Messe Berlin (Singapore) has announced details of its enhanced hosted buyers’ programme for ITB Asia 2010, which will be held from October 20-22, 2010 in Singapore. New filtering techniques are being introduced. The aim is to ensure that only high quality buyers will enter the pre-scheduled appointment system to meet exhibitors. Nino Gruettke, Executive Director, ITB Asia, who leads the ITB Asia team in Singapore said, “We want to focus on quality over quantity. We will limit the number of hosted buyers to 700 and make sure these are the best we can get.” Messe Berlin (Singapore) positions ITB Asia as ‘The Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’. The company is a subsidiary of Messe Berlin, which has organised ITB Berlin for 44 years.
Buyers registering for ITB Asia 2010 will be required to arrange ten pre-scheduled appointments each day, a total of 30 for the show. Messe Berlin (Singapore) believes that ten a day allows buyers sufficient time for additional spontaneous appointments. Buyers interested in attending ITB Asia 2010, can submit their applications online at www.itb-asia.com from April 12-30, 2010.
Three additional changes are being made. First, buyers will only be allowed to register during three periods: April 12- 30, May 3 to 21, and July 5- 23. “Only allowing three periods of registration will allow us to better control the geographical and sector mix of buyers,” added Gruettke.
After the first and second round of registrations, Messe Berlin (Singapore) will still be able to adjust the specifications of their wished-for buyers before opening the third period of registration. The aim is to ensure that the buyer profile is properly balanced.
Second, ITB Asia will use a social media-like networking and referral approach. Buyers with a strong track record will be able to recommend other buyers to be invited by ITB Asia. “It works like a job recommendation. The recommender’s own reputation sticks to the recommended person. Buyers therefore become partners in increasing the show’s quality,” mentioned Gruettke.
Third, exhibitors will be encouraged to nominate buyers. Once approved, these buyers will be invited by Messe Berlin (Singapore) on behalf of the exhibitor. Buyers with a good track record at the previous two ITB Asia shows will be invited again this year.
Josephine Lim, Executive Director – Asia Pacific, Preferred Hotel Group said, “We welcome the changes by ITB Asia on the qualification process for the buyers’ programme. They will help elevate the overall quality of the show. We look forward to achieving great results this year.”
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