ITB Asia gears up for a ‘bigger’ year

ITB Asia has yet again announced a promising year with increased demand for exhibitor space and being completely sold out four months in advance of the show. Organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore), ITB Asia will be held from October 23 to 25, 2013 at the newly refurbished Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Centre.

In its sixth instalment, the annual trade show has seen a significant increase in National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) participation and new exhibitors while welcoming back several participants. Organisers have also announced an exciting line-up of conferences for this year’s event which includes a wide range of ‘how-to’ sessions. The 2013 programme will have over 3,850 minutes of high powered content over 20 sessions during which high profile speakers and industry experts will present and lead discussions on a range of topics covering all aspects of the travel industry. TTN caught up with Nino Gruettke, executive director of ITB Asia to learn more about what will be on offer.

How does this year’s exhibitor participation look like?

ITB Asia, as ‘the Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’, connects visitors to hundreds of exhibiting companies from all segments of the travel industry across the globe. Exhibitor demand from Europe, Asia and North America have been particularly strong this year as the tourism industries continue to focus their attention on the Asia travel market.

We have also seen strong interest from National Trade Organisations, who are increasing their presence significantly at this year’s event with many making a first time appearance including the Armenian National Tourism Organization, South Pacific Tourism Organisation, Greek National Tourism Organisation, Beijing Office, Reunion Island Tourism Board and the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation. A number of exhibitors have also increased their booth space bookings significantly compared to last year. For example, the Chinese and Japanese exhibitors have more than tripled their exhibition space. The US contingent has doubled its presence from the previous year, and Russia has increased by over 70 per cent. Other new exhibitors at this year’s show include Visit Finland, Kenya Tourism Board and The USA Brand USA Pavilion – Discover America among others.

At ITB Asia, visitors can expect to see the full spectrum of tourism at all levels, including the hospitality and aviation sectors, tour operators and travel agencies, NTOs, travel technology firms, and Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and corporate travel representatives.

As in 2012, this year has also witnessed an exhibitor sell-out four months prior to the event. What expectations are being placed on the event this year?

The selling out of our exhibitor space four months prior to the event is a sign of the continued importance of ITB Asia for travel trade professionals. Each year, we work towards attracting the right mix of quality exhibitors and creating a bigger and more relevant conference programme, to keep ITB Asia delegates well connected to the latest industry developments. 

Now in our sixth instalment, ITB Asia continues to attract an ever growing diverse exhibitor representation, quality buyers and will deliver a strong line-up of conferences and ‘how-to’ sessions.

Gruettke

This year’s programme will feature 3,850 minutes of high powered content over 20 sessions by leading industry partners such as PhoCusWright, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Medical Tourism Association, Travel Link Daily, the National Association of Travel Agents (NATAS), the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Mix!, American Express and micenetASIA. Our partnerships with these leading industry players are essential to providing our visitors with the latest insights and practical knowledge ITB Asia is known for. 

We have achieved major success so far and our aim is to continue improving and growing the show to meet the evolving needs of the Asian travel market. Our partners have high expectations for the show and we have to constantly keep our finger on the pulse to keep up with their needs.

You have indicated that Europe, North America and Asia have been particularly strong this year. What response have you observed from the Middle East in specific?

The continued interest from Europe, North America and Asia reflects the growing wealth of emerging markets in Asia, and the increasing potential of the region’s inbound and outbound markets.

Middle East is definitely well-represented at ITB Asia. We have over 60 exhibitors from the Middle East this year, ranging from NTOs such as the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, to airlines like Etihad Airways indicating the growing openness of the region.

This year you’re introducing the Medical Tourism Association. What response is expected?

At ITB Asia, we recognise the importance of taking the lead in delivering the latest industry insights, so as to keep our visitors up-to-date with the latest trends and information in the travel industry.

The health and medical tourism market is currently worth over $100 billion and is continuing to grow significantly. With this in mind, we have partnered with the Medical Tourism Association to be a part of our overall conference programme. The Medical Tourism Association’s inaugural session this year will focus on this fast growing industry, and will help delegates understand this sector from a global perspective, as well as the strategies currently being used to generate business opportunities and increase economic growth in that industry. With such a timely and relevant topic, we foresee a very positive response from delegates at this year’s event.

What other initiatives are being planned for this year?

This year, we introduced an initiative allowing ‘audience’ or industry stakeholders to recommend both the topics and speakers they would like to hear from during the upcoming conference sessions at ITB Asia 2013. This industry-driven approach allows ITB Asia to use the information gathered from the survey to help shape the topics and speakers featured at this year’s event, and complements our existing efforts to constantly “listen” to partners in order to deliver innovative solutions and best practices of the travel industry and related sectors. This has helped contribute to our strong conference line up where delegates will be exposed to a variety of tailored sessions that will address the latest developments, challenges and trends in the travel industry.

Our new youth-centric initiative Future Leaders will also be returning this year. It connects the brightest travel, tourism and hospitality students in Singapore with key industry players and prominent schools for opportunities in areas like mentorship, internships, employment and further studies. This initiative is a hands-on and interactive way to groom Singapore’s young talent that addresses the critical manpower issues faced by the booming Asian travel industry, and gives our partners access to Singapore’s brightest students.

What hosted buyer representation can be expected in 2013?

ITB Asia attracts top industry buyers from the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and America. Generally, about 50 per cent of our buyers are from the MICE and corporate industry. Each year, we welcome international and regional senior level buyers and decision makers from key industries, who attend our show to gain new industry knowledge, and to source for new destinations and travel products. At ITB Asia, we have also consistently focused on improving the quality of buyers, with all potential buyers undergoing a stringent screening process, being evaluated based on their calibre, experience, and referrals from exhibitors. We are proud to share that year after year, we have consistently attracted top quality buyers, both hosted and non-hosted, who have created genuine business opportunities for our exhibitors.

In addition to our hosted buyer programme, we have also noticed a significant increase in non-hosted buyers taking part in the show. This demonstrates the growing reach of ITB Asia as well as the effectiveness of the show as a business platform. We believe that this is indicative of the steady growth in the quality of both our exhibitor attendance and conference programme components, which has attracted top international buyers to come and gain insights about the Asian travel industry.