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ITB ASIA 2021: “THE DECADE AHEAD: BRAVING NEW REALITIES IN TRAVEL”

Messe Berlin (Singapore) has announced that the ITB Asia Virtual Conference 2021, under the overarching theme of “The Decade Ahead: Braving New Realities in Travel”, will address the most pressing issues looking forward to the travel year 2022. 

From October 25-29, leading figures will be having their say and sharing their up-to-date insights, and will discuss key strategies on the biggest and most important issues to remove barriers to travel, accelerate international recovery. The aim is ultimately to ensure the travel, tourism and MICE industries become more inclusive and sustainable. 

During the five-day event, the conference will bring together leaders of national tourism boards and convention bureaus, heads of destination management companies, travel agencies, cruise lines, hotels, attractions, the world’s major travel brands, MICE planners and travel tech solution providers.

Key sessions & speakers revealed for this year’s show 
ITB Asia’s travel think tank will cover key topics ranging from “2022 Global Travel Outlook”, “What Will Be Key to Travel the World Again?”, “The Challenge of Digital Health Passports”, “Getting to Know Your Consumers Post-Vaccine Travel” and “Where Do OTAs Stand in the COVID-19 Era?”. 

High-profile international speakers will discuss the new micro and major challenges such as resuming travel around the world again with the implementation of digital health passports and business opportunities emerging from post-vaccine-travels. 

The key speakers will include John Wroughton Brown, CEO, Agoda; Laura Houldsworth, Managing Director & Vice President Asia Pacific, Booking.com; Todd Handcock President, Asia Pacific, Collinson; Ang Choo Pin, Managing Director, Asia & Senior Director Government and Corporate Affairs, Asia, Expedia Group; James Thornton, CEO, Intrepid Travel; Stephen Kaufer, President & CEO, Tripadvisor; Axel Hefer, Managing Director & CEO, Trivago; and David Schelp, CEO of TUI Musement, Member of the TUI Group Executive Committee.

ITB Asia 2021
At ITB Asia 2021, key leaders in corporate travel will discuss future trends, the new priorities of travel managers, and how travel management companies (TMCs) and other travel partners can adapt quickly to the many changes in the business landscape. 

Among the key topics will be “Business Travel Post-Vaccine: A Reset for 2022”, “How Digital Nomads and Bleisure Are Re-Defining the Future of Business Travel”, “Navigating Through the Industry’s Greatest Crisis”, “Travel Managers’ New Priorities” and “Who Will Disrupt Corporate Travel?”. 

The following key speakers from the corporate travel industry will discuss “What will help business travel recover and revive?”: Michelle McKinney Frymire, CEO, CWT; Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director, FCM Travel Asia; Suzanne Neufang, CEO, Global Business Travel Association; Carl Jones, Vice President, Head of Strategy, Asia Pacific and Greater China, SAP Concur; Brett Thomson, General Manager, Corporate Travel, TAG; and David Hughes, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, UNIGLOBE Travel International. 

MICE at the ITB Asia Conference
The MICE industry is slowly getting back onto its feet. Visitors to the ITB Asia Conference will learn what lies ahead for MICE players to ensure their business sustainability in the long term and whether remote working and hybrid events will dominate the MICE industry.

Sessions will include “MICE Megatrends: What’s Hype, What’s Real, What’s Next”, “After Lockdown – The Who, What and How of Bouncing Back”, “MICE Buyers’ New Priorities” and “The Rise of Remote Working and the Future of Meetings and Events”. 

The line-up of top speakers continues with Dato’ Vincent Lim, President, Asian Federation of Exhibition & Convention Associations; Michael Matthews, President, Association of Australian Convention Bureaux; Dr. Adam Wu, CEO, CBN Travel and MICE; Ashwin Gunasekeran, Chair, Asia Pacific Chapter, International Congress and Convention Association; Dan Rivlin, CEO, Kenes Group; David Audrain, Executive Director, Society of Independent Show Organisers; and Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director / CEO, UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

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