Northstar

4 | www.travelweekly-asia.com INDUSTRY VOICES Asia Pacific booms, that's music to my ears The United States remains one of the most aspirational destinations in the world for international travellers, including those from Asia Pacific. As the USA's destination marketing organisation, Brand USA deploys marketing initiatives to invite millions of visitors annually from some of the region's largest travel markets - China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Over the past five years, Brand USA's efforts have helped attract 5.4 million incremental visitors to the US who generated more than $38.4 billion in economic impact. Asia Pacific is a strong market as indicated by the high-market growth and dollar spent per visitor in 2017. Brand USA provides key resources to equip the travel trade in Asia with the information it needs to promote the US as a premier travel destination. In January 2018, we launched a website designed specifically for the travel trade, VisitTheUSA.com/Travel Trade. A helpful resource is the Brand USA Trip Kit featuring suggested itineraries. The demand for "unique" travel experiences is a consumer trend we are seeing. More Australians and New Zealanders are reported to be using travel agents to customise itineraries for their US holidays. Furthermore, Korean travel agents are rapidly shifting their focus from group package tours to free independent traveller (FIT) tours and developing their own itineraries with preferred optional activities. We also provide vehicles to link US destinations directly with the Asia-Pacific market through channel- specific partnership programmes, including GoUSA.cn, and China's leading OTAs, Ctrip and Fliggy. This year, we are excited to build upon our "digital-screen strategy" – a storytelling approach to showcase diverse travel experiences in the US. In February, we launched our second giant screen film, "America's Musical Journey". Since its release, it has been a significant promotional channel: The unique styles of American music evoke our cultural heritage and the stories associated with iconic US locations. We will continue to work with travel trade and media in the Asia Pacific region to inspire international travellers to book their US trips. Later this year, Brand USA will meet with travel representatives at regional events, including the International Media Marketplace and ITB Asia in Singapore, JATA, Taiwan and Hong Kong B2B Day, CITM and the US – China Tourism Leadership Summit in China. Additionally, we will connect US destinations to the region through mission trips to Japan and Korea in July and India in September. "The Asia-Pacific region is a strong market for the United States as indicated by the high-market growth and dollar spent per visitor in 2017." CONTENTS 5 DATABANK A date on the Seine? It's made for millennials 6 PRODUCT: SHOPPING From shopper to marketer: McArthurGlen's Isabelle Ratinaud shares updates 14 DESTINATION: MACAU Small Macau packs a powerful tourism punch 20 HOSPITALITY Andre Fu's hotel designs emphasise the 'essence of experience' 21 AVIATION Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the cheapest airline of them all? Artist impression of Pan Pacific Danang Resort. 10 Fireworks at ZoukOut 2017. Naha, Japan. Christopher L. Thompson is president and CEO of Brand USA, the nation's public-private partnership dedicated to increasing international visitation to the United States through marketing and promotional efforts. Under his leadership, Brand USA has nearly tripled its partnership network and more than doubled its partner contributions and programme offerings. 8 Brand USA has launched its second giant screen film, "America's Musical Journey". PHOTO CREDIT: GETTYIMAHES PHOTO CREDIT: COLOSSALPHOTOS 16

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