Tradebytes

Travel leaders to tackle industry issues at ITB Asia

ETW STAFF - Mumbai

Travel industry leaders from around the world will convene at the ITB Asia Convention in Singapore to discuss industry issues which have been confronting the industry since 2003. The convention is part of the inaugural ITB Asia to be held from October 22-24 in Singapore. Upto 5,000 travel delegates from over 50 countries are expected to attend the event.

CEOs representing leading brands in travel - Starwood, Accor, Jumeirah, Carlson, PhoCusWright, Sabre, and others - will chart the future and lay bare the opportunities and challenges in all sectors of travel. The kinds of holidays consumers are now demanding will be addressed by Peter Long, CEO of TUI Travel, one of the largest tour operators in the world. Following a successful Beijing Olympics, Yeoh Siew Hoon, the ITB Asia Convention programme organiser said, "There are definite trends taking place in tourism that we need to heed - the evolution of the hotel industry to meet a changing customer, the realities facing global tour operators as they expand their reach into new markets, the increased penetration of technology into our everyday lives, and how that technology is changing the way we book travel and communicate."

"In many ways, you could say technological and idea change is faster in Asia than elsewhere in the world," says Dr Martin Buck, director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), which is organising the ITB Asia and ITB Convention. "Both are being fuelled by double-digit demand growth in China and India. The result is that the travel industry in Asia is highly challenging - even for the experts."

The latest travel industry trends will also be discussed at satellite events happening in and around ITB Asia such as the Web in Travel (WIT) event from October 21-22. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has organised two morning sessions on October 23-24. Meeting Professionals International's (MPI) inaugural Asian Meetings and Events Conference takes place from October 24-25.