The G20 recently announced the inclusion of travel and tourism as a driver of economic growth with the potential to create millions of new jobs and billions of dollars of GDP. Attesting to the newfound status of the industry is Asia. According to the UNWTO, the region will increase its global market share of international tourist arrivals to 30 per cent in 2030 (up from 22 per cent in 2010) and businesses in both the upstream and downstream travel supply chain have been quick to leverage opportunities to establish their footprint in Asia.
In celebration of Asian tourism, the Singapore Tourism Board has taken the lead by creating TravelRave, a comprehensive regional platform bringing business leaders together to discuss potential collaborations that can fuel the growth of Asia’s vibrant travel and tourism industry. Beyond setting the industry abuzz with complementary business events, the week-long TravelRave also offers a common ground for the industry to connect over insightful exchanges about Asia, the new powerhouse of travel and tourism.
Referencing the Tourism Towards 2030 statistics, Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the UNWTO said, “TravelRave is an innovative initiative and a perfect platform to leverage the dynamism of Asia’s tourism. According to our long term forecast, Asia will be the fastest growing region for international tourism within the coming two decades and TravelRave enables the sector to harness this vast growth potential."
The Secretary-General could not be more accurate. Industry demand to be a part of TravelRave continues to grow in the third edition of TravelRave. ITB Asia, the key trade show under the TravelRave umbrella is a good example of this.
“Each year the show gets bigger and better. We increased capacity by 20 percent after a record performance in 2011 and this year, five months before ITB Asia, there was already a waiting list of companies still interested in participating at the event,” said Nino Grüttke, Executive Director of ITB Asia.
Highly focused on converging the best minds of the travel and tourism industry, the annual TravelRave, Asia’s most influential B2B platform, is set to drive meaningful business discussions across the sector and provide industry professionals with a deeper understanding of Asia. Mr.Henning Boysen, Chairman of the Kuoni Group and TravelRave 2011 participant probably sums it up best, “If you want to grow and develop your business in this region, you'll greatly benefit from participating at TravelRave.”
