Exclusivity meets innovation at second edition of Further East

Doing business by the Alilia Seminyak pool

The second edition of Further East, a luxury travel trade show organised by Beyond Luxury Media, took place from November 11-14, 2019.

A 400-strong community of exhibitors and buyers from Asia-focused luxury travel brands, as well as the media, gathered by the beach in Alila Seminyak to celebrate the region’s rich heritage and drive its future innovation.

Exhibitors are hand-selected for their high-end prestige, progressive outlook and uniquely Asian aesthetic, meeting buyers with luxury credentials and a global, high-net-worth clientele dedicated to Asia.

Proceedings kicked off at Potato Head Beach Club, where three stages of curated content hosted both hospitality titans and fascinating minds from outside the industry. From Tony Fadell (inventor of the iPod) to Elora Hardy (bamboo designer and creative director of IBUKU), Doris Goh (Alila Hotels and Resorts) and James McBride (Nihi Hotels), the focus was firmly on the future ­of luxury, sustainable hospitality, entrepreneurship, wellness and tech, to name but a few of the themes explored.

Delegates left Further East’s un-conference AWAKEN armed with multiple insights to drive their hospitality businesses forward, including why every hotel should have a human chatbot, why they should integrate nature as much as possible into their hotel design, and how to use literally every waste product creatively (including coasters with a former life as flip-flops).

Alila Seminyak was the home of the Further East marketplace for a second year, while Potato Head Beach Club hosted AWAKEN. Other collaborators included official airline partner Singapore Airlines, The Mango Agency, TTG Asia Media, the Japan National Tourism Organization, and Lifestyle Retreats; as well as five-star hotel partners Katamama and W Bali – Seminyak.

“As Further East goes from strength to strength proving itself to be Asia’s most innovative travel event, we will be back on the beach in 2020 pushing the boundaries of creativity with exciting brand collaborations and new developments that go beyond the marketplace,” said Jemma Uglow, head of Further East.

Next year’s Further East takes place from November 9-12, 2020. Exhibitor sales launch January 6 and buyer applications from February 1, 2020.

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