SEOUL, Nov 2 (Reuters) - U.S. investor Jim Rogers said on Thursday travel agencies, water-related firms, and airlines were among his favourite sectors in Asia, and saw chances to make money in areas that would benefit from an increase of the influence of women in the region.

Rogers, who is primarily known for his bets in commodity markets but invests in stocks as well, was also bullish about China, saying the 21st century would belong to the Asian economic giant during a news conference at the Korea Exchange Global Investor Conference in Seoul.

"I'm convinced China will the be the next great country in the world," he said, adding his three-year old daughter was a fluent Mandarin speaker.

Rogers said he had sold his stocks in Korea following the benchmark KOSPI's record-setting 54 percent rise to May's all time high, to invest in China instead.

He added investors should focus on firms in the region that could benefit from increased Chinese travel.

"Once the over 1.3 billion people in China start travelling, you can see what effect this would have," he said.

Rogers, who once traveled around the world on a motorcycle for two years, said he owned airline stocks in the region, including Japan Airlines Corp. (9205.T), on which he admitted wryly he had been losing money.

Firms that stand to benefit from fulfilling water needs in Asia were another of his top picks he added.

"There's a gigantic water problem in the region and somebody is going to have to solve those problems," he said.

The investment guru, who wrote a best-selling commodities book said his belief that women in the region would eventually go from "third-class citizens" to be considered equal if not superior to men also offered some investment opportunities.

"There are going to be some major changes and it's going to change life as we know it," he added referring to the changing role of women in Asia.

Rogers has also invested in Japan, he said, where he prefers baby-related shares under the belief that women in Asia's biggest economy would start to have more children.

The co-founder of the Quantum Forum with George Soros, said in Japan he also liked commodity brokers, natural resource companies, and stocks bound to benefit from an aging population.

However, Rogers said he was bearish on the U.S. economy, citing the drain caused by its war in Iraq and rising raw material prices as some of the reasons why the United States was due for a recession after 5-½ years of expansion.

"I would suspect if the United States is not in a recession, it will be in one in about a year," he said.

Rogers also took the opportunity to stick to his famed bullish stance in the commodities market, saying he expected the run to to continue until 2014 to 2023, with oil prices likely to soar to over $100 a barrel.

Rogers has set up the Rogers International Commodity Index (RICI) .RICIX for gaining access to the commodity markets.

(Source)⇒Reuters