ITB Asia and Singapore Tourism Board to jointly grow conference programme for 2014-2016 events
Almasalla Travel News – ITB Asia ,‘The Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’, has signed an MOU with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to produce an even stronger conference programme over the next three years.
This year, the show delivered over 3,850 minutes of high powered content over 20 sessions led by industry partners including United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Medical Tourism Association, the National Association of Travel Agents (NATAS), American Express and micenetASIA.
As one of the anchor events of TravelRave, ITB Asia has continually contributed to the lively discussions to shape the future of tourism in Asia.
Leveraging the efficiencies and valuable synergies surrounding both platforms, this enhanced partnership with STB promises new content for the show by harnessing collective insights from top industry leaders to uncover more business opportunities and provide an even more effective knowledge sharing platform for travel professionals.
“Our aim and focus for ITB Asia is aligned with that of STB to build a platform that facilitates the exchange of insights to discover new trends and celebrate Asian tourism at its best. Working with STB to gather travel professionals and business leaders from the entire spectrum of the industry will help us generate even more strategic networking, business and collaboration opportunities to drive more quality buyers and visitors to the show,” said Nino Gruettke, Executive Director of ITB Asia.
ITB Asia aims to provide visitors with the latest insights and practical knowledge on the travel industry. Each year’s conference programme boasts a strong line-up and is specially tailored to address the latest developments, challenges and trends across the travel industry.
“Since ITB Asia started its run in Singapore six years ago, it has been a fruitful partnership between Messe Berlin and the Singapore Tourism Board,” said Mr Lionel Yeo, Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). “As an organisation, we look for partners that can challenge us, and who are prepared to be challenged by us. Our belief is that this spirit of mutual motivation will raise our game and push boundaries. Messe Berlin is one such partner, hence I’m optimistic about this continued partnership and I look forward to more collaborations to provide greater value and exceptional experiences.”
The ongoing collaboration with ITB Asia and STB has added to the breadth and depth of relevant Asian-focused content available. One such example is the Future Leaders programme, a new strategic initiative that was launched last year to address the need to attract new talent in the travel and tourism industry. The second edition comprised a half-day conference titled “Future Leaders – Building Quality Tourism Careers” organised by Messe Berlin and STB in partnership with Nanyang Technologial University and Hospitality Club. ITB Asia, STB and UNWTO also came together once again to organise a panel discussion on salient trends of key Southeast Asian outbound markets.
The sixth edition of ITB Asia came to a close today at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Centre attracting over 9,100 visitors from over 110 countries across three days, a 7 per cent increase over last year.
ITB Asia 2013 also showcased an increase in diversity of exhibiting companies across the different industry sectors. This year, the show saw the largest representation ever from the United States taking up an increase of 90 per cent of booth space with 30 per cent more exhibitors compared to 2012. Exhibitors from Europe have also taken 20 per cent more floor space. Countries from the Asian region are again strongly represented. The Philippines has 75 per cent more floor space than last year and Japan has increased its presence by more than 140 per cent at this year’s show.
ITB Asia represents the full spectrum of tourism at all levels including the hospitality sector, tour operators or travel agencies, National Tourism Organisations, Convention and Visitors Bureaus, travel technology firms, MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and corporate travel representatives.
ITB Asia 2014 will be held from 29-31 October at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands and will continue to be a partner event of TravelRave, a quality travel trade festival organised by the Singapore Tourism Board.
Source : ITB Asia
