Next year will see the debut of ILTM China in Shanghai while ILTM Asia – rebranded into ITLM Asia Pacific – moves from Shanghai to Singapore, as organiser Reed Exhibitions seeks to better reflect sub-regional differences between the two shows.
“The demographics, business models and consumer profiles between China and the rest of Asia-Pacific are very different,” ILTM portfolio director, Alison Gilmore, explained last night at the opening forum of ILTM Asia 2017.
“To address these differences, many are now setting up separate sales strategies – one tailored to China and one to the rest of Asia-Pacific.”
ILTM China, which will inaugurate in October 2018, will be a “highly-focused China event”, bringing Chinese luxury travel planners and buyers to meet with international exhibitors to cater to the needs of those developing market-specific strategies, according to Gilmore.
Meanwhile, ILTM Asia Pacific will be repositioned to Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, taking place May 21-24, 2018, bringing exhibitors together with Asia-Pacific and international buyers.
Welcoming the repositioning of the shows, Steve Odell, senior vice president & managing director, Asia-Pacific, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings commented: “Like many other corporations in Asia, we already have separate businesses for our mainland China business, headquartered in Shanghai and the rest of Asia based in Hong Kong. The business model, demographics and consumer profiles are quite different, so we can better serve each by focusing in a dedicated way.”
As well, in its sixth edition, ILTM Japan will become an inbound event and will continue to take place in Tokyo from February 26-28. Said Gilmore: “The (show) will be for Japanese exhibitors to meet buyers from across the globe as Japan continues to grow in popularity.
-reporting from ILTM Asia
