11th IT&CMA Geared For Upsurge In Revitalised Industry

Singapore, 03 Novermber 2003 - The 11th Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) will kick off from 4 November 2003 at IMPACT Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, to an upswing from a revived MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions) industry. Higher buyer and visitor turn-out and more efforts by exhibitors to attract buyers and negotiate deals are projected in view of the more upbeat outlook in the region.

The travel industry in Asia has been on a slow recovery path since June 2003 after the end of the SARS crisis. Signs of a turnaround were clear in the last few months with better earnings and higher travel traffic in out of Asia. Convention and exhibition venues have also seen more events being booked and held in the last half of the year. This trend and optimism is expected to prevail.

“It couldn’t have been better timing for IT&CMA – the travel and meetings industry in and outside Asia has been quiet for some time now and many of the players have been focused on tough measures such as cutting costs and re-hauling of services. At IT&CMA 2003, they are more than ready to redirect their attention to talking business and exploring new opportunities,” says Melinda Mak, Project Manager, IT&CMA.

The positive scenario is evident in both exhibitor and buyer figures registered for the show. There are 271 exhibitors from 28 countries this year with 110 new exhibiting companies. The participating countries include new-comer UAE.

To date, IT&CMA has also attracted 277 pre-registered hosted and trade buyers from some 39 countries, with large delegations from Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium and Poland. Buyers from new countries, coming to IT&CMA for the first time, include delegates from Argentina, Bahrain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Romania and Turkey.

Darren Ng, Managing Director, comments, “IT&CMA has always strived to play an instrumental role in shaping and aiding the Asian MICE industry. At this year’s IT&CMA, we’ve seen more involvement from all major trade associations and the national convention bureaus in the seminars and events. IT&CMA also provides a platform for destinations and suppliers, whose tourism and MICE businesses have been badly hit in the last 12 months, to make a strong comeback, reassure the market with their presence at the show, and re-energise or reinvent their marketing and packages.

Citing the examples of Hong Kong and Bali – which are emerging from the SARS crisis and Bali terrorist bombing respectively, he adds, “The Hong Kong Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia have shown their optimism by holding special luncheon events. This effort aims to boost confidence and communicate that they are ‘ready for business’ once more.

For more information on IT&CMA, please contact:

Media inquiries should be sent to Ms Tee Yen Ching, Project Executive, at the same postal address and fax number, or e-mail yenching@ttgasia.com.

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TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd is a leading organiser and event manager of travel trade shows in Asia: IT&CMA, Corporate Travel World Asia-Pacific (CTW) and ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 1998, 2001 and 2003. It also publishes five titles targeted at distinct segments of the travel trade: TTG Asia, TTG China, Incentive & Meetings Asia (IMA), Business Travel News (BTN) Asia-Pacific and BTN China, the latest title launched in November 2002. These trade shows and publications provide the best marketing access to Asia-Pacific’s travel marketplace, influencers and deciders. TTG Asia Media is a member company of chinadotcom and hongkong.com.