As the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) Asia winds down today, 11th September, several top players in the global travel sector shared their insights regarding the industry in the region and in the rest of the world.

This year’s roster of speakers offered their analyses regarding various destinations within the region, along with their plans for growth potential and investment, innovation, leadership, and sustainability in operations.

Keynote speaker Taimur Baig, for one, expressed his bullishness regarding Southeast Asia within the context of China’s position as a major player in global tourism.

Baig, managing director and chief economist of group research at DBS Bank Limited, remarked how innovation is driving Chinese brands despite the current pushback against technology. He added that current tensions between the Asian giant and the United States are forcing the former’s industrial sector to become more self-sufficient.

Given such circumstances, Asia stands to benefit significantly as Chinese business travellers could be more attracted to potential partners and investment venues within the region.

Don’t underestimate the power of tourism

For her part, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) managing director for the Asia-Pacific Liz Ortiguera feels that many governments within the region appear to have underestimated the economic and industrial reach of the travel and tourism sectors.

During the Catalysts of Tourism and Hospitality Investment panel, Ortiguera pointed out that tourism is a mega-sector in Asia, especially if one factors in professionals from the western part of the continent.

Ortiguera said: “Today, we encompass 10 percent of the jobs in the Asia Pacific and that’s going to grow in the next [several] years to 12.5 percent. Not only is travel and tourism going to create 100 million jobs in the next 10 years, [but] 64 million of them are in this region.”

She added that the majority of such job opportunities will be within Southeast Asia and will be propelled by a number of trends, including the boom in post-pandemic tourism.

She also pointed out how governments throughout the continent have focused on sustainability and community building. These are two factors that those investing in the tourism and hospitality sectors need to consider for the long run.