Northstar

The Indispensable Travel Industry Read Feature Highlight Hotel rates on the rise Vol. 2 | 26 October 2010 | www.travelweeklyweb.com | Published by Travel & Meetings Group, Ten Alps Communications Asia Pte Ltd ITB Asia 2010 sees Asia driving new travel industry growth Hotel First St. Regis Resort in China debuts in Tibet News Page 6 (From left to right) Hisham Zaazou, First Assistant Tourism Board, Egypt, S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State Trade and Industry, Singapore, Raimund Hosch, CEO, Messe Berlin ITB Asia 2010 met with resounding success in Singapore with renewed confidence in the travel industry in Asia which is enjoying strong growth in leisure, meetings and corporate travel. Messe Berl in (Singapore) saw exhibitor numbers at the three-day B2B travel show up 6 percent on last year, with growth in the travel industry reflecting much improved economic growth figures and demand in Asia. "There is a real sense of new growth and consumer optimism once again in Asia," said Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin. "At ITB Asia we can see that in increased demand for floor space and more companies positioning themselves to get a bigger part of meetings business within the travel industry," he said. Hosch said that the show this year was characterized by five themes: exhibitor growth, better quality buyers, a much greater MICE (meetings) industry profile, the importance of Egypt as a partner country, and the fact that ITB Asia, with its broad appeal to multiple sectors of the travel industry, was now attracting other travel events to start up alongside ITB Asia. Last year ITB attracted 54 national and regional government tourist organisations, this year it went up to 62. New attendees this year include the Moscow Exhibition and Convention Agency, Israel, the Korean Nat ional Tourism Organization, and the Moroccan Government Tourist Office. This year Messe Berlin (Singa- pore) management highlighted the advances in the quality control of its 580 hosted buyers at ITB Asia. "The quality and relevance of buyer- seller interaction is the foundation of nearly everything we do at ITB Asia," said Hosch. "Therefore, this year we introduced an even more stringent vetting system for buyers." He said that this year buyers had to be recommended either by exhibitors or by other established high quality buyers who could vouch for the professionalism and relevance of the proposed hosted buyer. This year Egypt was the Official ITB Asia 2010 Partner Country. The Egyptian delegation to ITB Asia was led by Hisham Zaazou, First Assistant Anantara plays host to Bangkok Airways new flight times to The Maldives Page 6 Minister, Ministry of Tourism. "Asian Markets are among the most favoured tourism markets for Egypt and we are always looking for opportunities to attract more tourists to the jewels of Egypt," said Zaazou. "It is our pleasure to participate in large scale events such as ITB Asia and promote Egypt as an emerging international holiday destination." Egypt saw 12.5 million tourists in 2009 with tourism receipts of US$10.6 billion and is expecting 15 million by 2010, it is aiming to sustain its growth and is looking to Asia for that. It is relying on more air connectivity from Egypt to Asia. Egypt hosted Egypt Night on 20 Egypt hosts a night of festivities at ITB Asia. October for all ITB Asia attendees. During ITB Asia Egypt promoted specific elements of destination Egypt including Luxor as the "the world's greatest open air museum," the ruins and temple complexes at Karnak, and new luxury cruises on the River Nile on board the MS Darakum. Egypt will be official partner country for ITB Berlin in 2012.

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