With Philippines leading regional growth AsPac online travel bookings seen hitting $91B

MANILA, Philippines - AirAsiaGo sees online travel bookings hitting $91 billion as travel in the Asia Pacific region is expected to expand by nine percent next year with the Philippines leading the growth.

Jasmin Eusebio-Yu, marketing head of AirAsia Go Philippines, said in a statement that the country is one of the growing markets in the region and fuel the growth in online travel bookings in 2013.

“We expect online hotel bookings in the Philippines to grow next year as more Filipinos book their travels online due to the ease, simplicity, and convenience that online travel agents provide,” Eusebio-Yu stressed.

Asia Pacific travel is being projected to grow by nine percent next year with the Philippines seen as one of the growing markets in the region.

In the region, Filipino travelers could expect basement priced hotels in Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam from May to September next year.

She pointed out that AirAsiaGo is offering Filipino travelers highly discounted hotel packages to major international tourist destinations next year.

Eusebio-Yu said the offer, which covers 1,500 hotels and up to 80 percent discount from their current market prices, would only be made available in the country and to travelers coming from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

“At AirAsiaGo, we have a wealth of hotel promos to match with trademark low fares from AirAsia. The further ahead travelers book, the more savings and value they can get from both flights and hotels,” she added.

With some advance planning, she explained that travelers could actually afford their dream vacations.

“Thousands of Trip Advisor consumer reviews and Google maps make it simpler to book hotels and get instant confirmation at our website. Best of all, they can pay in Philippine peso so there are no hidden credit card charges,” she said.

AirAsiaGo is managed by AirAsiaExpedia – a joint venture between Expedia Inc. and AirAsia.

Last July, Expedia Inc. – the world’s largest online travel agent – expanded its tie up with AirAsia by putting up a third localized site in the Philippines.

It launched the Expedia.com.ph to offer a full service business helping travelers plan and book their travel online and providing a wide selection of 150,000 hotels and 400 airlines.

Over the past year, AirAsiaExpedia launched Expedia.com.sg and Expedia.com.th.

Expedia currently has hotel-only sites operating in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and India.

Only 10 percent of the travelers in the Philippines book their flights and hotel accommodations online compared to Singapore’s 30 percent.