Brand USA Newsletter - November 2016

Brand USA Focuses on Increasing International Visitors from the Asian Market at Two Leading Travel Trade Shows

Brand USA staged substantial exhibitions at two leading travel trade shows in an effort to increase the number of international travelers from the Asian market to the United States.

Hosting an exhibition space for the fourth year at ITB Asia, Brand USA joined 846 exhibitors from 110 countries from around the world. The show attracted 10,876 attendees, 895 buyers and resulted in a record 15,000 pre-schedule appointments before the show from October 19-21 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The region is made up of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Brunei and has more than 633 million residents.  In 2015, 772,000 travelers from six of the Southeast Asian countries (other than Myanmar and Brunei) visited the United States. This was a five percent increase over the number of arrivals in 2014 and 13 percent more than in 2013.

R-L: Lincoln Wang, Account Sales Manager with Molly Jou, Trade
Marketing Manager, Brand USA Taiwan, Hong Kong & Southeast Asia.

At ITB Asia, Brand USA partnered with U.S. embassies and the U.S. Commercial Service to arrange events for U.S. exhibitors to meet with prominent Southeast Asian tour operators, travel buyers and media representatives. The events included:

  • International Media Marketplace Asia: Representatives of over 80 media outlets in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand met exhibitors during the full-day event.
  • Brand USA Pavilion Kick-Off Ceremony: Featured speakers included: S. Iswaran, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, and Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.
  • Brand USA Southeast Asia Travel Exchange and Reception: U.S. delegates networked with 100 leading Southeast Asian wholesalers, tour operators and online travel agencies.
  • Window to ASEAN Market Briefing: Southeast Asian offices of U.S. Commercial Service, Brand USA and U.S. delegates to ITB Asia shared perspectives on best ways to promote U.S. tourism in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

Brand USA also distributed to travel buyers U.S. Travel Tip Kits, which provide an overview of the United States via regional maps; information on gateway cities and their nearby destinations and 20 suggested regional itineraries with easy-access side trips.

Travel from Southeast Asia is anticipated to increase with expanded air travel availability with airlines adding flights to the U.S, including the Philippines offering 20 direct flights; Garuda Indonesia offering one-stop flights to the west coast; Vietnam Airlines introducing new flights; Malaysia’s Air Asia offering one-stop service and Singapore Airlines commencing non-stop service to San Francisco, California and resuming non-stop service to New York City, New York, and Los Angeles, California.

A month later after ITB Asia, Brand USA participated in the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) 2016 in Taiwan on November 4-7.  Promoting its campaign, “All Within Your Reach - USA Gateways and Beyond,” the Brand USA pavilion included 17 U.S. exhibitors occupying 36 booths and sharing their latest products with travel agents. Brand USA partnered with the American Institute in Taiwan and the Discover America Committee for the ITF.

The USA Pavilion was visited by Mr. Ho Chen Tan, Minister, Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Taiwan, R.O.C.

Reene Ho-Phang, Strategic Advisor of Brand USA Taiwan, Hong Kong & Southeast Asia delivers opening remark.

This year’s Taipei ITF, held at the Taipei World Travel Center in Taipei, Taiwan, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a record 1,450 booths and 950 exhibitors from 60 countries.  The event attracted more than 360,000 visitors – nearly a 3.7 percent growth over last year.

Presenters of Brand USA’s Travel Trade Seminar included: Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board; Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority; Best Western Hotels & Resorts; Explore Fairbanks, Visit Anchorage; San Francisco Travel Association and Marriott International.

Alaska Booth was joined by various delegates from Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska. R-L: Bruce Lalonde, Director, Passenger Marketing & Reservations, Colin Lawrence, Northern Alaska Tour Company, Ashley Heimbigner, Tourism Media & Sales Manager, Kin Moy, Director of AIT, Scott McCrea, Director of Tourism, Visit Fairbanks, Marsha Barton, Tourism Sales Manager, Lisa Kruse, Director of Sales & Marketing, Phillips Cruises and Tours, Adriel Butler, Aurora Expeditions, Reene Ho-Phang, Strategic Advisor of Brand USA Taiwan, Hong Kong & Southeast Asia, Ralf Dobrovolny, Owner of 1st Alaska Tours, Jin Chen, COO of Skylar Travel, Michael Ho, Travel Quality Assurance Association, Maggie Dobrovolny, Director of Asian Market, 1st Alaska Tours, Sam Chen, Office Director of Brand USA Taiwan.

United Airlines also joined USA Pavilion to market the US as a premier destination in Taipei ITF 2016.