Sell the sector capability.
Asian institutions and families can access selected US hospitality and travel businesses through a Certares mandate.
A strategic discussion · September 2026
The next
AUM chapter.
Seize Asia.
Asian capital. Asian and global investments.
An American franchise with a larger ambition.
- THE FRANCHISEAmerican identity.
Global sector authority. - THE OPPORTUNITYA growing source of capital,
investments and travel demand. - THE ECONOMICSA larger, recurring
fee-paying capital base.
01 · The demand engine
Asia-Pacific is travel’s growth engine.
The fastest regional expansion in 2025. A substantial share of the next generation of travel demand.
$3.29tn total economic contribution in 2025
Nearly twice the global growth rate · WTTC / Oxford Economics
20241.7bn
→2044 FORECAST4.1bn
2.4bn additional annual air passengers
IATA · June 2026 outlook · passenger counts, not unique people
Build the operators, distribution and destination services that can turn demand into cash flow.
Travel & tourism GDP includes direct, indirect and induced effects. It is not industry revenue. Aviation and tourism measures have different scopes; forecasts are conditional.
01 · Why now
Asian capital is choosing its specialists now.
Institutions are buying sector expertise through mandates and co-investment. The commercial opportunity is a relationship that can grow through successive mandates and funds.
02 · The capital engine
A $40 trillion expansion in financial wealth.
Asia-Pacific, including China: $89.5tn in 2025 → $129.5tn in 2030. A 45% increase in BCG’s forecast.
2025 estimate2030 forecast
BCG regional tables, May 2026. Asia-Pacific = China + Asia-Pacific excluding China. North America remains larger in 2030. Financial wealth is not available LP capital.
WEALTH CREATIONChina: +15% in 20259% annual growth forecast to 2030
THE CERTARES PRODUCT
Specific mandates. Asian investments.
Access to US and European opportunities.
The scale of the opportunity
Asia adds a much larger playing field.
Preserve the Gulf relationships. Expand into a capital and travel market several times larger.
Both comparison regions include the six GCC countries. These conservative benchmarks establish Asia’s greater scale; they are not GCC-only estimates. Private wealth and sovereign AUM are distinct.
A broader franchise, with Gulf continuity.
Keep developing Saudi, Qatari, Emirati and Omani capital relationships. Add Asian investors, assets and demand to the same American platform.
02 · The map
Asian capital, two routes.
Asian money into Asian travel platforms, and into Certares' own deals in the US and Europe. Select a city to see the coverage.
Capital pool
Certares office
Programme
Extend the existing franchise
Asia can strengthen both existing markets.
A regional presence creates capital relationships and commercial routes into the US and Europe.
Bring capital and customers.
European hotels, destination services and rail can serve Asian demand, supported by contracted Asian sales channels.
Build alongside the Gulf.
Develop suitable Asian co-investments with Gulf capital while Saudi relationships continue. Match each partner to its mandate.
Capital travels west. Customers travel both ways.
Asian investors → US / European assets. Asian travellers → Western supply. US / European advisers → Asian destinations.
Precedents and proposed routes, not commitments or available transactions. UBS is a client survey; North America is broader than the US. Commercial access requires agreement.
00 · Institutional capital
Sovereign scale. A specific place in the portfolio.
Prioritise new investor relationships. GIC is an existing relationship for selective expansion; existing AUM is excluded from new fundraising objectives. Published sizes are context, not available allocations.
00 · Family capital
Enter at the level of the principals.
Different partners. Different propositions.
Fund allocators can build the recurring capital base. Hospitality owners can contribute assets, operations and strategic co-investment.
00 · China: three routes
China is part of all three opportunities.
The traveller
Back destination services, premium experiences and hotels outside China. Build distribution partnerships that reach Chinese customers.
The investor
Cover CIC and Chinese-origin wealth in Hong Kong and Singapore with specific global exposure, including Europe-facing mandates.
The asset
Evaluate selective mainland platforms and hotel repositioning with local partners. JLL records $1.5bn of hotel transactions in H1 2026.
03 · Where it earns
Four markets. Four different profit pools.
Asia-Pacific+8.1%
North America+1.0%
Travel & tourism GDP growth, 2025 · WTTC, Apr 2026 · economic contribution, not revenue
China
~$280bn
Chinese outbound travel spending in 2026, the world's largest 2026 forecast
148moutbound trips in 2025, up 20.8% ActualChina Ministry of Culture and Tourism · Jun 2026
−57%Chinese arrivals to Japan, Jan–Aug 2026 ActualJNTO · 16 Sep 2026
Profit pool
Serving Chinese travellers outside China: destination services, premium hotels and experiences, tax-free shopping and payments.
Our route
Hotels and destination platforms in Europe and Southeast Asia, sold through the platforms Chinese travellers use. Trip.com's international platform revenue grew over 50% in Q2 2026. Mainland assets are a selective, separately underwritten opportunity.
Watch
Demand can be switched off by destination. Never build on one source market.
India
86%
of India's travel & tourism spending is domestic: $203bn in 2025 Actual
₹5.4–5.6khotel revenue per available room in 2025; domestic demand anchors the market ActualHVS Anarock · May 2026
$527bntravel & tourism GDP contribution projected for 2036 ForecastWTTC · Jul 2026 · forecast
Profit pool
Mid-market branded hotels in Tier II and III cities, and B2B services for Indians travelling abroad.
