Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/743895
www.travelweekly-asia.com 27 ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES | show buzz # PRATARNPORN PHORNPRAPHA, managing director, Siam@Siam Hotels, Thailand. We are a design hotel chain in Thailand, and we heard about the shows from one of our general managers. It's our first time attending ITB Asia; we usually head to the Berlin one. We saw the list of agents and there's a great selection here. There has been a growth of short-haul travellers and we are looking to grow the Asian sector as well, which makes this a timely event to be at. # PAVEL RASPUTIN, head of marketing, Jetradar, Phuket, Thailand. We launched our online agency a year ago in Thailand, and we are now expanding to Malaysia and Vietnam. We decided to attend the show since a lot of partners we are working with are here as well. It's our first time, and the speeches so far are really interesting in terms of focus and trends. # HASSAN BARAKAT, general manager, Al Ola Tourism, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ITB Asia is a valuable event for me. We are meeting B2B destination partners, inbound and outbound partners, and it helps that the online system is extremely user-friendly. We already have quite a number of meetings lined up. # ELLIS CONNOLLY, chief revenue officer, Trust You, Munich, Germany. We are exhibiting some of the products we've recently launched, as well as meeting with many of our existing clients in the hospitality and travel space. Year on year, ITB Asia continues to grow, and the quality of content as well as the buyers and visitors have gotten substantially better. We have a packed schedule – meetings and dinners every night! # I KETUT M.JAYA KUSUMA, general manager, Holiday Resort Lombok Complex, Lombok, Indonesia. I've been an exhibitor at ITB Asia for over five years now, and the main takeaway is to maintain relationships with our Asian buyers, whether tourism boards, hotels or tour agents. The show has a system that automatically matches us across every attending country, and we are already looking forward to our appointments today. # NINA KUBIK-CHENG, managing director, Bridge Singapore. Both ITB Asia and WIT are excellent platforms to learn and to network. As this is my sixth year attending, this is more of catching up with people and having on-the-spot meetings. I've been speaking to e-commerce partners such as Expedia. It helps that everyone is in one space, and they each have a specific spot, so you always know exactly where to find them. VIEWS THAT MATTER Buyers, exhibitors and visitors at ITB Asia 2016 share their expectations for this year's show, and what they like so far. By Natalie Joy Lee Catch videos of their vox pops on our Facebook page at TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA.