ITB Asia 2017, Asia’s leading travel trade show, had completed its milestone anniversary event this October with record-breaking numbers at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The event hosted about 940 exhibitors from 113 countries, an 11% increase over the previous year in its 10th anniversary. We spoke to Katrina Leung, Executive Director at ITB Asia, on what lies in store for the 2018 event and reflections from this year’s achievements.

1. This year’s theme at ITB was “The Future of Travel” – Can you give us some background about why did you choose this? 

While planning for our tenth anniversary milestone event, we looked back to celebrate our past achievements but we also wanted to glance ahead to the next ten years to provide attendees with a useful view to the future.

We all know that technology and creativity are crucial to the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors as products and experiences can be showcased in the most effective manner. Technology will become even more vital to travel as it presents multiple opportunities for growth. Innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality and beacon technology will be hugely impactful, and the brands that will do well in the coming years are the ones who will adopt these technologies and leverage their full potential. Indeed, Chatbots and voice-activated assistants are already helping airlines and online travel agencies handle transactions such as bookings and boarding passes.

As consumers become more and more interested in the ‘experience economy’, it was important for us to give our delegates the conference content and exhibition experiences to inspire them to make space for technology in their marketing strategies. And I believe we have achieved and surpassed our objectives – this year at ITB Asia 2017, we delivered the most comprehensive programme of presentations and discussions to date, clocked over 6,140 conference minutes, and our strongest line-up of speakers featuring industry heavyweights from the travel and tourism sector.

2. From a number’s standpoint, ITB Asia is currently one of the largest B2B travel-trade shows in Asia. With growth of travel-trade shows in other Asian countries, how do you see ITB Asia gearing up to competition. 

ITB Asia remains the largest and most international travel trade show event in Asia. We welcomed over 11,000 delegates at ITB Asia 2017, an increase of 11% of exhibitors over the previous year, and our strongest ever buyer participation across the Corporate, MICE and Leisure sectors. We also recorded over 22,000 business appointments during the show.

The immense popularity of the show is evident. At this early stage, ITB Asia 2018 has already received the highest exhibitor rebookings from destinations such as Greece, the Middle East, Africa, Spain and Scandinavia, as well as continued strong support from Asian markets. It is the substantial growth in exhibitors that underlines how ITB Asia has firmly established itself as the leading industry event in the region. Indeed, it is the Asian outbound market that continues to attract huge interest and we are delighted to see such levels of growth from various key markets at the show this year.

Katrina Leung, Executive Director, ITB Asia

We continue to pride ourselves on our focus on quality and the customer experience, placing them front of mind with every decision and direction we take.

Our strong partnerships with leading organisations such as , the Korea Tourism Organisation and new buyer partners such as the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAS) and the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) also help us leverage the show, maintain our reputation and sustain these valuable relationships.

3. Unlike other B2B travel-trade events, ITB Asia has a strong focus on seminars, panel-discussions and workshops. This year’s line-up of speakers include a stellar range of speakers from Google, CTrip, Tripadvisor. How do you see this growth? 

We are proud to have put together such a rich and diverse conference programme, which is only possible with the continued support from the global travel industry. This is testament to the show’s expanding role as an important platform to bring all the different stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector together. For ITB Asia, it has been important to continue developing our seminars, panel-discussions and workshops and focus on a variety of topics to cater to all attendees and help to generate valuable business opportunities and key stakeholder relationships.

This year, the three-day conference presented an extensive programme of presentations and discussions, and is the most comprehensive line-up to date with over 6,140 conference minutes compared to just half of that in 2013. We hope everyone who attended this year’s show enjoyed and benefitted from engaging with the influential and exciting speakers on the most current and pressing topics in the industry.

4. You also had InnoVel as well as Israeli startups showcasing their value proposition. Can you tell us about your association with them? 

Yes, we launched an exciting innovation travel technology track hosted by Israeli startup InnoVel which seeks to connect travel companies with cutting-edge start-ups. This is our first year working together, and we agreed to the partnership right away after we recognised that there would be the right alignment and synergy. For us, we are always looking to increase the diversity of speakers and delegates at our events, and to be more inclusive by including interesting and disruptive start-ups at ITB Asia. InnoVel’s start-ups are looking to tap into the Asian market, and they chose ITB Asia as the right platform for them to do so.

