The future of air travel in Asia-Pacific, ideas to best tackle air travel challenges and opportunities, as well as updates on New Distribution Capability (NDC), will be among the many aviation-related topics to be discussed at the second SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series which will be held in Singapore on February 11, 2020.
Organised by PATA Singapore Chapter and co-presented by TTG Asia Media, the aviation-themed edition welcomes the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as programme partner.
The event will feature two sessions, leading with Asia-Pacific aviation outlook where speakers will share their projections for air travel in 2020 and beyond, and discuss how industry stakeholders should work together to overcome challenges, especially environmental concerns, to achieve opportunities presented in air passenger forecasts.
Vinoop Goel, IATA’s Asia-Pacific regional director of airports & external relations; Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) managing director, air hub development; Chang Chee Pey, Singapore Tourism Board’s assistant chief executive, international group; and Wong Soon-Hwa, PATA Singapore Chapter chair and PATA vice chair are panelists.
Ven Sreenivasan, associate editor of The Straits Times, will be moderating the conversation.
The second panel will focus on NDC, which has seen its adoption gain speed in recent times as more stakeholders, beyond just airlines, move towards airline retailing. The session, led by Bineetha Mohanan, IATA’s Asia-Pacific head of customer services, seeks to provide clarity around the latest industry status of NDC and airline retailing.
Commenting on the programme line-up for the second SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series, Wong said: “Aviation is a critical topic as air travel impacts all sectors of the tourism ecosystem. We must keep abreast of the latest trends and developments.”
He continued: “Asia-Pacific destinations could see foreign visitor arrivals grow an average of 5.5 per cent per annum between 2018 and 2023 to close to 900 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2023, according to projections by PATA in its Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2019-2023. To fuel this growth, the aviation sector in the region must keep pace with capacity growth and airport infrastructure to meet growing traffic.”
“In Asia-Pacific, we are fortunate to have numerous world class airlines and airports, on top of world class destinations. How are we going to respond to the opportunities and challenges ahead?
“NDC is another interesting and important topic for all of us. What exactly is NDC and how does it impact industry players? The NDC session will bring us all up to speed.”
In line with its aviation theme, CAG has stepped in as venue sponsor, with the event being held at Changi Experience Studio @ Jewel from 15.00 to 18.00. A valuable hour-long networking reception will take place at the start.
First debuted on November 5, 2019, the SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series is a collection of intimate knowledge exchange events featuring thought leaders from across various fields who discuss hot button issues surrounding and impacting the business of travel, tourism and events.
The Series is designed for intense learning and encourages speaker-audience interaction through compact panels in hour-long fireside chat formats.
Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media – the co-presenter of the SG Tourism Leaders Engagement Series – expects another strong turnout for the second edition, as it did for the debut edition which saw its initial attendance cap at 150 being lifted to accommodate almost 250 delegates.
Registration details will be released shortly.
