TRAVEL companies around the world are keen to sell ancillary airline products but seek a more efficient booking process, preferably through the GDS, according to findings of Travelport’s global airline merchandising survey.

The survey, conducted with 610 travel companies in 12 countries worldwide, found that top impacts from the growth of ancillary products were confusion around the services offered by each airline, productivity and the need to offer these services to remain a full-service agency.

Only 16 per cent of respondents saw unbundling as an opportunity to charge or increase fees and 44 per cent of respondents said they did not impose additional charges for booking optional services.

Travelport found that agencies would be more interested in selling optional services if the process was more efficient, as the current booking process requires approximately 29 percent more time.

Findings indicated a strong demand for a single aggregated distribution channel, as opposed to the current arrangement where some services are available through the GDS and others on airline websites and by phone.

The GDS was listed as the preferred channel to book and sell optional services by 70 per cent of respondents.

Eight per cent of agencies are not booking optional services for their customers. Forty-one per cent of European travel consultants said ancillary services “doesn’t generate any additional revenues”, while 33 per cent of American consultants said “most services are not available for agency booking”.

Respondents also indicated their preference for having branded fares – fares that are bundled with optional services – on GDS, saying that such fares allow them to offer a full service to clients and stay competitive with airline websites.

INTERNATIONAL tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 per cent to 980 million in 2011, up from 939 million the year before, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

Tourist arrivals to Europe reached 503 million (+6.0 per cent) in 2011, accounting for 28 million of the 41 million additional international arrivals recorded worldwide. Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Southern Mediterranean destinations (+8.0 per cent each) recorded the best results.

Arrivals to Asia-Pacific (+6.0 per cent) were up by 11 million in 2011, reaching a total 216 million international tourists. South Asia and South-east Asia (both +9.0 per cent) benefited from strong intraregional demand, while growth was comparatively weaker in North-east Asia (+4.0 per cent) and Oceania (+0.3 per cent), partly due to the temporary decline in the Japanese outbound market.

Among the top ten tourist destinations, receipts were up significantly in the US (+12 per cent), Spain (+9.0 per cent), Hong Kong (+25 per cent) and the UK (+7.0 per cent).

The top spenders were led by emerging source markets – China (+38 per cent), Russia (+21 per cent), Brazil (+32 per cent) and India (+32 per cent) – followed by traditional markets, with the growth in expenditure of travellers from Germany (+4.0 per cent) and the US (+5.0 per cent) above the levels of previous years.

UNWTO forecasts international tourism to continue growing in 2012, although at a slower rate. Arrivals are expected to increase by three to four per cent, reaching the one billion mark by year-end.

MORE females and young professionals in Singapore are travelling for leisure, according to a recent survey by Insight Vacations of about 5,000 of its Singapore-based customers.

The findings revealed that 58 per cent of the customers polled were females as compared to 42 per cent males.

The age group of 43-65 years (baby boomers) constituted 48 per cent of total travellers. The next largest group was young professionals aged 21-42 years, which including honeymooners, have been Insight Vacation’s fastest growing clientele base in recent years.

The findings also revealed that 66 per cent of the total travelled with their spouses, 12 per cent travelled with relatives, 14 per cent with friends, and only eight per cent travelled alone.

In choosing the tours, Singapore travellers paid attention to the places visited (40 per cent). Hassle-free tours ranked high on their list of choices – 38 per cent, while the price/value of the tour is also important (36 per cent).

Singapore travellers are also particular about the hotels they stay in (30 per cent), while the reputation of the travel agency is also an important factor for making the choice (29 per cent).