ITB Asia News 2019 Preview Edition

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8 NEWS © SPECTRUM images OUR CONFERENCE SESSIONS ARE DESIGNED TO GET ATTENDEES TO RETHINK HOW THEY UNDERSTAND THE INDUSTRY A speaker during a conference at ITB Asia 2018 Winning the hearts of MICE buyers The inaugural MICE Show Asia conference aims to redefine industry practices and identify new trends that will shape the future of MICE events As the MICE industry is highly competitive, the long-term success of MICE players remains contingent on their ability to understand and anticipate their customers’ needs. To explore this notion, the first ever MICE Show Asia 2019’s featured panel discussion will see industry experts challenge and provide new perspectives on archetypal approaches to the MICE buyer-seller paradigm. Thus, the inaugural MICE Show Asia, which takes place alongside ITB Asia 2019 in Singapore between 16 - 18 October, has the theme of “Winning the Hearts of MICE Buyers”. It is where the incentive travel, meetings and events industries come together to connect and build the future of MICE. The annual three-day business-to-business trade show and convention will feature industry suppliers, meetings & events professionals to up-andcoming MICE innovators from a wide range of disciplines, sectors and all levels of seniority. Across three days, more than 30 speakers from Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB), MICE buyer organisations, MICE tech companies and start-ups, will discuss topics ranging from events organisation and management, technological applications to trends forecasting and challenging conventional practices. MICE Show Asia 2019 features a diverse programme of key presentations and discussions touching on ground-breaking developments and opportunities that are shaping the industry such as sustainability and the role of social media for event marketing. The show will see top buyers’ partners and MICE industry players, such as BestCities Global Alliance, HelmsBriscoe, Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), United Networks of International Corporate Events Organizers (UNICEO), come together to speak and share their expertise. “The mission of MICE Show Asia 2019 is to provide industry suppliers with the insights and strategies to meet ever-evolving buyers’ needs. As the MICE scene continues to grow, there has never been a greater need to bring together industry professionals from across varied disciplines to share their knowledge and perspectives. Our conference sessions are designed to get attendees to rethink how they understand the industry, and gain the ability to set themselves apart,” said Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of MICE Show Asia. The speaker panel will include top management leaders from Chiba Convention Bureau, Elias Events, Mix – Asia’s Creative Meetings Magazine, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and The Project Office of the Moscow City Tourism Committee. In addition to the panel, attendees will hear from buyer organisations, leading industry players and fastgrowing MICE tech companies such as American Express Meetings & Events, Aventri, Cvent, Meetingbox bei Succevo GmbH and PouchNATION. With discussions focusing on MICE tech, improving audience engagement and trends forecasting, attendees will gain fresh perspectives about managing events, including catering to different personality types, reducing audience attrition, and responding to shifting industry trends. The show will also include a keynote session on the power of collective intelligence. Breaking out from traditional silo-thinking, the session will demonstrate the value of collaborative and ‘community’ approaches to navigate the complex promotion and business development landscape. Start-ups and CVBs are also scheduled to introduce revolutionary approaches of adding value to event experiences. CVBs will discuss methods of better managing events to cater for the audience, including multilingual content and virtual events. Startups and new players will share their expertise on how the running of MICE events is being shaken up. Highlights will include new developments in events space, indoor mapping and working with Smart Data. SHARING THE STAGE WITH ITB ASIA 2019 MICE Show Asia will share the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore with ITB Asia 2019. Attendees will have full access to both events ITB ASIA NEWS • Thursday 10 October 2019 www.itb-asia-news.com

NEWS 9 Gran Meliá Chengdu, China For the first time, four times Special Events 25 Top DMC and one of the largest DMC Groups in the world – Global DMC Network by JTB Group – will feature all of its companies during ITB Asia 2019. This “Global Village” debut in Singapore will showcase the multi-dimensions and global presence of the Group. The purpose of this omnipresence is to display unlimited travel possibilities to (potential) Asia Pacific partners. “This is the first time that all of our companies are present at ITB Asia with a shared booth,’’ says Abrar Uppal, Senior Manager Global Marketing of the Global DMC Network by JTB Group. “We really wish to showcase our strength as One Group in Asia Pacific. Are you looking for a service not available in a certain destination? No problem, another DMC underneath our umbrella, which is present in the desired destination will take care of all your needs. We are proud to be a Global Village.” The companies attending are: Tour East (Tours in Top 10 Experiences TripAdvisor in Singapore), JTB Global Marketing and Travel (Japan Inbound), LOTTE JTB (South-Korea Inbound), Kuoni Global Travel Services, Tumlare Destination Management (Europe), Europamundo Vacaciones (Seat-in-Coach Tour Operator), TPI (Americas) and - for the first time ever - MC&A, Inc. (Hawaiian Islands and Handara Golf & Resort Bali was recently announced as the winner in Best Golf Resort Destination and Best Wedding Resort in 2019 by the Asia Pacific Tourism Travel Awards. The golf club and resort has already been ranked among the “Top 50 Golf Courses in The Word” by Golf Magazine and was chosen as the 2015 winner of the “Best Golf Hotel in Indonesia” by the prestigious Word Golf Awards. Located away from the hustle and bustle of Bali’s tourist areas, up in the mountains of Bedugul, 1400m above sea level, the Handara Golf Resort Bali is a great getaway to escape the heat! STAND G05- BASEMENT 2 The new website for Global DMC Network by JTB Group brings together all players in one place Global DMC Network by JTB Group brings all DMCs to ITB Asia 2019 for first time USA destination and event management and conference planning). The European side of the Network accommodates to the trend: e.g., Tumlare Destination Management offers igloo tours and Small Groups in Chinese in the Eastern European and Scandinavian regions. The recent possibility from October 1st 2019 to obtain an e-visa for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast area for many APAC travellers will simplify the process for Guaranteed Departure tours to Russia. On the East Asian side, JTB Global Marketing & Travel Inc., focuses on presenting the essence of Japanese hospitality as well as specialist knowledge in a Japan getting ready to host two of the biggest sports events in the world. One kicked off in late September STAND J12 - BASEMENT 2 Bali’s Handara Resort arrives at ITB Asia with major awards in hand The Handara Golf & Resort in Bali TRAVELCARMA TO SHOWCASE ITS TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES AT ITB ASIA The booking technology specialists TravelCarma will be showcasing a whole suite of distribution, ERP and TDX solutions at ITB Asia. The company will showcase its suite of travel technology solutions that includes: Emperia – A Travel ERP Solution that helps travel agencies and OTAs automate reservations, streamline back office processes and centrally manage distribution Adventia – A package booking solution for tour operators that allows them to load their tour packages online, configure B2B markups/commissions and allow their agents worldwide to log in and make bookings E-IMDP – Inventory Distribution and Channel Management software allowing wholesalers, DMCs and large B2B players to manage and distribute their contracted inventories via API across multiple sales channels TDX – A powerful, platform-agnostic aggregation engine that can bundle multiple requests/responses through a unified API. It also enables travel firms to tie-up with any partner globally without making any change in their existing system In addition to these solutions, TravelCarma will also be showcasing exclusive solutions for Umrah operators, OTAs and other providers targeting Muslim travellers. According to a Skift research, Umrah travel is a US0bn market, and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is exploring ways of digitizing and automating the reservation and visa processes STAND U48 - LEVEL 1 TravelCarma demo site ITB ASIA NEWS • Thursday 10 October 2019