Auckland Airport to host Asia Industry Summit

9 April 2013

Auckland Airport gather Asian travel, airline & marketing experts for new Asia Industry Summit

Top Chinese and South East Asian executives will deliver unique insight into New Zealand’s key markets at the Auckland Airport Asia Summit 2013.

Key speakers from airlines such as China Southern, China Airlines and Malaysian Airlines will appear alongside major travel companies and world-leading organisations such as China Union Pay and Sina Weibo at the Auckland Airport Asia Summit 2013.

Glenn Wedlock, Auckland Airport General Manager Aero Commercial, says the summit will help the New Zealand industry gain valuable insight into how to develop for future Asian travel customers.

“We are thrilled to have James Yang, China Union Pay’s Chief Representative in South Pacific, as a keynote speaker at the event. China Union Pay is already second globally only to Visa in terms of combined debit and credit card purchase volume. This, combined with the fact that total bank cards issued by Chinese banks is growing rapidly past 3.5 billion, as well as Union Pay’s planned global expansion, means the insight that Mr Yang can provide at the Summit will be invaluable for the industry,” says Mr Wedlock

The 2013 Auckland Airport Asia Summit, to be held on 19 April, is part of Auckland Airports Ambition 2020 strategy which it has been developing with airlines and the travel industry to grow New Zealand’s share from high growth markets, particularly out of Asia.

“The fast growth and rapid change in behaviour we are experiencing in key markets in North & South East Asia (such as China, Indonesia and India) is simply mind-blowing. We need to ensure we adapt and cater for changing consumer demand - both now and for the future - to ensure we grow at a growth rate of over five per cent,” continues Mr Wedlock.

“Sina Weibo in China has over 500 million registered users with almost 50 million people using the service daily. India is the third largest Facebook country in the world with 64 million users, followed closely by Indonesia at almost 50 million. These countries are becoming the largest e-commerce markets of the future and having Ken Hong, General Manager Weibo Marketing Strategy and David Chalken, Country Manager Vocanic Indonesia, presenting at the event will provide the opportunity to learn from the experts about the future of social commerce.”

The one day summit is being held immediately prior to Trenz, the Tourism Industries major show case event, and includes networking sessions and panel discussions on key issues. The summit also includes interactive breakfast sessions from industry insight and training experts Travconsult. The sessions will provide travel industry participants with the chance to learn about opportunities and trends in India, Indonesia and China before hearing from market experts.

“We know that many of the participants at Trenz really want to gain more insight into the market as well as having the opportunity to network and interact with key market influencers. Participants will also be looking to learn what buyers may be dealing with in their markets and what products and support they may interested in using. Our Asia Summit will provide the opportunities for all of this to occur, whilst also building on our Auckland Airport Ambition 2020 strategies,” says Mr Wedlock.

“We will also be making some key announcements at the Summit regarding future tourism opportunities and I know it will be a great event to have before we move into Trenz.”

Other key speakers and panellists at the event include:

• He Zongkai – Executive Vice President of China Southern Airlines
• Joseph Wu – General Manager China Airlines
• Dean Dacko – Head of Marketing for Malaysia Airlines
• Cameron Bagrie – Chief Economist of ANZ New Zealand
• Trevor Lee - Director TravConsult
• Gordon Bevan – ASM New Zealand
• Rex Huang – Phoenix Tours Vice General Manager of Long Haul Department
• Jessica Amelia, Golden Rama, Indonesia
• Stuart Neels – ATS Pacific
• Martin Snedden - Tourism Industry Association
• Malcolm Johns - Tourism New Zealand
• Rachael Carroll - Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development

For further details on the Auckland Airport Asia Summit 2013, including biographies of the keynote speakers, please visit www.asiasummit.co.nz.

Alternatively, for free registration to the Summit, please email asiasummit@aucklandairport.co.nz.

ENDS

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