Volker Huber

The Asia-Pacific region is home to the markets of the future.
Travel managers should diligently follow regional developments. According to experts’ forecasts, the region will experience a monumental upswing after the global economy has recovered.

So far, however, travel managers around the world are hesitant to approach this region because it is so foreign and different. The study conducted by ACTE and AirPlus shows that 72 percent of the interviewees assume that travel managers lack understanding for this region. Due to the different cultures of the individual countries, they said, it is impossible to implement measures that have proven successful in Europe or America (68 percent). In Asia, status and service, for example, are often closely connected. While in western countries, companies save by booking lower service classes, in Asia this means weakening the travel manager’s position.

However, it is not only cultural diversities that require heeding in the region. Travel management in Asia-Pacific is a young discipline and, just like a tender plant, it calls for careful cultivation.

The survey results of the latest ACTE/AirPlus White Paper show that modern travel management is still in the fledgling stages. A mere 34.5 percent of those interviewed in the Asia-Pacific region stated that they are using cost control as a basis for negotiating with service providers. In Europe, this share is 53.6 percent; in North America it is as high as 73.2 percent. The difference in online booking tools is equally as large: 13.5 percent in Asia-Pacific, 26.4 percent in Europe and 64.3 percent in North America.

Nevertheless, we should keep an eye on the region’s power of innovation and use it for our undertakings.

If you wish to establish effective business-travel management in Asia-Pacific, you must know the region’s peculiarities. The following factors are important:

  • developing an understanding of its cultures;
  • differentiating when addressing people; and
  • being patient when changes need to be implemented.

In addition, we should not believe that we know better than them. With the required attention to details, we can contribute to overcoming distances.

Downloads:

AirPlus International / ACTE Whitepaper

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Author: Volker Huber, Executive Director & Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Solutions at AirPlus