Loving Europe all over again

For Asia to grab the opportunity to expand its share of the European market in 2016, real marketing dollars must be put back into the region.

Have euro will travel, never mind if it’s a weaker euro. The Germans’ love for travel is unstoppable and figures from ForwardKeys show German departures to longhaul destinations climbed 4.2 per cent last year, compared with a non-existent (0.5 per cent) growth in 2013.

But it was more of a West Side Story last year, with German wholesalers telling me that places like Latin America, Mexico and Cuba were ‘in vogue’ as they had become more affordable, while the Far East was saddled by the Thai political issue, India’s bad image, Malaysia Airlines’ accidents and so forth.

But an Asia shift is on the cards with the euro devaluation (see page 6) and it’s just what Asia needs. If you’ve cut back on Europe marketing, it’s time to get back in – and fast. Should never have cut back on Europe in the first place. Look at the Maldives (see page 14): a slowdown in China and Russian arrivals sees Europe regaining its position as the Maldives’ number one market. Chinese travellers to the Maldives are neither repeaters nor long-stayers, while the British, Italians, Germans, etc, are, making Western Europe a richer market to have (and to hold).

Indonesia’s tourism minister Arief Yahya ‘got it’, assuring the trade at ITB he was not about to give Europe the short shrift in favour of volume-generating markets closer to home. This was an about-turn from January, when he told us the promotions budget would be allocated in proportion to markets the ministry believed would help it achieve a 20 million arrivals target by 2019. Going by this, 80 per cent of the budget would go to South-east Asia, other parts of Asia and Australia; Europe, the US and the Middle East would get 20 per cent.

But, having studied the data, he acknowledged the European traveller’s average spend was twice that of other tourists.

Thank goodness. For Asia to grab the opportunity to expand its share of the European market in 2016, real marketing dollars must be put back into the region. Look at Vietnam, whose marketing efforts in Germany brought an ROI of a 25 per cent increase in the market last year. The right pricing strategy that takes into account the euro’s devaluation, and the fact the market remains price-sensitive due to the continuing economic uncertainty in the eurozone, is also a must.

At this year’s ITB, the Far East halls 25/26 were far busier than in the last two years. Accor Asia-Pacific’s chief marketeer, Graham Wilson, too, was astounded by “the buoyancy of the German market, a big change from last year” and he expects a four to six per cent additional growth on top of what he had budgeted for.

Let’s play our cards right and, welcome back, Europe.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 13, 2015 issue, on page 2. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe