The 26th IT&CMA and 21st CTW Asia-Pacific kicked off yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand.
This year's event, from 18 to 20 September 2018, welcomed some 3,000 delegates, including over 500 hosted buyers and media, from more than 50 territories and countries.
TCEB hosted the Official Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception themed “Thailand Limited” at the GMM Live House at CentralWorld, featuring a colorful night of uniquely Thai entertainment, local cuisine, and hospitality.
This year’s budding programme includes a record 29 networking functions and hosted activities and a solid education line up of 21 knowledge sessions helmed by over 50 industry thought-leaders from government bodies, related associations, corporate organizations, and industry professions. The next 2 days of the exhibition and business components will feature some 316 destinations and corporates, the largest showings to date with a 35% increase in booth take up and expansion.
TTG Asia Media Managing Director, Darren Ng said, “We have an extremely robust 2018 line up for all our delegates this year. Business objectives remain the main focus of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific in providing MICE and Corporate Travel-centric opportunities for all our exhibiting suppliers and buyers to achieve their goals for the region. The advocacy of knowledge-based sharing is also a key pillar at our events in advancing the intellect and innovation within our growing industry and we are happy to see so many destinations and brands take up captive social functions to personally get to know their audience.”
On the first day, ICCA-TTG Passionate Breakfast themed “Graceful Powers” celebrated the journey of women and diversity in the workforce, with inspiring sharings by incredible female achievers who have made their mark in the industry. The inaugural Asian MICE Cruise Conference, helmed by TTGmice, debuted with a half-day programme attended by close to 400 major cruise players and stakeholders in the region.
Over the next 2 days, the all-new Experiential Marketing Forums and Incentive Travel Forums will explore new and innovative ways to design ‘wow’ experiences while the coveted Association Days in partnership with GainingEdge, IAPCO, ICCA, SITE, and World PCO Alliance will revolve around long-term impacts on host destinations, examining how GDPR may affect the way associations manage member data, and a hot debate between proposers and opposers of PCOs. Not forgetting 8 of the year’s most relevant CTW Asia-Pacific forum sessions revolving around the best of corporate travel challenges, solutions, and best practices. Partner event with IMEX, MPI, and MCI, the Future Leaders Forum, returns to IT&CMA 2018, nurturing selected students from universities in Thailand to craft their future and interest in MICE.
