This year marks the two events’ first decade of successful co-location. In an era where unions are short-lived, ten years is worthy of recognition. One aspect of this anniversary I must acknowledge is that Thailand has been our significant constant for the last 11 years. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the invaluable support of our partners: Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), Airports of Thailand (AOT, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), and Thai Airways and the individuals – for achieving this milestone together.
Every year, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific is committed to enhancing the value that it delivers to all delegates and stakeholders. The industry is extremely dynamic and so are we. This is a common theme that I’ve been highlighting annually for the last 21 years since IT&CMA’s inception. Though this year, the event’s accomplishments to raise the benchmark as a leading international MICE and Corporate Travel show is certainly one of our best yet.
Online Diary
One of the enhancements we have made is enabling up to 100% of all allotted business appointments to be scheduled before Exhibitors and Buyers arrive in Bangkok. This is made possible by the new Online Diary facility, in combination with the existing PSA system. With this feature, we have given both Exhibitors and Buyers greater control and assurance that they can justify their business ROI even before the event begins. By knowing the other party in the meeting, onsite business appointments will also be optimised as conversations can be better planned ahead of time.
Having launched this Online Diary earlier this year at sister event IT&CM China with great success, we had no doubt that we would see extremely positive results here at IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific. We are delighted to share that over 100 exhibitors and buyers have already achieved 100% scheduled appointments as at 30 September.
Later today, Exhibitors and Buyers who have remaining appointment slots or wish to make additional appointments, will do so at the Buyers-Meet-Sellers (BMS) appointment scheduling session taking place on-site.
Exhibition Showcase
This year’s exhibition showcase attracted 122 new exhibiting companies. Many of these new companies are coming under the various national or CVB pavilions. With strong support from Japan’s private MICE sector organisations, we have created a Japan pavilion to help position the destination to the international buyers. Other new national pavilions include Jordan, India and New Zealand. We are also pleased to announce that Taiwan has doubled their space. Thailand MICE cities have also expanded with the addition of Phuket and Khon Kean. Overwhelming response from Thailand’s private sector resulted in 15 Thai spillover booths. This is on top of a strong contingent of 55 organisations in the main Thailand pavilion.
Sponsors and Media Briefings
The value of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific as a platform to reach the international industry audience is also evidenced beyond the exhibition showcase. Companies like Frasers Hospitality, Travelport and Abacus International are leveraging on CTW Asia-Pacific as sponsors to reach the Corporate Travel buying segment – deemed as one of the most challenging industry segments to successfully engage. Meanwhile, Tourism New Zealand, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Airports of Thailand, Dusit International, sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau, 3rd Planet Pte Ltd, Taiwan Pavilion and Kenes Asia are all taking advantage of our scheduled Media Briefings to announce their latest developments and campaigns to the international attending media – underscoring the importance of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific as a global publicity stage.
Buyer Profile
This year’s buyer profile is a reflection of the event’s consistent commitment towards delivering one of the most relevant, dynamic and valuable buyer profiles than any other international industry event. Our buyer mix deliberately spotlights these important industry segments: MICE, Association, Luxury Travel and Corporate Travel. In particular, CTW Asia-Pacific continues to boast the largest delegation of hosted Corporate Travel Managers than any similar event or conference in the region.
As always, the show also ensures that we introduce fresh procurement prospects each year. This year, we will see about 60% new buyers and 47% new Corporate Travel Managers. In addition, more than 41% of our buyers to IT&CMA this year also procure luxury travel. This is a significant jump from less than 20% last year. Importantly, buyers who come to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific know that we have the right mix of products and services that are relevant to their business.
Education
The show’s ability to bring in much sought-after niche segments such as Association Executives, Corporate Travel Managers and high-level Corporates accountable for performance targets has much to do with our tailored programmes dedicated to their needs.
All in all, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific’s attention to meeting the educational objectives of our delegates is one reason why our formula as a leading industry event works. We collaborate with the best minds and expertise in the field to share their knowledge. This year, we have one of the biggest line-up of 35 industry speakers.
What makes our educational programmes distinctive is the way the content is shaped and developed. At IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific, we support our partners by actively contributing to and investing in the co-development and in the delivery of content. We engage our delegates, partners and speakers to ensure that our programmes are relevant. In the case of one of our partners, GBTA, we collaborated to conduct an Asian wide survey of the Business Travel market place. I am certain that the results of the survey which will be presented at CTW Asia-Pacific will prove to be very valuable to our customers.
Bite-Sized Information Highlights
With so much going on during the three-day event, we have gone a step further to present all delegates with a Show Preview that was launched yesterday. It contains announcements that our Exhibitors are promoting at the event, a visual gallery of our new buyers and corporate travel managers, educational highlights, all event activities at a glance as well as information on our new initiatives. This publication is intended to put everything significant about this year’s event into a handy take-away.
Leveraging On Technology To Truly Experience The Event
For more event statistics, do refer to the Fact Sheet that has been included in your Media Kit.
IT&CM Events
I would also like to announce that we have recently branded our 3 MICE events, namely IT&CMA, IT&CM China and IT&CM India as part of the “IT&CM Events” series. The “IT&CM Events” brand strategically positions and communicates our commitment towards delivering leading international MICE Events in these key Asian markets. It also embodies the organisational excellence, repute, quality and value expected of any of our events.
Acknowledgements
Finally, I would like extend my appreciation to the following organisations for their pivotal role and contributions to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2013.
To our Thai partners’ for their loyal support and hospitality:
- Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
- Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA)
- Airports Authority of Thailand (AOT)
- Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)
Many thanks also goes to:
- Our host country – Thailand
- Our official airline – Thai Airways International
- Our official venue – Bangkok Convention Centre (BCC) at CentralWorld
- Our endorsing and supporting associations:
- Asian Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (AACVB)
- Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)
- Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE)
- Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETTA)
- Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)
- International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO)
- International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
- Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI)
- Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
- Our industry partner – Kenes Asia
- Our technology partner – Crowdcomms
- Our 14 official and supporting hotels
- Our official media:
- TTGmice
- TTG-BTmice China
- TTG Asia Luxury
- TTG Asia
- TTG China
- TTG India
- Our 25 media affiliates from around the world
Our partner events which include:
- Association Competencies Briefing and Assessment for Professional Association Executives by Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)
- IMEX-MPI-MCI-IT&CMA Future Leaders Forum by IMEX
- ICCA Database Workshop by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
- Meet Taiwan Networking Event
- TTG Travel Awards
And lastly, our sincere gratitude to all our exhibitors, buyers, media, sponsors, partners and everyone whose participation has played a part in growing this event’s value each year.
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