OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE
24 September 2019 | 1400 to 1500hrs | Lotus Suite 11, Level 22, BCC
Mr. Darren Ng
Managing Director, TTG Asia Media
Good afternoon,
- Khun Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau
- Khun Siriphong Mangkalee, Director of ASEAN Department, Thai Airways International PCL
- Members of the Media,
- Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the 27th edition of IT&CMA and 22nd edition of CTW Asia-Pacific, Asia Pacific's Only Doublebill Event in MICE and Corporate Travel.
Before we proceed, I would like to extend our humblest appreciation to our loyal host country and strategic partner TCEB and official airline THAI Airways International for their tireless contributions and continuous support in making IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific an annual success.
This year is no exception. In fact, this year's show offers several new initiatives and highlights aimed at elevating the event experience for all delegates. I'll share more on what these are in a moment. In total, this 2019 edition features over 150 business, education and networking sessions, with 70 new programme sessions taking place across the 3 days.
Here's what to expect this year.
BUSINESS & SOURCING
I'm proud to announce that we've surpassed last year's performance with an increase in delegate participation across all delegate categories.
The show is delighted to welcome 345 new and returning destinations and brands along with 474 pre-confirmed MICE, Association and Corporate Buyers.
Returning exhibitors have increased their space take-up with TCEB helming the largest pavilion of 600sqm followed by Tourism Promotions Board, Philippines of 210sqm. This year, we are also welcoming more than 10 new destinations and corporate brands.
With business fulfilment being a significant part of the show's value proposition, new and enhanced components were added to complement the usual one-on-one appointments for exhibitors and buyers. Media delegates like you will also benefit from these changes.
- Brand Showcase Presentations replace the previous media briefings and is now also open to buyers to attend. There are 10 featured brands headlining the 20-minute slots as they share their latest updates and developments first-hand.
- The Exhibition Walkabout is an hour guided tour targeted at Association Buyers and Media to make quick introductions and connections with featured destinations and brands such as Chiang MICE, India Tourism, Jeju, JNTO, Taiwan, TCEB. There are 4 sessions across 2 days.
- Meet-The-Corporates is also a newly designed session conducted via a speed-dating format for IT&CM Asia exhibitors to meet CTW Asia Pacific corporate buyers. Up to 12 MICE brands with corporate offerings such as Dubai Business Events, Hardrock, Resorts World Sentosa and Korea Tourism Organisation, will benefit from this efficient platform to connect with all attending professionals within the two 1 hour sessions.
- In a similar format, TCEB will be presenting 2 sessions of Corporate Exchange, Exclusively Thailand, featuring up to 48 Thai suppliers to engage with corporate buyers.
EDUCATION
This year's knowledge line-up is one of best yet with over 60 key opinion leaders across the 20 knowledge sessions built around Sustainability as the main theme with dedicated tracks targeting MICE, Association and Corporate Buyers respectively.
Setting the tone is this afternoon's Keynote Lecture, in collaboration with Chiang MICE, and moderated by Sustainability Advocate, MICE Strategist and Hospitality Consultant, David Barrett.
This morning, we also concluded the 2nd edition of IT&CMA Passionate Breakfast by ICCA and TTGmice, helmed by a panelist of inspiring speakers, who shared stories on how the industry can be positive agents of change for the communities they operate in.
The expanded Asian MICE Cruise Conference - our 2nd installment helmed by major cruise players tackling current industry topics and challenges such as sustainability practices for cruise lines was also a success. The conference is still on-going in the World Ballroom upstairs as I speak.
Over the next 2 days, the ever-popular Association Day Forums, led by leading industry associations and experts such as GainingEdge, IAPCO, ICCA, SITE, and World PCO Alliance will continue to advocate awareness and prevalence of the Association Meetings, Conventions and Management scene.
Aimed at elevating ASEAN's position as a MICE hub, the ASEAN MICE Forum returns, featuring notable speakers and moderators from GainingEdge, Meetings International, MICE Excellence Centre, and more, as they discuss building a Sustainable MICE City and how cities can be SMART by leveraging on MICE to diversify and support economic growth.
This year's CTW Asia-Pacific Forums will deliver industry insights and best business travel practices, supported by the CTW Asia-Pacific Advisory Panel comprising of experienced industry practitioners from Accenture Philippines, Amway Thailand, Herbalife Singapore, NTT Global Sourcing, Luxoft Poland, and Osram China. It also features collaborative sessions in partnership with CWT, JTB and Cvent.
Partner event - the IMEX- MPI-MCI-IT&CMA Future Leaders Forum continues to cultivate and inspire youths to be a part of the next generation of leaders and talent for the MICE industry.
NETWORKING
Other new initiatives such as the Say Hi To Everyone, an interactive ice-breaker session for delegates to engage and identify other potential delegate profiles across IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia Pacific ahead of exhibition days. This will take place later right after the Keynote Lecture, and is not to be missed.
This year's networking line-up features a wide array of sponsor-backed engagements, tailored for different buyer segments and exhibitors to further engage and cultivate potential procurement and networking opportunities. With close to 28 hosted and branded functions including luncheons, dinners and cocktails, cohesion activities, tours and entertaining in-booth activities, delegates can look forward to an immersive experience during the show.
To show appreciation to our top-performing delegates, the revitalised Sticky Awards features a brand new format with new award titles and voting process, as part of an interactive luncheon for all delegates to network.
All buyers, upon fulfilment of their obligations and use of the event app can also look forward to participating in our sure-win lucky draw with prizes such as flight tickets, hotel stays, attraction tickets, Starbucks vouchers and more to be won during show days.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all our endorsing and supporting associations, sponsors, official media, media affiliates, exhibitors and delegates for their dedication and support, to make IT&CMA and CTW Asia Pacific exceptionally stellar this year.
For more event details and statistics, you may refer to the Fact Sheet and Media Guidelines.
Thank you. |
