In the first day of the annual conference of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, delegates focused on how economic, demographic and cultural trends will continue to impact—and change—the travel industry. Propelling this change, said keynote speaker Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree Group, are the aging of the baby boomer generation, the rise of the urban middle class in China and India, and the spreading view that travel is almost a human need. The evolution of technology also is playing a role, he told delegates convened through Wednesday in Pattaya, Thailand. Ho said that certain impacts are travel-specific, such as the launch of newer, more efficient aircraft, while others, such as the speed of information transfer, will have impacts now and in the future.