5. This year, the Singapore Tourism Board has also adopted a new campaign theme “Passion Made Possible”, as a partner country do you see this impacting ITB Asia’s delegate participation in a positive way. 

The new campaign, under the theme “Passion Made Possible” highlights the opportunities that Singapore presents and how it is the place where one can turn creative ideas into actual concepts that are successful. It is this very spirit of Singapore that has played a key role in making ITB Asia a great success over the past decade, driven in large part by the support we have received from various stakeholders in Singapore.

6. What else lies in store for delegates coming to ITB Asia 2018? 

ITB Asia 2018 will be held from 17-19 October 2018 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands. Following this year’s successful show, ITB Asia has received the highest exhibitor rebookings from ITB Asia 2018. As early as now, the surge in interest for next year’s show has been seen from destinations such as Greece, Middle East, Africa, Spain and Scandinavia as well as continued strong support from Asia markets. Clearly, the show continues to grow every year. For our conference segment, we will look to explore exciting new industry verticals and attract industry experts and thought leaders to present and engage with audiences.

The post “Technology will become even more vital to travel as it presents multiple opportunities for growth”, Katrina Leung, Executive Director ITB Asia appeared first on TravHQ.

Asia’s leading travel trade show, ITB Asia 2017 has completed its milestone anniversary event with record-breaking numbers. The tenth edition of ITB Asia came to a close today at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Over three days, the event hosted about 940 exhibitors from 113 countries, an 11% increase over the previous year. ITB Asia 2017 also welcomed its strongest ever buyer participation across the Corporate, MICE and Leisure sectors. Since 2014, ITB Asia has experienced a 1:1 ratio for exhibitors and buyers. This year, there were over 22,000 business appointments recorded during the show.

Ribbon Cutting & VIP Guided Tour

Unveiling its largest exhibitors showcase yet, ITB Asia 2017 reported a spectacular 77% growth from its inaugural edition, featuring new exhibitors such as the Rwanda Development Board, Tourism Tunisia, Promote Iceland, Tourism & Foreign Affairs Department of Almaty City, Republic of Kazakhstan, Jeju Convention and Vistor Bureau, amongst others. Exhibitors also invested more in the quality of their booths, with Greece, Japan, Russia and Korea putting up impressive and engaging experiences.

This year’s conference programme looked at the role of technology, setting the tone for the changes that the industry is likely to see in the next ten years. Speakers from big names IBM Asia Pacific and Google delivered insights on the potential of Artificial Intelligence, Ctrip presented its global strategy, while fast-growing start-ups Hiverlab, Zebra Design and Savioke shared on the exciting realities and opportunities for augmented reality and virtual reality in hospitality and tourism.

“In view of ten years of ITB Asia, we’ve taken every effort to celebrate the past as well as to provide attendees with a useful view to the future. While we are very pleased with our achievements in terms of the quality and numbers, what brings us most satisfaction is bringing together all the different stakeholders across the industry to network and inspire each other. The relationships built and strengthened will continue to boost our efforts in making ITB Asia the region’s go-to event and a hub for unforgettable content and enriching experiences for many years to come”, said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

ITB Asia will continue to be held in Singapore, following the past ten years of consistent support from the Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Exhibition Convention Bureau. Following this year’s successful show, ITB Asia has received the highest exhibitor rebookings for ITB Asia 2018. As early as now, the surge in interest for next year’s show has been seen from destinations such as Greece, Middle East, Africa, Spain and the Scandinavian region as well as continued strong support from Asian markets such as Thailand and the Philippines. Melia Hotels International and Global DMC Network by the JTB Group have also confirmed their stand bookings for the 2018 show.

The post Partner Release: ITB Asia 2017 wraps up 10th anniversary with record highs appeared first on TravHQ.

On the last day of ITB Asia 2017, Innovation Tech Track was hosted at the Knowledge Theatre by InnoVel, an Israeli Travel Tech Innovation Zone. Innovel connects travel companies with the most cutting-edge startups, leading them through the implementation of solutions that address concrete pains and problems and focus on valuable features. The company’s  mission is to redefine the travel and tourism industry, providing corporates access to the world’s most innovative and cutting-edge technologies, in the most cost-effective way.

