7 June 2017, Travelport, a leading Travel Commerce Platform,is pleased to announce the appointment of Ming Foong, the new Managing Director for Greater China Region (GCR) and Online Business Group (OBG) APAC. The Greater China Region includes mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. His role is effective immediate and he will continue to be based in Hong Kong.
Joining Travelport in 2012, Foong’s most recent role was Director OTA (Online Travel Agent) for Asia Pacific and Business Development North Asia and Japan. He has extensive experience in the digital and e-commerce industries, including various product and category management, as well as commercial management roles from his previous positions with eBay, MSN and Bing. Foong majored in Mathematics at the National University of Singapore and also has a Master’s Degree in Econometrics from the University of Sydney.
China is a large and rapidly growing market, with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasting that China’s business travel spend is expected to double to $340 billion in the next 10 years.
Foong commented, “This dynamic environment represents a significant opportunity for Travelport. It is my aim to leverage on the experiences that Travelport has gained in various customer channels and our strong presence in the Greater China Region. I look forward to working with existing and new partners to develop their businesses.”
Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Travelport, Mark Meehan remarked, “Travelport has pioneered the evolution from atraditional GDS role and model, to become a true travel commerce platform with a diverse product range that includes payment services and mobile app solutions. We believe in the value of our products and are keen to explore various ways to support our customers.”
APAC accounts for more than a quarter of global OTA gross bookings, and this is primarily driven by the rapid growth of Chinese e-commerce and online businesses. This new appointment strategically addresses the OTA market in APAC.
Foong added, “Online travel is now a crucial part of the industry.Travelport’s technological expertise and experience in these channels will help boost our customers’ commercial goals. In addition to the partnerships we have built with top online businesses in the Greater China Region, I am also excited by the opportunity to work even more closely with our traditional offline agency and corporate TMC customers.”
