The 55th annual conference of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), is just about to wind up in Pattaya, Thailand.  According to eTurbo News,  the keynote speaker of the conference, Mr. Ho Kwon Ping of the Banyan Tree Group, suggested that three driving forces changing tourism today are:

1. “The aging Baby Boomers
2. The rise of the urban middle class of China and India
3. The fact that travel aspirations are almost becoming a human need”.

Mr. Ping, who, according to Apurv Bagri of Rediff.com is more commonly known as “KP Ho”, heads up the Banyan Tree Group which “owns eighteen hotels and resorts, 46 spas and two golf courses; and employs 4,380 staff from 32 different nationalities”.

eTurbo News goes on to quote Mr Ping when he says that:

“Accelerating this process is technology – both travel-specific technology, such as the introduction of newer and cheaper aircraft, and even seemingly unrelated technologies.”

The convergence of Internet, telephone and television in a digital “triple play” and the increasing power of technology would continue to drive change in ways we cannot yet imagine.

“For example, the velocity of information transfer, the ‘death of distance’ and the ability to reach out to consumers all over the globe – all consequences of digital convergence — is empowering everyone in the travel industry,” he said.

“On the other hand, our customers are also empowered with a plethora of choice and information. The consumer experience, the tourist experience, now begins long before they get on the plane.”

I agree that technology is changing the way that we consume products, services and the resulting experiences in our lives.  However, my hope is that this change within the area of travel can be used to improve the quality of life for the many impoverished communties around the world. Pro-Poor Tourism is a philosophy based around the idea of increasing the net benefits to poor people.  Existing technologies such using the internet to research destinations, widening the use of computerised reservations systems,  and using podcasts to share travel experiences can assist in working towards this goal.

eTurbo News also reports that Dr. Mechai Virvaidya from the Population and Community Development Association says that “the tourism industry can reduce the number of people living in poverty more than the United Nations and more than any government can”.

Here are a few thoughts:

• How can the emergence of new travel related, and these “seemingly unrelated”, technologies help the lot of the less-priviledged?
• Will it largely depend on the desires and travel preferences of these growing Indian and Chinese middle classes?
• Will the past and current travel behaviours of the aging and experienced baby boomers in the Western World influence the trend for these emerging traveller generating regions?
• Have these trends and “travel aspirations” already been laid with the many luxury resorts, spas and hotels built in many less developed destinations?

Do you have an opinion?  If so, either:

1. Click on the heading of this blog, then scroll down to leave a comment, or
2. Hit the “send me an ODEO” button and record an audio of your thoughts.

Cheers,

Doc Martin.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 27th, 2006 at 9:23 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.