ITB Asia: Spotlight on the future

SINGAPORE, 22 September 2017: ITB Asia 2017 will celebrate its 10th anniversary looking forward at spaces where travel and tourism might be heading.

Under the conference theme “The Future of Travel”, ITB Asia 2017 will showcase key presentations by industry leaders representing brand names as well as promising travel startups.

“We are proud to have put together such a rich and diverse conference programme. 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,” said Messe Berlin (Singapore), executive director Katrina Leung.

 Top of the talk topics, hosted on the sidelines of the trade show, will include Artificial Intelligence and the future of OTAs.

Opening day keynote speakers 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 Sun will speak on Ctrip’s global strategy.

Day 2 will focus on 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.

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.

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, 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.

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