Celebrating 80 Years: Asia Air Service in 1967

In the last year, service in and out of Asia has burgeoned. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) tracked a 17 percent increase in arrivals. Although Asia has always pulsed with extraordinary culture and exoticism, the sweeping access we currently enjoy hasn't always been at our fingertips. Looking back to 1967, Japan Air Lines had just begun service to Manila from Tokyo, with service once daily, three times a week, through Osaka and Taipei.

This fall, Haneda's Tokyo International Airport opened a new fourth runway with connections to 13 international cities, followed by British Airlines' service debut between London's Heathrow Airport and Haneda and Delta's increased international service to Shanghai and Manila as the airline targets high-demand business markets.

Individually, Japan as a whole and Manila in particular have thrived. Tokyo has developed as a mecca of refined cuisine and hotel bliss in the opening of the Hilton Fukuoka this fall and The Capitol Hotel Tokyu in October. Outside of the main cities, the country has emerged as a bastion of hot springs and remarkable countryside. Manila boasts the Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, while outside the capital city, the Philippines welcomed Radisson Hotel Blu Hotel Cebu opened this fall and Best Western International is set to open January 2011 in Taguig City.

As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we're taking a look at what was happening in the industry in the past and asking agents to share their thoughts on what has changed in the industry. Please share your thoughts by posting a comment below, writing us at our Facebook page, sending a tweet to our Twitter page or by engaging in a discussion in real time at AgentNation (the only social community online for all kinds of travel agents, which certainly wasn't around 80 years ago). We want to hear from you.

And while you're here, learn more about how we're celebrating eight decades of covering the travel industry for travel professionals.