ITB Asia 2017 Session with Innovel on Revenue Management – Do current practices fit the rapid changes in technology?

Innovel’s founder and managing partner Rom Hendler hosted the sessions which had an interesting mix of speakers from hospitality industry including Limin Cheng, Director of RM Marina Bay Sands and Sharon Chen, Corporate Director of Revenue Management, Montigo Resorts Pte Ltd. The first session showcased 3 startups Hotelmize, HotelsBI and Splitty.

HotelsBI: Hotels BI provides analytics and business intelligence tools for the hospitality industry. It provides technology to enhance hotel performance by dynamically transforming hotel data into business insights.

Splitty: EyeforTravel Startup Winner Splitty is the world’s first online hotel booking platform that lets people take advantage of amazing deals only available by splitting reservations.

Hotelmize: Utilizes cutting edge technology and innovative solutions to improve business performance for hotel distributors.

The other session, showcased 2 other Innovel Startups, eRevMax & Flybits. Flybits is the first context-as-a-service platform, allowing the enterprise to make Android and iOS apps truly context-aware.

A detailed feature of the startups in this panel will be published in the coming weeks. Our team will be reaching out to startups at Innovel to understand their business offerings and solutions for the travel industry in detail.

The post Highlights from Innovation Tech Track by InnoVel at ITB Asia 2017 appeared first on TravHQ.

One of the key talks from the TravelDaily China session at ITB Asia on Day 1 was a presentation by Jenna Qian, Head of Destination Marketing at Ctrip. The session offered some interesting insights on the growth of the company and some of their innovative marketing solutions.

Founded in 1999, the company had its IPO on the Nasdaq in December 2003. Currently Ctrip is Asia’s largest OTA and world’s 2nd largest OTA only behind Priceline in-terms of Market Cap. With over 30,000 employees across China and rest of the globe the company currently has 300 million members with over 70% bookings coming from the mobile apps. On Social Media, the company has 20 million WeChat fans and 2.3 billion cumulative downloads.

With strategic investments in Qunar.com, Tujia, Travelfusion, Skyscanner, Makemytrip and several other travel companies trip has a consolidated share across the online travel-ecosystem in China and other major markets in the world.

The growth has been significant for Ctrip in the context that the English version was launched in 2007, the same year when they touched monthly volume of 1 million flight tickets.

Jenna Qian, Head of Destination marketing, Ctrip

Ctrip group at a glance:

• USD 2.85B 2016 Net Revenue
• CNY 430B 2016 GMV
• 520K Domestic Hotels and 670k International Hotels
• 150M+ Average Monthly Active Users
• >70% Booking Volume via Mobile
• 425 International Airlines with connectivity for 5,000 cities

A look at the China Outbound Tourism Market:

• China is ranked Number 1 in Outbound Tourism expenditures
• 122 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad in 2016
• 62 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad in first half of 2017
• Only 10% of Chinese tourists have passports.
• Cumulative Outbound visits is expected to reach 700mn in Next 5 Years

With its massive growth during these years, Ctrip also offers a one-stop holistic marketing approach with its set of offerings. They have a multi-media content platform, customized sales channels, product experts, Big Data and AI solution, Abundant Marketing Resources, Intelligent Media Platform and more. In-terms of service level innovation for customers, the company offers a WeChat Guide, 24 hour Global SOS and Luggage Delivery.

The post Decoding Ctrip for Overseas Markets: Lessons from Jenna Qian’s talk at Travel Daily China session at ITB Asia appeared first on TravHQ.

The app will help hoteliers unleash the power of mobile to sell more and manage their hotels better, from the convenience of their smartphones.

Being a pioneer in empowering hoteliers with powerful, yet simple cloud-based hotel software to efficiently manage hotel operations, Hotelogix is all set to launch its revolutionary mobile app, Hotelogix Mobile Hotel, at ITB Asia, 2017.

The Hotelogix Mobile Hotel app, that will be available on iOS & Android, has been designed for hotels to efficiently execute, coordinate and monitor operations from their smartphones. Hoteliers can access real-time business insights at their fingertips and make informed decisions on the go.

