ITB Asia, ‘Asia’s Leading
Travel Trade Show’, will focus
on the interdependence of travel
and technology this year, under the overarching
conference theme of “Travel
Reimagined”. Key leaders in travel and tech will provide
profound insights on the
major trends
provoking disruption across the travel
industry whilst analysing how companies are innovating 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.
Impressive growth
in the
travel industry has been a
result of travel tech start-ups
launching and the speed of innovation
in travel
technology. According to ‘The State
of Travel
Start- ups 2017’, there were 1,497
digital startups around the globe
which attracted
nearly $62 billion in funding,
almost double from the previous year.1 Technology in travel is thus growing
fast and
rapidly changing the way in
which we
travel. Taking 8% of global
travel tech share, China has accounted
for over
a quarter
of funding
to the
travel tech industry since 2013.2 In light of
this, ITB
Asia will
be hosting
a series
of talks
on travel
technologies which will take
place at
the Travel
& Tech
Hub, allowing
delegates to immerse in the
game- changing technology that is progressing
travel, meetings and business.
Speakers from leading tech
firms will
demonstrate how emerging and innovative
tech can
offer meaningful connections between
travel brands and customers for
true ROI.
At ITB
Asia 2018, delegates will
gain insights
into what
the future
holds for
the leisure,
the MICE
and corporate travel sectors
and the
industry’s biggest challenges that can
effectively be resolved through new tech.
Top technology and
travel companies across the globe,
including Booking.com, Egencia, Fliggy,
Hotelbeds Group, KAYAK, Microsoft, Sabre,
SITA, Skyscanner,
Tencent, Travelport and Tujia will be
joining the show with senior
representatives, from Vice
President to C- Level, on the
stage talking
about which
technologies will truly transform travel.
The show’s
agenda will be dominated by discussions
from AI to virtual reality (VR), biometrics,
blockchain and robotics utilising case study
examples and practical application
in travel
management, business travel, hotel
operations, travel photography, and dining
experience etc.
Launching the new MICE
Tech Showcase,
the conference
will feature
innovations that will
help solve today’s complex
issues in the MICE industry.
This year, ITB Asia
is proud
to join
hands with
Asian Development
Bank with
the Mekong
Innovative Start-up
Tourism (MIST), Innovel Travel Tech, Skift and Troovo as the
representative. Skift will be
hosting a session at the
Knowledge Theatre on ‘Post Experience
Economy: Innovators At The
Edge of
Travel’. This new term, the
‘Post Experience
Economy’ will look at the travel
economy where everyone is already
marketing experiences and smart innovators are thinking about the
post-experience economy.
As a partner at
the MICE
& Corporate
Hub, Troovo,
a leading
Robotic Process Automation solutions provider, will join ITB Asia to tackle the positive impact of virtualisation and robotics
for the
travel industry. Exploring the endless
possibilities of the virtual world
and utilising them to expand the
possibilities of the actual world,
Troovo provides solutions on virtual payments,
automating workflow and simplifying data
process in corporations. As a strong believer in automation to enable greater productivity and higher profitability,
Troovo’s Co-Founder and CEO,
Kurt Knackstedt,
will host
a one-hour
session on 18 October to
discuss how we can take away the laborious task of data entry and grunt work of
processing travel and payment
transactions. Sharing further insights, he
will draw
on his
experience which spans over 20 years and 4 continents,
across technology, travel,
procurement, leadership
and marketing roles at multinationals, start-ups and his own
consulting business.
Kurt Knackstedt,
Chief Executive
Officer of Troovo commented, “Troovo
is excited
to be
a part of ITB Asia, as
the Asian
region is rapidly pushing ahead
with new
technologies and strategies for travel. As
a technology
company also driving a new
direction for the industry, it’s key for us at
Troovo to help shape and
lead the
discussion about why travel needs
to continue to embrace disruption and
new ideas
to keep
our industry
fresh and forward-
thinking. We’re looking forward
to some
amazing conversations in October in
Singapore!”
ITB Asia’s
strategic partnership with Asian Development
Bank and
Innovel Travel Tech will reach out
to the
young, tech-savvy companies around the
world that
are innovating
with breakthrough technologies. Both will be hosting a session on travel start-ups in the
dedicated conference track at
the Travel
and Tech
Hub.
Rom Hendler,
Founder & CEO, Innovel noted,
“TravelTech is the new black
of the
tech industry. Travel is one of
the biggest
industries in the world, and
it is
ready for
innovation and disruption. Innovel bridges between the innovative start-up community and the
traditional international travel industry,
focusing on one of the
hottest tech markets in the
world, Israel. There is
no better
place than
ITB Asia
to showcase
this innovation
to the
key players of the travel industry
in the
region.”
Jason Lusk, Project
Director of Mekong Innovative Start-ups in Tourism (MIST), Asian
Development Bank said, “The
MIST start-up
accelerator is thrilled to join
this year’s
ITB Asia
programme. Our innovative start-ups
are equipping
Asia’s travel industry to serve
travellers better and more
sustainably. What better place to
show them
off them
than at
Asia’s largest travel trade show?”
For more information on
ITB Asia
2018, visit
www.itb-asia.com.
