Travel Trends for Asia and Africa
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Following her presentation at World Travel Market 2011, Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel and Tourism Research at Euromonitor International, discusses global travel and tourism trends, focusing on Africa and Asia.
Mystery trips, which are trips purchased at a discounted rate without disclosing the destination to consumers prior to the trip, are proving to be a popular trend for generation Y. An example of this is Nextpedition, which is owned by American Express. Personality quizzes can be taken on the website, which assigns potential travelers one of 20 different life signs. Specific trips are then proposed to each life sign.
Mobile phone users in Africa reached half a billion in 2011, paving the way for mobile commerce. Travel and tourism has benefitted by this new consumer group buying airline tickets on their mobile phones.
Chinese travelers are a new trend in Asia. With more Chinese traveling, hotels such as Hilton are offering Mandarin speaking staff to welcome outbound Chinese travelers, as well as offering in-room tea kettles and slippers.
