Northstar

www.travelweeklyweb.com www.travelweeklyweb.com 8 | ■ TRAVELWeekly AsiA | FEBRUARY 2014 DESTINATION WTA kicks off Year-End Championships and "Road to Singapore" SINGAPORE – The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) made several announcements concerning the WTA Championships, its year- end crown jewel event which will take place in Singapore on October 17-26, 2014. This year will mark the first time in the storied 44-year history of the Championships that a city in Asia-Pacific will host the prestigious event. During a press conference in Singapore, WTA star Eugenie Bouchard, official WTA Championships Ambassador Chris Evert, WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster, and Andrew Georgiou, CEO of World Sport Group, unveiled numerous new elements of the WTA Championships. Singapore will become the ninth different city to host the WTA Championships. Chris Evert_Eugenie Bouchard_ 27Jan2014 APAC's Most Senior Level Travel Distribution Summit back for 10th Anniversary LONDON – From 27 to 28 May 2014, EyeforTravel will be holding the 10th Anniversary of APAC's highly regarded Travel Distribution Summit, Asia, in Singapore. Over 500+ senior level travel executives from brands including Trip Advisor, Emirates, Hyatt, Four Seasons Hotels, Qatar Airways, Google, Facebook, WeChat, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Qunar, HomeAway will be gathering to meet, network and do business with other senior level executives in the travel industry. The sessions are crafted so that the delegates who attend can learn and put the theory in to practice immediately, thereby achieving a bigger and better return on investment as soon as they return to the office. This year, the topics focus on The Consumer Experience, Search, Mobile, Distribution Channels, Revenue Management & Analytics, Social Media & Marketing, and more. In addition to the main conference tracks, delegates will also be experiencing the Start-Up and Innovation in Travel Awards, the Simpliflying Big Data & Analytics Master Class and more debate & discussion than ever before. Over 500 senior level travel executives expectes to attend event. "We are excited to announce new elements of the WTA Championships that will engage the fans of women's tennis with the WTA stars and turn our year-end event into a premier sports entertainment property," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. "The WTA is committed to the long-term development of the sports community in Singapore and through numerous programs we've put in place, we look forward to growing our fan base and empowering the people of the region through sports." "Asia continues to grow as a destination for global sports properties, with Singapore an important hub given its world class infrastructure and ability to host and execute to the highest level," said Andrew Georgiou, CEO of World Sport Group. "The investment in the Singapore Sports Hub creates an opportunity not only to host global events such as this, but to do so in a way that offers an engaging experience for corporates, but also visitors as well as Singaporeans o f a l l b a c k g r o u n d s . T h e W T A Championships Singapore will have something for everyone." Singapore will become the ninth different city to host the WTA Championships following Boca Raton (1972-1973), Los Angeles (1974- 1976, 2002-2005), Oakland (1978), New York City (1977, 1979-2000), Munich (2001), Madrid (2006-2007), Doha (2008-2010) and Istanbul (2011-2013).

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