Oct 30-31. A ticket to the WIT Conference includes entry to these events as well as all social events related to WIT and ITB Asia.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia