BRAND USA will debut at the upcoming ITB Asia in Singapore and work closer with the trade as it launches a consumer advertising campaign in Asian markets in the fourth quarter.
Following the inaugural brand campaign launched in Canada, Japan, and the UK last year, intent to travel from those markets rose from 12 to 14 per cent, according to Brand USA Taiwan and Hong Kong managing director, Reene Ho-Phang, who expects the upcoming campaign to do the same in other Asian markets.
Brand USA is ensuring travel agencies in Asia are not lost in translation. An online training platform educating travel agencies about the US has been set up and “MegaFam” trips for the media and travel trade from markets where Brand USA has international offices will be organised.
MegaFams featured multiple itineraries to unexplored US destinations including the West Coast/California, the Pacific Northwest, the West, the Upper Midwest, the Southeast/Texas, and the Northeast, said Ho-Phang.
In Asia, Brand USA is now represented in Australia, New Zealand, Mainland China, India, Japan, South Korea and, most recently, Taiwan and Hong Kong (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 13, 2013).
Asian market growth projections, along with visa waiver policy or friendlier visa processing, are a fillip for US players, including big brand names such as Las Vegas Sands and Trump Hotel Collection, to look east for new sources.
The Venetian & The Palazzo in Las Vegas is building a dedicated sales team for Asia and has just hired its director for Asia leisure sales, Elizabeth Hanson. Until now, Asian sales was handled by the overall sales team but the property believes that having an Asian who understands Asian markets’ social and cultural nuances better, and who knows the product well, will enable it to “adjust the experience to match the expectations”, said Robert Rippee, The Venetian & The Palazzo’s SVP for marketing. Hanson, Chinese, is based in Las Vegas, where she has been based for almost seven years.
“Having a dedicated Asian sales team gives us a solidified strategy to deepen our relationship with wholesalers and the media in the Asian marketplace,” said Rippee.
Trump Hotel Collection opened its first Asian representative office, in Shanghai in March and, apart from China, is also keen on South-east Asian markets Singapore and Thailand (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 12, 2013).
– Full report in TTG Asia and TTGmice October 2013
