SINGAPORE, 1 August 2018: ITB Asia reports a record number of buyers registering for this year’s show with nearly 1,000 approved buyers set to attend, a 12% increase on last year.
Hosted at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Marina Bay Sands, the conference will take place from 17 to 19 October.
This year, the top 10 source markets for buyers from the Asia Pacific region comprise of China, Oceania, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.
ITB Asia has been working closely with new industry partners to introduce new buyers to the show via its buyers programme.
New corporate partners on the buyers programme this year include Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Far East Hospitality, Caissa and Singapore Airlines.
They will have substantial influence on identifying buyers for the hosting programme and are most likely to report positive outcomes, as the final selection will pair with their input.
To fill out the buyer list ITB Asia also collaborates with travel associations in the region including Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), The Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA), Korea MICE Association (KMA), Taiwan Convention & Exhibition Association (TCEA).
Confirmed associations under FATA include the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), Malaysian Association of Tour Travel Agents (MATTA), Association of Travel Agents Indonesia (ASTINDO) and Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA).
This year sees the launch of new initiatives to reach out to MICE and corporate segments as ITB focus on these areas.
Supporting the events market are the MICE & Corporate Hub, and a brand-new concept, the MICE & Corporate Speed Networking.
ITB Asia has also been working in partnership with ACTE, the leading corporate travel association, which has recommended its pool of corporate buyers to the show.
Top buyer companies to feature at ITB Asia 2018 include Abbot, Accenture, AIA Financial, Apple Inc, BHF Bank, Cook Medical, CTS MICE Service Co Ltd, General Electric, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd, IBM, Markets and Markets, Mastercard, Nu Skin Enterprises, OSRAM, PHILIPS, Rotary International, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd, Schlumberger, Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd, Siemens, Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Verve Events International.
“We are delighted to see a record number of buyers registering for ITB Asia this year, driven by our new partnerships with leading corporates and travel associations on the buyers programme,” said ITB Asia organiser Messe Berlin (Singapore) managing director, Katrina Leung.
“We have also increased our focus on the MICE and corporate segments this year and are excited to launch a dedicated MICE & Corporate hub at the show as well as a new MICE & Corporate Speed Networking session.”
ITB Asia says buyers typically have potential high purchasing power with more than 40% of them making purchases of between USD500,000 to USD1 million and 20% of buyers spending more than USD1 million.
The buyer breakdown confirms 40% leisure travel buyers, 35% MICE and 25% corporate. Geographically, 80% of buyers at ITB Asia are from the Asia-Pacific region, the remaining 20% come from Europe, North and South America, Middle East and Africa.
