ITB Asia, ‘The Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’, which took place from 17-19 October, 2012 in Singapore and is now in its fifth year, was completely sold out five months ahead of the event dates, even after the increase in floor space. The top four industry sectors representing the show this year included hotels and resorts, tour operators and travel agencies, tourism organisations and associations as well as business travel and MICE.
“This year will be the largest ITB Asia show to date and we’re seeing a double-digit growth in all segments of the show. We have 865 exhibiting companies from 72 countries, which is a 15per cent increase from 2011, and about 13 per cent and 17 per cent rise in gross and net floor space respectively compared to last year. We also have over 3720 minutes of conference content to be delivered this year, which is around 24 per cent up from 2011. It is without a doubt that ITB Asia has clearly established itself as the strategic gateway for the global travel trade to reach out to this region,” said Dr. Martin Buck, Vice President, Messe Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia.
This year, the show forged new partnerships with leading travel industry experts representing UNWTO, MCI, National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), Panacea Publishing Asia, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Asia Cruise Association (ACA), Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), the BBC and strengthened existing programmes with WTTC, PhoCusWright, TTG Asia Media and Web In Travel.
At the epicentre of the booming Asian travel market, ITB Asia had assembled a record conference programme line-up, bringing in speakers at the top of their respective industries to deliver the latest knowledge and insights to capitalise on these trends.
ITB Asia also launched a new strategic initiative this year, Future Leaders, to help attract and groom talent. The inaugural event brought together eminent business leaders from the industry and over 100 of Singapore’s brightest sparks to provide a strategic solution to the industry’s manpower needs. In addition, on day one of the event, PhoCusWright launched its ITB Asia study. According to the research, Asia Pacific’s travel market will maintain high single-digit growth at nine per cent and eight per cent in 2012 and 2013 respectively with offline distribution still accounting for a majority of regional travel sales.
“Asia is the single biggest driver of the growth in the global travel and tourism industry. World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is forecasting growth for the overall region of almost six per cent in 2012, triple the growth of Europe. There are variations within the region, but the overall picture is one of dramatic growth,” concluded David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC.