“Mobile devices are redefining guest-centric services, and Hotelogix is all set to leap ahead of the curve, with our revolutionary new Mobile Hotel app,” says Prabhash Bhatnagar, Founder, Hotelogix. “Mobile Hotel is ready, both for the iOS and the Android platforms. Our system puts up-to-the-minute control of a hotel business, literally in the pockets of a smart hotelier. It includes frontdesk, housekeeping and POS that help to significantly improve guest experience, while giving remarkable control on man-power, infrastructure and operational costs,” he adds.

Convenience, performance and mobility
Hotelogix Mobile Hotel app gives managers and owners to conveniently run their hotels from their smartphones. Frontdesk staff can do away with long queues with express check-ins and check-outs, right from the convenience of the lounge. Housekeeping information is updated in real-time, eliminating paperwork and enabling tired guests to check-in earlier. Sales teams are empowered to sell immediately, and decision-makers will be able to access a number of reports in real-time, for their hotels. And many more.

“Hotelogix is looking forward to participating at ITB Asia this year. ITB Asia gives us the right audience to showcase our revolutionary products. We are excited to meet hospitality management companies, multi-property groups and upcoming brands to help them take advantage of our simple solution and maximize their business potential,” says Aditya Sanghi, CEO & Co-Founder, Hotelogix.

To pre-book an appointment with the key people of Hotelogix at ITB Asia, click here.

The post Press Release: Hotelogix set to launch ‘Hotelogix Mobile Hotel’ App at ITB Asia 2017 appeared first on TravHQ.

Cementing its status as ‘Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show’, ITB Asia 2017 will celebrate its 10^th anniversary with an exciting view to the future of travel and tourism. Under the conference theme “The Future of Travel”, ITB Asia 2017 will showcase an extensive programme of key presentations and discussions by industry heavyweights from the travel and tourism sector. This includes global brand names as well as promising travel startups.

“We are proud to have put together such a rich and diverse conference programme, which is only possible with the continued support from the global travel industry. This is testament to the show’s expanding role as an important platform to bring all the different stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector together. We believe everyone attending this year’s show will enjoy and benefit from engaging with the influential and exciting speakers on the most current and pressing topics in the industry”, said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

Artificial Intelligence and OTAs to be focus of ITB Asia 2017 keynotes

To kick off the show, headlining keynote speakers on Day 1 include Tony Menezes, Vice President of Industrial and Distribution Sectors at IBM Asia Pacific, Rob Torres, Managing Director of Advertising and Marketing at Google, and Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip. Both speakers from IBM and Google will focus on Artificial Intelligence while Ms Sun from Ctrip will speak on its global strategy.

On Day 2, the highlight of the keynote panel will focus on the trends and market conditions of the travel trade market and how Online Travel Agents (OTAs) are transforming travel through technology, particularly in Korea, Japan and India. Moderated by Nick Vivion, Editorial Director of Tnooz, the panel will include Ike Anand, Vice President at Expedia, Min Yoon, CEO of Tidesquare, Amit Taneja, Chief Revenue Officer of Cleartrip, Ken Mishima, VP of eCommerce Strategy at iJTB, and Jose Murta, Global Head of Hospitality at trivago.

Showcasing the most current trends and opportunities in virtual reality, Cruise and travel innovation

While VR has mainly been used in promotional and marketing materials, hotel and accommodation visualization and training, disruptive startups Hiverlab and Zebra Design will share their experiences on the exciting realities and opportunities for augmented reality and virtual reality in hospitality and tourism. Savioke, a Silicon Valley startup that makes autonomous indoor delivery robots, will also present key takeaways from its pilot project at M Social, Asia’s first deployment of front-of-house service robots.

With younger generations, including the millennials and Generation X, forecast to embrace cruise travel more than ever before[1], ITB Asia 2017 will feature its first Cruise panel. The line-up will feature global cruise operators who will discuss the rise of cruise in Asia Pacific and the growing market and opportunities. Moderated by Christina Siaw, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Cruises Centre, confirmed panelists include companies such as SkySea Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, Princess Cruises, Carnival Asia and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

ITB Asia will also for the first time, launch an innovation travel tech track hosted by Israeli startup InnoVel that will connect travel companies with cutting-edge startups. The cross-sharing is designed to address concrete pains in areas such as revenue management, customer engagement, online marketing and more.

