In the near future Asian tourists will determine major travel trends. European and American eras of tourism have passed, and Asian period is coming.

This phase will see two-third’s of the world’s population, mainly in China and India, attaining a level of economic development where their populations will start to travel.

By 2015 there could be 9 million outbound tourists from India and 67 million from China.

Today, the stage is set for the Asian era of tourism.

Asia accounts for some 35-40% of the world’s GDP. China’s imports exceed those of the US, and combined financial reserves of China, Japan and the rest of Asia underpins the deficits of the West.

But the most important demographic trend is the rise of the Asian middle class, particularly in India and China, which account for almost 40% of the world’s population.

“In every society, it is the new middle class which provides the greatest impetus to domestic and outbound tourism, as the newly rich aspire to see the world around them,” said Mr Ho, Chairman of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts.

Defined as those earning around US$10,000 a year, the global middle class, now accounting for less than 8% of the world’s population, will reach around 1.2 billion by 2030.

And within a decade, China will displace Japan and be second only to the US, with a 20% share of the world’s richest people.

Source: stbpassport.com

Description is here

Mobile services for travelers appear all over the world proving their vitality. In a tech-savvy Singapore development of such applications is supported by the government and is used as means leading to great results: “service will support the national Tourism 2015 goal of achieving 17 million in visitor arrivals and S$30 billion in tourism receipts”. The fact emhasizes the need for services like Eyeline Traveler’s Portal. We are on the right road :)

About Digital Concierge:

Singapore his “own concierge” service, with access to personalised information and services, anywhere, anytime, via mobile networked devices connected to the widely available Wireless@SG or the existing mobile phone networks. Even while on the move, users can receive suggestions from their Digital Concierge, on activities, restaurants, shops and attractions, based on one’s stated preferences and location».
Now the Digital concierge is able to display a map of your current location, check your flight status, integrate with Visit Singapore event calendar, integrate with Yellow Pages search interface, check Singapore Airlines Boarding Program promotions in Singapore Changi Airport, easy click-to-call taxi booking services and many more.

Digital concierge Demo

Wap-portal with the information for Singapore visitors: mobile.visitsingapore.com

‘Singaporeanised’ search portal will be launched next year. Its promise: to provide highly relevant answers and Singapore-focused information to anyone anywhere in the world. It will narrow down search results by filtering out useless information as well as using content from a variety of different sources. ‘These are honey-pot sites. They’re sticky, and attract users because they understand a local or topical area better than anyone.’

The search portal can take note of a customer’s details, such as profile, locale, language and search histories. These details are then used to tailor search results to his needs.

The portal will be free, as it will get its revenue from advertisers.

Source: digital.asiaone.com
—
*SPH – Singapore Press Holdings Limited

ComScore analyst Gian Fulgoni has shared some interesting data on social networking abroad. Among the findings, Fulgoni notes that there are actually more social networking users (as measured by unique visitors) in Asia-Pacific (where Friendster leads) and Europe (where Bebo leads) than in North America. Read more

Source: mashable.com: SOCIAL NETWORK NEWS