The ITB Asia Conference 2026 took place from October 21 to 23 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, gathering over 150 industry leaders to focus on human-centred travel across the Asia-Pacific region.
This year’s conference theme, “Experiences in Motion: Human-Centred Design in Travel & Tourism,” addressed the travel industry’s response to evolving consumer behaviour, emerging technologies, and shifting business models by putting traveller experiences at the core of innovation.
Conference Structure and Topics
The three-day event featured sessions in three theatres: Knowledge Theatre, MICE Show Asia Theatre, and Travel Tech Asia Theatre. Discussions covered areas including leisure travel, meetings,
incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), corporate travel, and travel technology. Key subjects were market trends like Chinese outbound tourism, sustainability, luxury travel, artificial intelligence, data analytics, emerging technologies, experience design, and the future of business events.
Key Speakers and Panels
Prominent executives spoke on various panels. Disney Cruise Line’s Sarah Fox, Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services’ Wen Ciu Lee, and STIC Travel Group’s Isha Goyal featured in the Cruise Leaders’ Panel assessing the future of cruise holidays in emerging travel landscapes.
Gary Bowerman of High-Yield Tourism and Daniel Cheng from MDS Collective discussed digital reputation management and AI’s impact on building trust in travel
brands. Sustainability discussions involved experts like Preethi Sanjeevi of Greytt.ai, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt from the Meaningful Tourism Centre, and representatives from Thailand’s Green Plan 2030 Project and Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Sessions on storytelling and purposeful travel were led by Angeline Tong of HOL Experiences and Suyin Lee of Discova, focusing on enhancing travel experiences and community empowerment.
Business Events and Technology Focus
The MICE Show Asia Theatre concentrated on evolving business event designs, return on investment, AI applications, corporate travel demands, and attracting international business events. Panelists from Sri Lanka and Uganda’s Convention Bureaus outlined strategies to secure global meetings. Industry leaders
from Cvent and Midstay addressed AI readiness and buyer perspectives in MICE procurement.
Corporate travel was examined by consultants from Chase Travel Corporate Solutions, FCM Travel Asia, and Ancalima Lifesciences Limited, while future event readiness was debated by experts from Encore, S&P Global Ratings, and UPGroup Asia.
Advances in Travel Technology
At Travel Tech Asia Theatre, the integration of AI, automation, and digital innovation shaped conversations. Singapore Cruise Centre’s Lee Siew Kit detailed digital transformation for seamless multimodal journeys.
Agoda, TRAVEL.jp & Trip101, and WebBeds representatives challenged conventional industry assumptions. AI-driven improvements in travel were elaborated by Booking.com, D-EDGE Hospitality Solutions, KAYAK, and Traveloka
representatives, highlighting concrete applications beyond marketing hype.
Go City® moderated panelists from Trip.com and RateGain & Sojern discussing AI’s influence on the traveller journey and hotel marketing dynamics.
Industry Partnerships and Outlook
The conference collaborated with major organizations including the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Global MICE Collaborative, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Tourism Economics (Oxford Economics), uncommon conferences, and the World Tourism Cities Federation.
Darren Seah, Executive Director of Messe Berlin Asia Pacific, emphasized the conference’s role in offering knowledge and market intelligence alongside business networking opportunities. The event assembled industry stakeholders to exchange insights and explore new travel, tourism, and MICE opportunities across Asia-Pacific.
