IT&CMA, together with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), put together a special preview roadshow for local Thai buyers in Bangkok, Thailand, to showcase the upcoming leading MICE and Corporate Travel event centered in the Asia-Pacific. The event venue and reception was generously sponsored by the new Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park.
The evening reception welcomed 90 new and returning buyers to preview the show’s offerings and success stories that have made IT&CMA a key MICE event in the region and bolstering Thailand as one of the top MICE destinations in Asia.

The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), representing thirty of the main donor countries, has included the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the List of ODA- eligible International Organizations. UNWTO’s inclusion in this list implies that countries´ financial contributions to the Organization such as membership fees can now be considered Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is funding that aims to advance economic development and welfare in developing countries.

airberlin is continuing to grow and is set to expand its flight offers considerably in the summer of 2018. airberlin is planning the most extensive schedule in its history with around 100 long-haul flights per week. Passengers from Dusseldorf can look forward to two new destinations in the airberlin route network: from 1 May 2018, airberlin will fly to Toronto in Canada four times a week. The red-and-white airberlin jets will depart five times a week as of 2 May 2018 from the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital to Chicago.

IT&CMA 2017 On Track to Stellar Exhibitor Participation
IT&CMA’s consistent delivery of quality buyers has driven increased demand for exhibition space. Exhibiting NTOs and CVBs have reported requests from their private sectors for more slots under national pavilions. Taiwan pavilion has expanded by 100%, Macao expects more than 30 private sector co-exhibitors, one of its largest contingents ever, while Chiangmai and Lanna have come together to commit a whopping 200sqm. They join Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Dubai Business Events, Korea Tourism Organisation, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau, Sapporo Convention Bureau, Tourism Promotion Board Philippines (TPB), and many more, in this year’s excellent showing.

Record Levels for Tourism for June and the First Half of 2017. 303,000 tourist entries in June, 28% more than last year.
1.74 million tourist entries in Jan-June 2017, 26% more than same period last year. NIS 9.4 billion revenue from tourism in Jan-June 2017

Launch of lyf in China to capture booming millennial market and rising co-living trend
CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has secured contracts to manage its first three properties under its latest brand, lyf, in its two key markets – China and Singapore. This marks the launch of Ascott’s new co-living concept in China as Ascott seizes to capture the booming millennial market and shape the future of travel. Signifying a new way of living and collaborating as a community, Ascott is showcasing its first lyf property today, the 112-unit lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen which will open in the first half of 2018. The 120-unit lyf DDA Dalian is scheduled to open in end 2018 while lyf Farrer Park Singapore, the biggest of the three lyf properties with 240 units, is slated to open in 2021.