Strong global support from Corporate and MICE partners

Corporate and MICE participants at ITB Asia have grown in the past years. To reflect this strong support, ITB Asia will see its first ever Corporate Day on 26 October, with confirmed partners such as the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Egencia, Corporate Travel Management, UOB Travel and Airbnb who will deliver presentations and workshops on the corporate sector at ITB Asia.

Following the success and launch in 2016, MICE Day will return for the second edition in 2017 on 25 October. Confirmed partners include American Express, Incentive Conference and Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP), International SOS, Meetings Professional International (MPI), The Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers, Inc. (PACEOS), Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), and United Networks of International Corporate Events Organisers (UNICEO).

ITB Asia 2017 is expected to top the success of ITB Asia in 2016, where almost 900 buyers attended the show, leading to a 1:1 ratio between exhibitors and buyers whilst over 50% of buyers signed deals with exhibitors after the event. 43% of attending buyers had purchasing power of USD 500K – USD 1m and 85.7% of attending buyers were direct decision makers.

The post 10th Edition of ITB Asia Looks to the Future of Travel (Partner Event Release) appeared first on TravHQ.

Under the overarching conference theme of “The Future of Travel”, the organisers of ITB Asia, Messe Berlin (Singapore), have announced that this year’s keynote speeches will be delivered by industry leaders from IBM and Google, who will speak on the very latest trends in Artificial Intelligence (AI) including the impact, use and benefits of AI in the travel industry.

Starting from 9am on 25 October, the keynote addresses will be delivered by Tony Menezes, Vice President of Industrial and Distribution Sector at IBM Asia Pacific and Rob Torres, Managing Director of Advertising and Marketing at Google. Sharanjit Leyl, Presenter and Producer at BBC News will moderate the keynote session.

Tony Menezes will speak about the opportunities to fundamentally transform the travel industry with cognitive technology, and how IBM Watson is making travel experiences more personal, relevant and convenient. As Vice President, Industrial and Distribution Sector at IBM Asia Pacific, Tony Menezes is responsible for building and growing relationships across IBM’s portfolio of industry solutions, software, services and platforms. Prior to this, Tony was responsible for business development and sales of Cognitive Industry solutions, based on IBM Watson, the AI platform for business.

Rob Torres, Industry Director, Travel at Google will be speaking about how consumer expectations for seamless, assistive experiences in travel are higher than ever before. He will share how the Google Travel team is leveraging new digital trends and machine learning to build more immersive experiences for users across the travel journey. Google’s suite of travel products includes Google Flights, Google Hotel Ads, Destinations on Google, and Google Trips.

“Artificial intelligence is making real waves in the travel industry and changing the way business is done. We’re seeing an increasing number of travel and hospitality brands integrating AI into their online strategies in efforts to improve customer service and engagement and it is clearly a major trend that is here to stay. This year, we felt it was timely to have two influential experts in AI share their knowledge and insights at ITB Asia 2017, and we’re delighted to welcome Tony Menezes from IBM Asia Pacific and Rob Torres from Google as keynote speakers for what will no doubt be a truly exciting start to this year’s show”, said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore) and ITB Asia.

ITB Asia 2017 is expected to top the success of ITB Asia in 2016, where almost 900 buyers attended the show, leading to a 1:1 ratio between exhibitors and buyers whilst over 50% of buyers signed deals with exhibitors after the event. 43% of attending buyers had purchasing power of USD 500K – USD 1m and 85.7% of attending buyers were direct decision makers.

For more information on ITB Asia 2017, visit www.itb-asia.com

For more information or interest to be a Conference Partner of ITB Asia 2017, please email: michele.koe@itb-asia.com or visit: www.itb-asia.com/conference

About ITB Asia 2017

ITB Asia 2017 will take place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, from 25 – 27 October. It is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and supported by the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau. The event will feature hundreds of exhibiting companies from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, covering not only the leisure market, but also corporate and MICE travel. Exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels and resorts, theme parks and attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies are all expected to attend.

The post Artificial Intelligence to be focus of ITB Asia 2017 keynotes appeared first on TravHQ.