Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 4 | ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES cover story Yosita Oramahi is the face of a nascent but growing niche market – the Muslim business traveller. As head of content partnerships at Beach House Pictures, Singapore, Oramahi jets about three to six times a year. Business trips revolve around attending industry events and meeting production partners and broadcasters to discuss ongoing and potential projects for Beach House Pictures. What does the frequent Muslim business traveller (MBT) look for in services and amenities? "My main concern is usually the availability of halal food as well as wudhu (ablution) and praying facilities especially in non-Muslim countries," said Oramahi. Halal food, water-friendly bathrooms and proximity to a nearby mosque are the top three items on an MBT's checklist in an accommodation. And given the increasing sentiments against Islamic radicals, safety and security is the most important concern for three quarters of all MBTs. The findings emerged in the Mastercard-CrescentRating Muslim Business Traveller (MBT) Insights 2016. The survey of 250 frequent MBTs yielded granular insights that Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive officer, CrescentRating & HalalTrip presented at the Halal in Travel – Asia Summit at ITB Asia. Speaking to Travel Weekly Asia, Bahardeen said the Muslim travel market is only going to get bigger. "There are three reasons for that – the growing Muslim population, the rise The Muslim business market is projected to be worth US$22 billion by 2020. MUSLIM BUSINESS TRAVELLERS: RISE OF THE NEW NICHE BY EVE YAP up 10 percent, and is set to grow further with an expanding middle class in Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia. This trend dovetails with ITB Asia's focus on business as it hold its inaugural MICE Day today. The sessions are set to cover a full spectrum of key issues faced by the MICE sector such as managing incentive travel and the importance of service in impacting incentive travel management. According to ITB Asia, there has been a "significant interest" in the MICE and corporate travel products as over 85 percent of attending buyers have chosen to leverage on the business matching platform. of the middle class in Muslim nations, and the ease of travel," he said. Indeed, the MBT Insights research found that 38 percent of Muslim business travellers spent between US$2,000 and US$5,000 per business trip, with 44 percent spending less than US$2,000. The research also found more than one in two of MBTs booked their own air tickets and rooms. Nearly seven in 10 of them bought their air tickets before booking their rooms, the MBT Insights show. The MBT Insights report shows the Muslim business traveller market is projected to be worth US$22 billion by 2020, representing 10 percent of the expected 168 million Muslim travellers in 2020 who will spend over US$220 billion. And within that fat vat is the MBT niche or sub-sector. Rushdi Siddiqui, co-founder and chief executive officer, Zilzar, a global B2B e-commerce platform for halal suppliers, said like Chinese tourists who have become international big spenders, so will be the ascent of the MBT. But some Asean countries are overlooking tourism dollar, he added. "Though Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are potential in-demand destinations for the Muslim leisure and business traveller, they can cash in on the trend more quickly. To spark this, the higher-profile hotels such as Marriott or Sheraton can take the lead by being more Muslim-friendly." D igital technologies are shaping the industry and the industry has been urged to "stop reacting to change and instead put a response to it", said Jenn Villalobos, head of travel and hospitality for Asia Pacific, Google. Speaking at the opening keynote of ITB Asia, which in its ninth edition has attracted record numbers, David Peller, director, strategic partnerships, Asia Pacific at Booking.com, said we live in an "Uber on-demand world" where digital technologies are shaping the industry – think chatbots that allow people to get real-time feedback, and virtual reality that enables people to immerse themselves in previously out-of-reach travel experiences. Google's Villalobos focused on the process of mandating change in her address. She highlighted key leadership mistakes such as waiting too long and fixating on short-term results, before ending off with two questions for delegates to ponder over: What strategic trade-off would you make? What is/could be true for your business in five years? Another major trend discussed was the rise of business travel. "Travel and tourism makes up for about 10 percent of the global GDP ($7.2 trillion dollars) and business travel accounts for 20 percent of that, so that's about $1.1 trillion dollars across the board for business travel. It is a huge driver for the global economy and travel industry," said David Scowsill, president and chief executive officer at World Travel & Tourism Council, a panelist at the opening discussion. Within the Muslim travel market, Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive officer of CrescentRating estimated that the business segment makes David Peller, director, strategic partnerships, Asia Pacific, Booking.com "We live in an Uber on- demand world where digital technologies are shaping the industry – think chatbots and virtual reality." – DAVID PELLER, DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, ASIA PACIFIC, BOOKING.COM Halal tourism: time to get serious, seriously ////// BIGGEST ITB ASIA ON RECORD OVER 15,000 MATCHED APPOINTMENTS have been secured. LARGER COUNTRY EXHIBITION SPACES: Indonesia up by 70 percent; Japan by 60 percent, Finland by 90 percent. Jenn Villalobos, head of travel and hospitality Asia Pacific, Google news highlights PHOT0 CREDIT: ISTOCK

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