Outlook & Strategy

The CACCI (Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Tourism Council has indicated in June 2006 that international visitor arrivals worldwide beat all expectations last year, exceeding 800 million and achieving an all-time record. It emphasized that this impressive growth was achieved in a time of terrorism, natural disasters, health scares, oil price rises, exchange rate fluctuations and economic and political uncertainties. But the tourism sector has become increasingly resilient over the past years. None of these calamities which were just some of the issues facing the tourism industry in the past few years had managed to stop the estimated increase representing a staggering 42 million additional arrivals, of which more than 18 million in Europe, 11 million in Asia and the Pacific, 7 million in the Americas, 3 million in Africa and 2 million in the Middle East.  

The online travel reservation service segment in the Asia Pacific is poised for rapid growth following the increased availability of internet and broadband usage in the region. The emerging trend of leisure and business travelers making last minute travel decisions and reservations will also accelerate the evolution of on-line channel to the main stream.  

In view of the upbeat market outlook, the Group has plans to capitalize on this existing growth and implement a twin-growth strategy to expand the Group’s worldwide hotel destinations footprint and total travel reservation services. These will position the Group as a leading Pan-Asian online travel reservation service provider. Our twin growth strategies are as follows:

1. Expanding worldwide hotel destinations footprint:

We would tap into new destinations and travel products through collaboration with 3rd parties’ online reservation systems to expand our worldwide hotel destinations footprint; together with Asiatravel’s direct supplies of hotels in its core Asian destinations, this arrangement enables the Group to offer worldwide hotels on last minute availability and instant confirmation basis.

 2. Total travel reservation service provider:

(i) Offering real-time air-ticketing service to reach the mass market of business and leisure travelers;

(ii) Offering dynamic reservation of air-ticketing, hotels, transfers and sightseeing services in a single process providing one-stop convenience with choice; and

(iii) Offering value-for-money packages comprising air, hotel, transfers and sightseeing components.

These strategies will lay the foundation for the transformation of the Group from a niche hotel reservation service provider into a total travel reservation service provider, and are expected to lead to significant growth for the Group.

Our ultimate goal is to enable

our customers to make travel reservation with instant confirmation anytime anywhere

Appreciation

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the untiring contributions of the Group’s management and staff, and most especially their commitment and drive in partnering our vision and achieving the goals we set to produce the successful turnaround in FY 2006. I would also like to thank all our shareholders, our customers, hotels, airlines, and travel partners for their continuous confidence and support.