ILTM Asia – the largest and most exclusive gathering of luxury travel professionals in Asia – opening today in Shanghai, will reveal a new report identifying a unique insight into luxury travel trends on Asian social media, including key differences by country and demographic.  Produced by Brand Karma, ‘The Luxury Traveller & Social Media: Asia’ was commissioned by ILTM to help luxury hoteliers and travel advisors identify and understand the experiences that Asian luxury travellers seek and share online.

In addition, Ge Jingdong, Vice-President of Weibo, China’s leading social networking platform will speak at the ILTM Asia Opening Forum, revealing details of how - with 618 million internet users, and 10,000 dedicated digital social marketing agencies specialising in travel in China - social media is playing an increasingly important role in reaching high end travellers from the country’s first, second and third tier cities.

‘The Luxury Traveller & Social Media: Asia’ reveals that luxury travellers from the Asia Pacific are more active on social media than any other region, using social media to research and share their travel experiences at an unprecedented growth rate.  Between January 2012 and March 2014, social postings by Chinese luxury travellers increased by 89% whilst other Asia Pacific regions saw an increase of 5%. In addition, hotel groups are using Facebook and Weibo creatively to drive direct bookings, although mobile messaging Apps such as WhatsApp are increasingly attracting market share.  While many luxury travel brands focus on social media to market their rooms, the report also highlights that a relatively untapped opportunity is in the lucrative areas of F&B and Spa.

‘The Luxury Traveller & Social Media: Asia’ was produced by Brand Karma, a specialist organisation that helps travel’s biggest brands to attract and retain customers via social and digital media and will be presented by the company’s COO and Co-Founder, Mario Jobbe at an ILTM Asia Workshop on Monday 1 June. In comparing social media sentiment in Asia to the rest of the world, the report reveals that luxury travellers from Mainland China and Oceania place higher value on helpfulness and efficiency of service whilst Asia Pacific travellers, excluding China, prioritise breakfasts and peacefulness in their reviews. The Chinese prefer to post on Ctrip and Weibo while the others mostly use TripAdvisor and Facebook.

Following the educational workshop where Mario Jobbe will present ‘The Luxury Traveller & Social Media: Asia’ and the ILTM Asia Opening Forum where Ge Jingdong will speak – both taking place on 1 June at the Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shangahi, ILTM Asia will take place at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre from 2 – 5 June. The unrivalled ILTM Asia Pre-Scheduled Appointment and Online Diary programme allows luxury travel buyers and exhibitors to meet in up to 69, 15 minute, face-to-face, mutually matched meetings throughout each day of the exclusive ‘invitation-only’ event.