Our route
A hotel ownership platform with a brand partner, and an outbound travel-services platform. Exit to strategic buyers; Warburg Pincus's announced Fleur Hotels investment is a relevant platform precedent.
Watch
Underwrite currency, entry valuation, new supply and exit liquidity. A domestic demand thesis still needs a credible dollar return.
Japan
#1
US visitors are now Japan's largest spending market: 15.3% of Q2 2026, up 8.5% Actual
267lodging businesses exited in 2025; ryokan occupancy 38% against 74–75% for city hotels ActualTeikoku Databank · Japan Tourism Agency · 2026
Profit pool
Regional hotels and ryokan without successors, repositioned for the travellers who are growing: the US, Taiwan and Korea.
Our route
An operator-led platform outside Tokyo with a Japanese co-sponsor. Negotiate measurable access to Certares-linked American distribution; underwrite incremental room nights and net rates.
Watch
Visitors fell 2.7% in Jan–Aug 2026. Entry yields, labour costs and the yen remain key underwriting variables.
Southeast Asia
15.9m
Vietnam’s international arrivals in Jan–Aug 2026, up 14.4% year on year Actual
~120Indonesian state hotels being consolidated; joint ventures to be offered to international investors AnnouncedAntara · 27 Jun 2026
$6.8bnAsia-Pacific hotel transaction volume in H1 2026 ActualJLL · H1 2026
Profit pool
Resort repositioning and destination services, with local partners.
Our route
Indonesia through the sovereign dialogue. Vietnam and Thailand selectively.
Watch
Land tenure, ownership rules and currency.
00 · The Certares franchise
A founder who can convene the industry.
Relevant senior-level engagement
JPMorganChase
Marriott Hilton
Accor Hyatt
Rosewood Shangri-La
Convene investor principals with the relevant financing, brand, development and distribution leaders around an investable platform.
Proposed engagement; participation or endorsement is not implied.04 · Why Certares
Access opens the room. Certares puts value under contract.
Relationships
Mechanisms
Value in the portfolio
The template already exists. For Trenitalia France, Certares is facilitating arm's-length distribution agreements with Amex GBT, Marietton, Voyageurs du Monde and Internova (FS Group, Dec 2025). Apply that discipline to each Asian platform: negotiate the relevant commercial agreements and measure the incremental economics.
Experience across the travel journey
Internova · 100,000+ advisersMariettonAvoyaAHI TravelG AdventuresVoyageurs du MondeUS hospitalityAvia SolutionsBrightlineTrenitalia FranceMystic InvestUmrahme
A second source of value creation
Own the travel economics. Apply the intelligence.
China is a major AI builder. Asian travel businesses are deploying it. Certares can combine technology with supply, customers and execution.
The Certares proposition
A travel execution layer.
Connect approved inventory, quoting, booking and after-sales service across acquired platforms. Use the best suitable models; own the customer and supplier relationships.
Investment discipline
- Buy profitable services businesses with defensible supply.
- Pilot multilingual sales and servicing with permissioned data.
- Scale on net margin, retention and reliability.
Three different measures: capability, population usage and one company’s orders. None proves an Asia-wide adoption lead or a guaranteed return. AI is an operating programme across investments.
05 · The investment programme
A fee franchise. Three investment pathways.
Lead with a global mandate; originate Asian platforms selectively. Match capital formation to assets that can be executed.
Illustrative mandate / equity envelopes, not valuations or a pipeline. A fund follows a qualified anchor, attributable execution and sufficient deployable opportunities. Select a programme for execution requirements.
06 · The fee engine
$1bn establishes it. $2.5bn scales it.
ProductSizeStart
Illustrative planning model Illustrative Not a forecast, budget or valuation. Carry excluded.
Model assumptions and funding requirements
All figures are illustrative USD millions. Mandates deploy over three years; fees use the average annual invested balance. Mandate balances begin running off 25% annually after year five. Funds charge on commitments for five years, then a fee 0.50 percentage points lower on a declining base (70% initially; 20% annual runoff). Co-investments begin running off after year five.
Fixed costs ramp at 60%, 85%, then 100%, with 3% annual escalation. Servicing costs apply to all managed capital, including fee-free co-investments. Fundraising/setup costs: 1% of fund commitments and 0.25% of mandate commitments in the first year.
The model begins in 2027 and excludes pre-launch spending. The operating funding need and recovery year exclude tax, carry and GP cash flows. A separate illustrative GP commitment equals 2% of fund commitments.
Stopping after 2027 cancels later commitments, not existing obligations: the model retains 25% of fixed costs (minimum $0.15m), servicing costs and $0.25m of one-off wind-down cost. These are sensitivities, not a contractual loss cap.
09 · The next chapter
American franchise.
Asian capital.
Global opportunity.
A global travel specialist needs a dedicated presence in Asia. Extend the American franchise, strengthen US and European opportunities, and build on the Gulf relationships.
CAPITAL
Relationships that compound.
Anchor mandates, specialist funds and successor commitments.
INVESTMENTS
Two routes to deploy.
Asian travel platforms and Certares’ opportunities in the US and Europe.
EARNINGS
A larger recurring business.
Sector expertise converted into durable fee-paying AUM.
Appendix · Questions an LP will ask
Ambition, backed by an institutional answer.
Appendix · Sources and definitions
Every figure, with its date and meaning.
Research basis: 25 September 2026. Actuals, forecasts and announcements are labelled separately. Overlapping pools are never added up.