Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organisers of ITB Asia have announced the extension of its partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) from 2017 to 2019.

TTN spoke to Katrina Leung, executive director, ITB Asia Messe Berlin (Singapore). 'We had an extraordinary day one with the visitors exceeding previous year’s first day footfall. We had an 11 per cent an increase of exhibitors compared to 2015, 71 per cent being from Asia and 29 per cent international. Buyers represented a fair mix, 45 per cent leisure, 33 per cent Mice and 22 per cent corporate attendees.'

Speaking on 2016’s inaugural Mice day, she said, 'We had Amway and Oracle presenting, giving us fresh perspectives and benchmarks. We are happy with the outcome where the buyers had more visibility over options, trends and new concepts leading to a balanced mix of feedback and inputs. The Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific, (ICESAP) gave us a great feedback. Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) had a field day catering to the local and regional participant base. We had a lot of companies from Thailand and Indonesia attending to pick upon case studies and best practices that have gone towards making Singapore a big success in the context of Mice travel.'

Melissa Ow, deputy chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said, 'ITB Asia has grown well since its inaugural show in 2008, delivering strong content and memorable experiences for delegates over the past nine years. We look forward to working with Messe Berlin to further entrench it as the leading travel tradeshow in the Asia-Pacific region.'

'Next year, ITB Asia will be momentous as we celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary. Visitors, delegates and partners can expect a dedicated ‘Corporate Travel Day’ and ‘Hotel Day’, lined up with an exciting full day of conference programmes catered to these fast-growing sectors.' said Dr Martin Buck, senior vice-president, Messe Berlin GmbH.

With 846 exhibitors from 110 countries, and 895 buyers, the ninth edition of ITB Asia attracted more than 10,876 attendees at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.