ITB Asia offers programe on incentive, conference & events market

SINGAPORE – ITB Asia, the ‘Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’, has partnered with the Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP) for a half-day conference at the show this year. ICESAP’s session will focus on an education programme for the incentive, conference and events market (IC&E).

It will be held on the first day of ITB Asia, 2pm – 6pm at Level 3 Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands.

“ICESAP is delighted to provide the Incentive Conference & Event Business Session at this year’s ITB Asia event. Our Society is strongly focused on improving the understanding of the IC&E sector, in particular through advancing learning & professional standards of our members and the industry as a whole.” said Nigel Gaunt, President of Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific.

The ICESAP IC&E Education programme will include several case studies and discussions on a wide range of timely topics. A dedicated session on ‘The Age of Meetings Technology’ will highlight ways meetings can incorporate the latest technological developments and stay relevant to today’s modern age.

Following this, a session led by Lisa Hopkins of BCD Meetings & Events entitled ‘Why Price Matters’ will explore the complex world of pricing strategies, and provide key insights on how to get the best deal for your events. Delegates can then find out what happens ‘When Events Go Wild’, which will explore the possible situations that may come up such as in a crisis. It will include real-life examples and practical solutions to help manage unplanned and unforeseen disasters.

A customer panel entitled ‘How to bring magic to your events’ will also allow delegates to hear from some of the industry’s leading corporate event leaders on how they can differentiate their events, and generate first class results on any budget. This session will be moderated by Benoit Badufle from Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority and Horus Development & Consulting.

“Our objective is to provide practical advice and real examples based on what we understand event managers want to know more about. We hope attendees will walk away with something that they can use in their next event,” said Lisa Hopkins, Managing Director, Asia Pacific of BCD Meetings & Events.

“At this inaugural ICESAP conference, MICE buyers and delegates will be able to gain an insight on topics including how new technologies can make meetings more effective, and explore key areas of interest such as managing IC&E project risks, and the latest development in procurement, pricing and contracting,” said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore).

ITB Asia has planned for a strong-line up of conference sessions this year including one with Centre for Aviation (CAPA) to hold the show’s inaugural industry outlook forum, a collaboration with DestinationElite to organise the show’s first ‘Luxury Travel & Hospitality Forum’, as well as a session with TravelDaily China to highlight China’s growing importance in the travel industry. The show has also built on existing partnerships with K.I.T. Group to expand this year’s association conference programme, and with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) to organise a dedicated Business Travel Day.

ITB Asia is a partner event of TravelRave, a premiere travel and tourism week organised by the Singapore Tourism Board. Last year’s show attracted close to 750 exhibitors from 76 countries, as well as 850 buyers from 62 countries.