Inaugural ITB Asia Attendance Exceeds Expectations
SINGAPORE—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The inaugural ITB Asia B2B travel show closed today in Singapore with 6,208 delegates joining the three-day event. The attendance was 24.2% more than the 5,000 anticipated by event organiser, Messe Berlin.
The 651 exhibitor companies who took 10,600 square metres of space in the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre were 30.2% more than the targeted 500.
Buyers and trade visitors arrived from 70 countries. In total, there were representatives from 90 countries at the event.
The ITB Asia Convention, the Web in Travel event and the Association of Corporate Travel Executive forum attracted a total of 1,375 delegates, many of them concerned about the global economic situation and how the travel industry should respond.
“We are very impressed by the positive response from the travel industry,” said Dr Martin Buck, Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore). “This is proof we have met customer expectations by focusing exclusively on Asian source markets, following a B2B format, running a high quality hosted buyer programme, and putting our trust in the convenience and professionalism of Singapore as the host venue.
Initial survey results from delegates have shown an 86% overall approval rating for the inaugural event. Over 95% said they would recommend their business partners to attend ITB Asia. More than 94% said they would visit ITB Asia 2009.
“We are now in the process of negotiating expanded floor space for 2009,” said Dr Buck. “We will analyse the full survey results and make extra improvements to ensure an even better ITB Asia next year.”
The next ITB Asia takes place 21-23 October, 2009.
About ITB Asia
ITB Asia took place for the first time at Suntec Singapore on 22-24 October 2008. It was organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd in conjunction with Singapore Tourism Board. The event featured more than 650 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. It included exhibition pavilions and tabletop presence for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) providing travel services. Exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels & resorts, theme parks & attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies all attended.
For additional details
Contacts
Press contacts
Messe Berlin
Michael T. Hofer
Director Press & Public Relations for the Messe
Berlin group of companies
or
ITB Asia and ITB Berlin
Press Officer
Astrid Ehring
Tel: +4930 3038-2275
Fax: +4930 3038-2141
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.messe-berlin.com
or
ITB Asia PR Contact for the Asian Region
Ken Scott
ScottAsia Communications
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tel: (+66) 2860 8227
http://www.ScottAsia.net