The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) led its largest-ever property showcase at the recent ILTM Asia Pacific in Singapore, with 40 member hotels and 55 hoteliers from around the world – all drawn to the hearty travel appetite of affluent markets in the region.
Fiza Han, managing director, APAC sales at The Leading Hotels of the World, said source markets across Asia-Pacific – specifically Singapore, Japan, Australia and India – are showing strong growth potential, and many affluent travellers in the region are keen to explore destinations both near and far.
And with luxury travel advisors contributing a large share of bookings for LHW member hotels, ILTM Asia Pacific is regarded as “a cost-effective platform for our member hotels to meet all the important luxury travel buyers from across Asia-Pacific,” stated Han.
Representation at the tradeshow this year is diverse, with properties spanning China to South Africa.
Han noted that buyers demonstrated interest in connecting with hoteliers from around the world.
“There was a time when travel buyers would come to us and be keen on meeting hoteliers from the big cities of New York and Paris. Now, they want to connect with hoteliers from niche destinations so that they can get information on authentic activities and experiences that cannot be easily found online,” she said.
There is also a greater interest in independent hotels, as travellers regard such accommodation options as being more unique and representative of the destination, according to Han.
With more than 450 hotels in the LHW network globally, the company is working on an enhanced system that will make it easier for travel advisors to access information on all member hotels and to identify the best options for their clients.
Improved access to hotel information will also enable travel advisors to research and book several properties at once for a single itinerary. According to Han, multi-destination trips are becoming more common among luxury travellers, who are now taking longer holidays that allow them to dive deeper into destinations.
Han shared with TTG Asia that AI capabilities will be built into the next-phase Travel Advisor Experience online portal.
“We want our travel advisor partners to research with confidence and to empower them with the tools and information they need. By the end of this year, the enhanced portal will also have booking functionality.”
Han added that LHW is also working on another new initiative that would provide even greater support to travel advisor partners.
