ITB Asia to launch in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Messe Berlin is taking the plunge and re-launching ITB Asia in Singapore next year.
The previous company that tried to build an Asian trade event, Reed Exhibitions, scrapped the show.
Why would this latest effort succeed when the previous one failed?
Raimund Hosch, president and CEO of Messe Berlin, said, “Because we are different.”
He added, “We see World Travel Market in London as focusing on the Anglo-American market, and they are not as international as us. We have more international exhibitors and we’ve talked to them, especially the Middle Eastern exhibitors, and they’ve confirmed they will come to Singapore.”
Hosch was at a press conference, jointly run with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), to launch ITB Asia which will be held at Suntec City on October 22-24, 2008.
Singapore, he said, was chosen after extensive research with Messe Berlin evaluating Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Macau and Bangkok as possible sites.
Like Berlin, Singapore is a critical business hub. There are 2.8 billion people within a seven-hour flight radius, there are the new developments coming online such as the two Integrated Resorts and there’s the city’s track record in the meetings and exhibitions business – factors that swayed Messe Berlin to choose the city-state.
Messe Berlin will invest a starting sum of S$1 million into a new subsidiary to market the event.
“We are not doing this down and dirty, we are doing this long term and we want to make sure we run a top quality event,” said Hosch.
Messe Berlin’s decision to launch an Asian event was also swayed by the burgeoning outbound market in the region. It found that of its 177,000 trade visitors that turned up at ITB Berlin this year, almost 75 per cent were from Europe. Hence its interest in a show that will give it access to the Asian outbound market.
So will it be an Asia selling to Asia show or the world selling to Asia? Martin Buck, director of ITB Berlin, said the plan was to bring in international exhibitors beyond Asia/Pacific and Asian visitors.
Organisers believe there will be no cannibalisation between the two ITBs. In other words, they believe an exhibitor who takes part in ITB Asia would still participate in ITB Berlin. “One strengthens the other,” said Hosch.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which is supporting the show, declined to disclose the financial incentives given to Messe Berlin. Both signed a memorandum of understanding which will also see the two parties work together to produce events for other industries.
ITB Asia’s launch targets are 10,000 overseas delegates, and 500 exhibitors from more than 50 countries. This compares to the well-entrenched ITB Berlin’s numbers of 177,000 visitors and 11,000 exhibitors from 184 countries.
Ian Jarrett
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