Asians go mobile

LONDON – The convenience and function of mobile phones continuously expands beyond traditional boundaries, particularly with increased usage of SMS messaging. According to a report launched by World Travel Market (WTM), mobile phones are becoming one of the most important communication tools between the travel industry and Asian consumers.

The WTM Global Trends Report 2007, produced by market analyst Euromonitor International for WTM, has identified mobile phones as a highly influential marketing tool, calling it the “third” screen following television and the Internet in reaching out to potential consumers. Mobile phones have made their way into just about every household in Asia. Penetration rates of mobile phones are particularly high in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, which reached 124 percent, 103 percent and 102 percent respectively in 2006, and are expected to continue growing by three to four percentage points each year until 2009.

According to Clement Wong, Euromonitor International’s Global Travel and Tourism account manager, several regional travel and tourism players have already responded to the importance of SMS as a communication tool. “Philippine Airlines and Cebu Air provide SMS ticketing and Singapore Airlines sends SMS ticket confirmation services to its local consumers. Australia-based online travel operator, zuji.com has divisions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia and now sends out tailored SMS promotions to subscribers when deals to desired destinations become available,” he said.