Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/743898
www.travelweekly-asia.com 27 ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES | show buzz Catch videos of the vox pops on our Facebook page at TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA. As ITB Asia 2016 sails past the midway mark, here are a few sentiments from buyers, exhibitors and trade visitors on the show. By Natalie Joy Lee VIEWS THAT MATTER # CHRISTIAN EKA CAHYA, senior sales manager, Padma Hotels, Bali, Indonesia We've attended the Berlin shows before and which is what brought us to ITB Asia. Our focus is now on Asian-based clientele, and so far, I've already met key decision makers of travel agencies. About half of my meetings are with existing partners to further our relationships, while the other half were gotten through the PSA (Pre- Scheduled Appointments). # QUEENA TSAI, chief executive officer, Citymaster, Shanghai, China This is my first to ITB Asia. We do inbound travels in China, and so I'm hoping to meet new partners who are not just hoteliers and travel agents, but who also have strong online knowledge, targeting independent travellers. The ITB app served us very well in securing appointments. # LOUISE MCALPINE, head of global product contracting, Excite Holidays, Sydney, Australia I've spent many years contracting in Asia, but not particularly at this event before. Our business into Asia is expanding quite rapidly, so we are here looking for new products, while also saying hello to familiar faces and to further our commercial opportunities. # DISNEY JABOH, sales manager; NASHA ABDULLAH, director sales and marketing, Borneo Adventure, Sarawak, Malaysia Our company has been attending ITB Asia for the past couple of years, and it's really the best time to catch up with agents from around the world. We managed our appointments through the PSA (Pre-Scheduled Appointments). I've been at the booths and Nasha is still meeting suppliers. There are some new agents we worked with for 2016, and it all originated from this show. We are still looking for more! # PHYU SIN THANT GLORIA, operations manager, New Motion Travels & Tours, Yangon, Myanmar ITB Asia 2015 provided us with numerous contacts to new destinations which is why we returned this year. We knew that many worldwide travel agencies would be present at this event, which is why even before the official launch day, we had already booked appointments. # STUART INGRAM, managing director, Destination HQ, Melbourne, Australia I go to International Luxury Travel Market in Shanghai yearly, and another travel agent told me about ITB Asia. I wanted to see how different this would be. There are truly a lot of new destinations that we don't really get exposure to in Australia, such as Finland.