Routes Enjoys Record Numbers; Routes Asia 2014 to be Held in Kuching

Last year was another record year for Routes, with more delegates than ever before attending its World and Regional Route Development Forums, including World Routes, one of the world’s largest civil aviation gatherings.

A record number of over 5,600 delegates attended the six forums that Routes organised around the globe in 2013: World Routes in Las Vegas, USA; Routes Asia in Mumbai, India; Routes Europe in Budapest, Hungary; Routes Americas in Cartagena, Colombia; Routes Africa in Kampala, Uganda; and Routes CIS in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Katie Bland, Director of Routes said, “Routes is where the aviation industry decides where people will fly in the future. With 16,000 face-to-face meetings at World Routes alone, our events play a crucial role in shaping the future of air services around the world. In 2013, around 100 CEOs and Tourism Ministers plus 300 senior executives of airlines, airports and tourism authorities attended our global event in Las Vegas. This is simply unrivalled in the aviation industry.”

Looking ahead, the Americas region will be a particular focus over the coming 14 months, with Routes Americas 2014 in San Salvador next month, World Routes 2014 in Chicago in September followed by Routes Americas in Denver in February 2015 – the first time that this regional event will take place in the US, the largest aviation market in the world.

Routes will also continue to grow in all key aviation markets around the world this year with events in Asia, Europe, Africa and the CIS, in addition to North and South America.

In total, six events are planned for 2014:

Routes Americas: 23-25 February, San Salvador, El Salvador
Routes Asia: 9-11 March, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Routes Europe: 6-8 April, Marseille, France
Routes Africa: 22-24 June, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
World Routes: 20-23 September, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Routes CIS: date and host expected to be confirmed soon

“The record attendance at our events highlights the growing importance of intelligent network planning – not just for airlines and airports, but also for tourism authorities, cities and regions. They increasingly throw their weight behind the development of new air services which are integral to their economic growth and development,” added Katie.

Future events that have already been announced for 2015 include World Routes in Durban, South Africa; Routes Europe in Aberdeen, Scotland and Routes Asia in Kunming, China as well as Routes Americas in Denver, Colorado, USA.