Addressing the Award attendees, President and CEO of Abacus International, Mr Don Birch, said travel agents need to be expert guides and advisors to their customers and become specialist players in high value sectors of travel as well as offer personalised service, in order to succeed in the fast changing travel landscape.

“Differentiation is the key to success for travel agents in Asia. It is not enough to offer something that other travel agents can easily replicate and sell at a lower cost. The travel agent who has a unique product, a strong brand and is competent on multiple channels will go very far,” Mr Birch said.

Key award winners represented a range of travel service providers from travel agents to non-air content like hotels and cars to travel insurance. The winners included ezTravel Co. Ltd, Taiwan (online travel agent); Farrington American Express Travel Services Ltd, Hong Kong (non-air content, hotels and cars); and Travel Expert Ltd, Hong Kong (travel insurance).

Abacus also awarded travel agents who topped their respective markets in bookings, such as Farrington American Express Travel Service Ltd for Hong Kong, TOP TRAVEL SERVICE Co. Ltd for Korea, American Express international Inc. for Taiwan, Akbar Travels of India Pvt ltd for India, Holiday Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd for Malaysia, Manila International Travel and Tours for the Philippines, Safe2Travel Pte Ltd for Singapore, and Hong Ngoc Ha for Vietnam. The full list of award winners is attached.

The Conference, held from 5 to 8 September, was appropriately themed ‘Inspiring Asia’, reflecting Abacus’ role as a leader in Asia’s travel industry, and its mission to shape and support the growth of the industry. The conference debated key travel issues and trends as well as technology topics such as the impact of mobile phones and Web 2.0 on the travel industry, the rise of User Generated Content (UGC) and Communities, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and partnerships with non-air businesses.

Ms Daisy V. Ople, Executive Vice-President and General Manager from Manila International Travel and Tours in Philippines enthused about the Conference, “The Abacus International Conference was inspiring and insightful, particularly with the demonstrations of how an agency such as ours can utilise technology to promote sales and customer service. We can apply this knowledge to help us move more confidently in the changing travel landscape.”

Mr Roland Jegge from WORLDHOTELS agreed, “It provided excellent opportunities to network with travel agents and other service providers on a regional basis, which is particularly useful for our company as it opens many doors for new partnerships and business.”

Abacus’ decision to host the Conference in Sabah was warmly welcomed by Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Environment, which also oversees the Sabah Tourism Board. Deputy Minister Datuk Karim Bujang, a Guest of Honour at the conference, said, “It was fitting that the Abacus International Conference was held in Sabah this year with eco-tourism discussed as an emerging sector in the travel industry, and many of the delegates taking time out to experience our unique eco-trekking experiences.”

Asia’s first Virtual Travel Agency in popular virtual community Second Life was also launched at the Abacus International Conference (AIC). The Virtual Travel Agency, run by Abacus and Singapore-based travel agency Safe2Travel, allows Second Life members to peruse a range of travel packages, and correspond with travel agents at Safe2Travel in the real-world.

“The Abacus International Conference again proved to be a highly successful exchange of ideas and is part of Abacus’ commitment to ensuring travel agents remain a vital and competitive part of the travel industry in Asia for years to come,” Mr Birch concluded.