PRESS RELEASE
Disruption and innovation set to be the focus of ITB Asia 2018
keynote sessions with a stellar line up of speakers
• Global leaders from Facebook, Microsoft, Trip.com to provide insights on the major
trends driving change and transformation within the travel industry
• Keynote panel session on the future of travel distribution with insights from leading
OTA’s and intermediaries on how they are innovating to stay ahead
• Dedicated session on winning over today’s Chinese travellers and connecting with
Chinese millennials
Singapore, 17 July 2018 – ITB Asia, ‘Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show’, has announced
this year’s impressive line-up of keynote speakers. Under the overarching conference theme
of “Travel Reimagined”, key industry leaders will be providing insights on the major trends
provoking disruption across the travel industry and how they are innovating in order to stay
ahead. Hosted at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Marina Bay Sands, the
conference will take place from 17 – 19 October 2018.
The opening keynote session on 17 October will be led by global leaders from Facebook,
Microsoft and Trip.com, focusing on today’s complex travel industry issues including the
major technological changes driving disruption in the travel sector, such as the rise in global
smartphone ownership, how organisations are evolving their business models to remain
competitive and their vision for the future of the travel industry.
The keynote addresses will be delivered by Nikhilesh Ponde, Global Head of Travel Strategy
from Facebook, Shane O’Flaherty, Global Director of Travel and Transportation from
Microsoft and Xing Xiong, CEO from Trip.com, one of the world’s leading online travel
agencies.
Shane O’Flaherty will elaborate on travel disruption and how this will change the way we
travel and do business. He will also share his thoughts on how to create a seamless
customer journey and empower employees for greater efficiency and creativity. Shane
commented that “Shifting traveller profiles and expectations for more connected
experiences is raising the bar throughout the travel journey. Advances in technology are
opening up tremendous opportunity to drive revenue, lower operating cost and create new
business models in ways we only talked about in the past. The future is already here.”
Day two’s keynote on 18 October will be a new intermediaries panel session with a focus
on the future of travel distribution. OTAs, metasearch engines and new intermediaries are
disrupting distribution, with a 360-degree view of customers in a way that other travel
industry players cannot — at least today. With deep customer data and analytics, they are
targeting the management of customer relationships, working as facilitators of mobility.
The second keynote panel session will be led by industry players including Amy Wei, Vice
President, APAC from KAYAK, Andrew Hughes, Regional Director of Sourcing from
Hotelbeds, Filip Filipov, Vice President of Product from Skyscanner and Charlie Osmond,
Founder & Chief Tease from Triptease, who will share their insights on how they plan to
succeed as the industry continues to move forward.
The keynote panel session on 19 October, day three, will focus on ‘winning over today’s
Chinese travellers’, looking at China’s outbound travellers, one of the country’s largest
Press Contacts
Messe Berlin
Emanuel Höger
Press Spokesman and
Press and Public
Relations Director
Corporate
Communication
T: +49 30 3038-2213
hoeger@messeberlin.de
www.messe-berlin.de
ITB Asia
PR Manager
Julia Wegener
Messedamm 22
D-14055 Berlin
Phone:
+49 30 3038-2269
j.wegener@messeberlin.de
www.messe-berlin.com
exports, and how their spending power is reshaping the world today. Top travel industry
leaders including Alessandro Dassi, CEO & General Manager, Greater China & Far East from
Thomas Cook, Troy Liu, Founder & CEO from Mileslife and Changle Yang, COO from Tujia,
will provide their unique insights on connecting travel brands with Chinese millennials, new
trends and driving forces and how to market destinations to the tech-savvy Chinese
travellers.
“We are seeing unprecedented disruption in the travel industry as new technological
advances compel travel brands to adapt and transform their business strategies. We are
delighted to welcome global leaders from Facebook, Microsoft and Trip.com for our
opening panel session. They will no doubt provide fascinating insights on how travel
brands can embrace the changes that are shaking up the industry. We look forward to a
truly exciting start to this year’s show,” said Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe
Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia.
ITB Asia keynote sessions allow attendees to get to the heart of today’s complex travel
issues with the shared expertise and vision of major industry leaders. By attending exclusive
interviews and panel discussions, participants will gain insight into the major trends and
innovations they need to embrace to remain competitive.
For more information on ITB Asia 2018, visit www.itb-asia.com
About ITB Asia 2018
ITB Asia 2018 will take place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands,
from 17 – 19 October 2018. It is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and
supported by the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau. The annual three-day B2B
trade show and convention will feature hundreds of exhibiting companies from the AsiaPacific
region, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, covering not only the
leisure market, but also corporate and MICE travel. Exhibitors from every sector of the
industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels and resorts, theme parks and
attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other
meeting facilities and travel technology companies are all expected to attend.
Now in its eleventh year, ITB Asia is the premier meeting place for the travel trade industry
for forging new partnerships and strengthening existing business relationships with the most
important players in the region. Whilst celebrating a decade of ITB Asia, last year, its huge
success saw 940 exhibitors, 951 quality buyers, 6,140 minutes of conference, more than
11,000 attendees and 22,000 business appointments.