Based on a strong uptake in bookings from last October, Abacus International ended 2009 with better-than-expected results and is forecasting a healthier outlook this year.

President and CEO Robert Bailey (pictured left) observed that this time last year was marred by uncertainty while this year, the outlook was certainly more positive.

The Singapore-based GDS ended the year with a 1% decline in overall bookings and is forecasting 3-5% growth in travel bookings for the first half of 2010.

Indochina, Central Asia and markets such as Nepal, Bangladesh and South Korea boosted Abacus’ performance in 2009, and the company expects growth spurts from markets including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam to continue.

In addition, travel agents surveyed in the Abacus Asia Travel Sentiment Survey have listed South-east Asia (67%), Europe (63%) and U.S. (42%) as the top three regions that their customers are currently making bookings to.

The rise of the middle class and increase in foreign business investments have largely contributed to positive booking numbers for most of the aforementioned markets.

According to Euromonitor 2010’s market report, Kazakhstan registered a strong 8.1% year-on-year growth in inbound travel last year and is expected to grow by 8.6% this year. Meanwhile, Nepal showed strong figures across all sectors; with more than 10% growth registered for last year and forecasted growth this year in overall air departures as well as inbound and outbound travels.

“We are indeed fortunate to be able to leverage the high growth potential of the emerging markets, but in order to capitalise on the rising business cycles of these markets one must have strong in-market understanding of the complexities of these new markets and an innovative team dedicated to developing niche products that work best for the individual market. A one-size fits all approach is not one that works in this region,” said Abacus International Vice-President Channel Management, Patrick Lai.

Corporate travel is seeing some signs of rebound but structural changes had taken place in the market. The recession has had a pronounced impact on the sector, with many corporations implementing strict cost controls and revised travel policies.

“About 70% of organisations have introduced policies for all aspects of travel, and there has been reductions in trips by 15-20% as well as a reduction in travel spend by 25-40% in the past year,” said Abacus International Vice-President Marketing, Brett Henry (pictured left).

“Less travel, tightening of travel policy and shorter trips have been implemented by companies, but many of them do not necessarily view these adjustments as negative aspects. These travel adjustments can add value to corporate travel strategies and ultimately, to their bottom lines.”

He added that as businesses resumed to the ‘new normal’, Abacus should also see an upward adjustment in travel budgets as business activities improve in a more thriving economic climate.

“We are expecting to see a gradual 10-15% growth in corporate travel in 2010, especially in traditional corporate travel markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.”

In the Abacus Asia Travel Sentiment Survey, the majority of the travel agents (58%) believed that corporate travel would be an area of growth over the coming year.

In the survey, travel agents also said they have seen signs of customers’ travel habits returning to pre-economic crisis period. Almost 80% of travel agents indicated that they have seen improvements in their customers’ choice of class of air travel and frequency of business travel while 67% has seen a return to a pre-economic crisis mix of international and regional/domestic travel.

Summarising the outlook for the industry in 2010, Bailey said there was a strong sense of renewed energy and vibrancy in the market as the new year starts.

“Many travel players are perhaps in much better form now than ever as the challenges that the economic storm had brought upon us have transformed our businesses to be more nimble, more innovative, and more relevant to the world as Asia plays a central role in the global travel market.”