Singapore’s Travel Rave to Take Place 21-25 October 2013

Singapore’s travel trade festival - TravelRave - will return for its fourth consecutive year from 21 to 25 October 2013, with a substantial amount of new content.

TravelRave is a unique annual platform for leaders in the travel and hospitality industry to exchange insights, discover new opportunities, and celebrate the achievements of Asian tourism in a week-long festival.

Talent development in the industry will take centre stage this year, as Asian travel leaders commit to initiatives focused on grooming the next generation of leaders at the Asia Travel Leaders Summit.

Also new to the TravelRave calendar is the Union of International Associations (UIA)’s first Associations Roundtable in Asia.

TravelRave 2012 brought together over 10,700 attendees (up 12% growth from 2011) from the entire spectrum of the Asian travel and tourism industry to network, exchange knowledge and share experiences over 6 events.

Ms Neeta Lachmandas, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “The forward-looking insights shared at past editions of TravelRave have generated lively discussions on the future of the Asian travel and tourism industry. TravelRave 2013 aims to continue harnessing collective Asian insights from the industry’s top leaders, uncover more business opportunities and provide a highly relevant platform for leaders to network with other professionals from across the industry.”

First UIA Associations Roundtable in Asia

Traditionally held in Europe since 2006, the 2013 UIA Associations Roundtable will strengthen participation from international associations at TravelRave.

Serving as a platform to facilitate the work of international associations, the Roundtable will provide education and networking opportunities to more than 100 international and local association representatives.

Specifically, the programme will cover topics of relevance to international associations: membership management and retention, sponsorship negotiations, community engagement, and communications tools and strategies with emphasis on subjects of immediate and current interest.

The presentations and workshops are designed to offer practical skills and information of use to associations in their work, featuring speakers and trainers with direct experience in working with international associations.

Grooming the Next Generation of Talent

With Asia becoming a growth engine for the global tourism industry, there is a critical need to attract and groom the next generation of talent through strategic partnerships and carefully tailored talent programmes.

The Asia Travel Leaders Summit, an intimate dialogue among business leaders with strong interests in the development of Asia’s travel and tourism industry, will take a closer look at talent development at TravelRave 2013.

Business leaders from the region including Thomas Cook India, Patina Hotels & Resorts, TAUZIA Hotel Management, Panorama Group, Pan Pacific Hotels Group and Dusit International, have committed to lending strong support to further build on the talent development theme and explore how businesses can provide accessible and customised development programmes for employees.

Leaders will also delve deeper into the strategic functions of companies such as exploring how Human Resources can be shaped to influence service delivery, to more effectively serve the unique needs and demands of the fast growing Asian travel community.

Buoyant growth seen in emerging economies in Asia

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) outlook for 2013 expects the Asia and Pacific region to lead international arrivals globally, with an expected growth rate of 5-6% for 2013. This is well ahead of the global growth rate of 3-4%.

In addition, according to a PhoCusWright study, Asia Pacific is set to continue to lead as the world’s fastest-growing travel region in 2013, reaching US$357 billion, a 64% increase over 2009.

ITB Asia 2013

With the continued growth expected in Asia, ITB Asia 2013 will return with an expanded show that will take up two floors of exhibition space at the newly refurbished Suntec Singapore Convention Centre from 23 - 25 October 2013.

“ITB Asia is committed to TravelRave’s objectives in delivering high quality, relevant Asian content that will be relevant to delegates. We will continue to work with the relevant partners to grow ITB Asia into a leading knowledge platform,” says Nino Gruettke, Executive Director of ITB Asia.