The ITB Asia Conference 2026 took place from 21 to 23 October 2026 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Organized by Messe Berlin Asia Pacific, the event brought together more than 150 travel industry leaders under the theme “Experiences in Motion: Human-Centred Design in Travel & Tourism.” The conference focused on evolving traveller behaviour, new technologies, and business model shifts across the Asia-Pacific region.
Conference Focused on Travel Trends, Technology, and Sustainability
The three-day conference spanned three distinct theatres: Knowledge Theatre, MICE Show Asia Theatre, and Travel Tech Asia Theatre, presenting a programme of presentations, panels, case studies, and showcases. Discussions addressed
market trends, Chinese outbound tourism, luxury and corporate travel, sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI), data, and experience design. The conference explored future developments in leisure and business travel, with a particular emphasis on human-centred innovation.
Notable Speakers and Panels Representing Diverse Industry Sectors
At the Knowledge Theatre, key sessions included analyses of Asia-Pacific’s travel economy growth, destination marketing for evolving Chinese outbound tourists, and digital natives’ influence on travel. The Cruise Leaders’ Panel featured Sarah Fox of Disney Cruise Line, Wen Ciu Lee of Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, and Isha Goyal of STIC Travel Group. Digital reputation discussions included input from High-Yield Tourism’s Gary Bowerman and MDS Collective’s
Daniel Cheng.
Sustainability was addressed by Preethi Sanjeevi of Greytt.ai, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt of Meaningful Tourism Centre, Mark Wong from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and Dr. Kaewta Muangasame representing Thailand’s Green Plan 2030 Project and Sustainable Tourism Action Center, with moderation by Vinita Penna of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
The MICE Show Asia Theatre covered evolving event design, ROI reassessment, AI application, and corporate travel challenges. Panels included Sri Lanka’s Dheera Hettiarachchi and Uganda’s Juliana Kagwa, moderated by Banu Kannu. Other participants included Navodit Srivastava from Cvent, Florian Jacque of Midstay & MicePro, and corporate
travel leaders Pom Corpuz (Chase Travel Corporate Solutions), Choon Seng Ng (FCM Travel Asia), and Sunil Sharma (Ancalima Lifesciences Limited).
At Travel Tech Asia Theatre, discussions prioritized AI, automation, multimodal transport, and digital travel discovery. Singapore Cruise Centre’s Lee Siew Kit presented on digital transformation across travel modes. Industry voices like Agoda’s Timothy Hughes, TRAVEL.jp’s Kei Shibata, WebBeds’ Brett Henry, Booking.com’s Laura Houldsworth, D-EDGE’s Léa Vernet, KAYAK’s Masahiro Yamashita, Traveloka’s Umang Choudhary, Go City®’s Mehereen Agha Suharwardy, Trip.com’s Edmund Ong, and Anurag Jain of RateGain & Sojern engaged in sessions on AI value and travel technology myths.
Partnerships Enhance Industry Knowledge Exchange
The conference programme
was supported by partnerships with major industry bodies including the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Global MICE Collaborative, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Tourism Economics – An Oxford Economics Company, uncommon conferences, and World Tourism Cities Federation. These collaborations contributed to ITB Asia’s position as a leading platform for knowledge sharing and strategic dialogue across the travel, tourism, and MICE sectors in Asia-Pacific.
Messe Berlin Asia Pacific Emphasizes Knowledge and Human-Centred Innovation
Darren Seah, Executive Director of Messe Berlin Asia Pacific, stated that ITB Asia’s core value lies in delivering actionable knowledge and market intelligence to industry stakeholders. He underscored that the theme “Experiences in Motion: Human-Centred Design in Travel &
Tourism” captures the ongoing evolution of traveller expectations alongside technological advances and shifting business models. The conference fosters exchanges among experts to identify new opportunities and respond to changing consumer demands and business trends across Asia-Pacific’s travel ecosystem.
