ITB ASIA OPENS IN S’PORE WITH TRAVEL INDUSTRY LOOKING CONFIDENT

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Oct 20 (Bernama) -– ITB Asia 2010 opened here Wednesday with the
travel industry in Asia looking confident again and enjoying strong growth in
leisure, meetings and corporate travel.

Exhibitor numbers at the travel show organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) was
up 6.0 per cent compared with last year, with growth in the travel industry
reflecting much improved economic growth figures and demand in Asia.

"There is a real sense of new growth and consumer optimism once again in Asia,"
said Raimund Hosch, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin.

Malaysia’s travel industry players such as YTL Hotels, Sunway Hotels and
Resorts, Pulai Springs Resort, Sarawak and Sabah Tourism Boards, are also making
their presence felt at the three-day B2B (business to business) annual travel
show.

Hosch said there was an increase in demand for floor space in this year’s travel
show and more companies were positioning themselves to get a bigger part of
business meetings within the travel industry.

He told a press conference that the show this year was characterised by five
themes, namely, exhibitor growth, better quality buyers, a much greater MICE
(meetings) industry profile, the importance of Egypt as a partner country, and
other travel events to start up alongside ITB Asia.

Melissa Ow, Assistant Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board said with
the continued development of Asia Pacific as a destination and a thriving
outbound market, much of the world’s travel and tourism growth was occurring in
this region.

ITB Asia 2010 has attracted 720 exhibitor organisations from 60 countries, the
same number as last year.

New attendees this year include the Moscow Exhibition and Convention Agency,
Israel, the Korean National Tourism Organisation, the Moroccan Government
Tourist Office, the Nagasaki Prefecture Convention and Visitors Bureau, the
Tourism Council of Bhutan, and the Tourism Administration of Guangdong Province
in the People’s Republic of China.

On the aviation side, exhibitors include IATA, Qatar Airways, THAI Airways
International, Turkish Airlines, Etihad Airways, Vietnam Airlines and LAN
Airlines from Chile.

One outcome is that the percentage of MICE (meetings, incentives,
conventions and exhibitions) travel buyers at ITB Asia this year has increased from
32 per cent to 43 per cent, the organiser said.

As part of its commitment to growing ITB Asia, Messe Berlin (Singapore) in
September signed a new deal to keep ITB Asia in the Suntec Singapore
International Convention and Exhibition Centre for at least three more years
until 2013.

Speaking at the opening of ITB Asia 2010 today, the show’s Executive Director,
Nino Gruettke, said that the continued partnership would allow the travel
industry in Asia to “lock-in” ITB Asia into its annual marketing schedules and
give travel companies confidence to plan ahead.
-- BERNAMA