Berlin/Shanghai– ITB China 2018 causes a stir: With an expected attendee number of 15,000, more than 700 exhibitors from 80 countries and around 800 buyers, China’s three-day B2B travel trade show shows significant growth after its premiere. The 18,000 square meter area of exhibition space is completely sold out.

The success of ITB China, taking place from 16 to 18 May in Shanghai, is reflected in the 50 percent increase of the gross exhibition area compared to last year. Co-hosted by TravelDaily, ITB China is targeted exclusively by handpicked B2B visitors involved in China’s travel industry selected strictly in accordance with the interests of the exhibiting companies.

A total of 2,700 attendees are expected to take part in the lectures, discussions and keynotes of the ITB China Conference, supported by more than 120 industry speakers. The recognized travel think tank, running parallel to ITB China, will invite business leaders and experts both from China and abroad to deliver their expertise and ideas on market hotspots in the industry.

Dr. Christian Göke, CEO Messe Berlin: “For the next three days all eyes will be on ITB China in Shanghai. The demand from exhibitors has significantly increased and ITB China 2018 attracts growing numbers of Chinese decision-makers. After its great premiere last year ITB China continues riding the wave of success”.

On the eve of the show, the second ITB China kicks off with an exclusive Opening Dinner with 600 senior guests from the global and Chinese travel industry, among others Mr. Bourne Sun, Senior Vice  President of Ctrip and  Mr. Steven Shu, Chief Marketing Officer of Meituan-Dianping. The new marketplace for the travel industry will officially open its doors on 16 May at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre, with high-ranking industry representatives having the honor to perform the ribbon-cutting.

The annual event has attracted more than 700 exhibitors among which 27 percent offer MICE & Corporate products, 60 percent Leisure and 13 percent travel technology solutions. Over one-third (37 percent) of the exhibitors will be coming from Europe, and another third (33 percent) from Asia including China. The Americas (15 percent) and the Middle East (15 percent) are also strongly represented.

Ms. Cinn Tan, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group says: “Pan Pacific Hotels Group exhibited in the first ITB China last year and our hotels generated leads worth more than 6,000 room nights which was a fantastic outcome. This year, we are going in more strongly with a bigger booth and more hotels participating. China is a strategically important market for our Group and to us. ITB China is the number one trade event to showcase our brands to quality buyers. I am excited to share that we have chosen ITB China as the platform to announce Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s brand refresh – a milestone project we have been working on. See you at Pan Pacific Hotels Group corporate booth No. 351.”

In the second year ITB China is an official partner event of the EU China Tourism Year, which has been jointly announced by the Chinese government and the European Commission. Wyndham Hotel Group is the official partner hotel and will have a strong presence on the show floor, connecting brand new products and innovative services of tourism with the best industry experts in one place. This year’s partner destination is Finland, which is a fascinating destination offering a unique combination of nature and cultural attractions.

ITB China Conference has assembled an impressive conference program line-up, bringing in 120 speakers who are at the top of their respective industries to share the latest knowledge and insights on market hotspots in the Chinese travel industry. The conference kicks off with the opening keynote speech by Mr. James Liang, Chairman of Ctrip. In addition other top companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan-Dianping, CITS American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and BCD Travel, Merlin Entertainments, Mafengwo, Lushu, Abercombie & Kent will provide exciting insights into their expanding markets. This think tank of Chinese travel will provide up-to-date key insights of these seven areas: ‘Destination’, ‘Travel Tech’, ‘Corporate Travel & MICE’, ‘Online Travel’, and – for the first time –‘Customized Travel’, ‘Business Travel’ and ‘Education & Job’.

On 17 May the new ITB China Business Travel Day will provide both career newcomers and corporate travel managers with first-hand knowledge and updates. Clients from partners of the Business Travel Day will be sending their corporate travel managers to attend the event and senior representatives will have up-to-the-minute panel discussions, presenting current topics and profound knowledge in the areas of Business and Corporate Travel.

For the first time ITB China is holding a dedicated Education & Job Dayon 18 May in partnership with Fudan University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) focusing on the exchange of educational knowledge and the promotion of career opportunities of current and future talents of the Chinese travel industry. The Job Day takes place throughout the day and consists of a dedicated area with 45 companies, institutions and universities, such as Ctrip, JinJiang, Huazhu, BTG-Homeinn, Sabre, Carlson Wagonlit Travel China, Wyndham Hotel Group, Utour and CAISSA Travel presenting themselves in the fully booked Job Area.

The ITB China Market Introduction Program makes its debut at ITB China this year. The newly launched program is planned for international travel industry professionals who have no or little experience with the Chinese travel market so far. Companies or institutions aiming to gather first experiences with the Chinese travel industry can easily establish first contacts and get useful information about this dynamic industry and market. Inaugural partner is the VIR (Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, Germany’s leading association for the online travel industry) – an association that represents the interests of the digital travel industry in Germany.

The ITB China Start-up Award will be held for the second time. Itacknowledges outstanding new products and services that were introduced less than two years ago and which anticipate major market potential. The Pitch and the Award Ceremony will take place on 17 May in the Conference Area of ITB China. For the first time Qyer and ITB China will launch the IT’S MY WORLD TRAVEL AWARD CEREMONY 2018. The award recognizes innovative tourism destinations, organizations and businesses driving the positive transformation of the tourism industry and presenting the latest outbound travel trends of Chinese travelers.

ITB China is matchmaking exhibitors from all over the world with Chinese buyers. More than 15,000 prescheduled appointments will maximise the business opportunities of both exhibitors and buyers. This year ITB China’s exhibitors will engage with 800 top-quality buyers from China. Diversity will be high again with Chinese buyers coming from over 300 companies throughout China representing the full range of China’s largest industry players. 97 percent of the Chinese Leisure, MICE and Corporate buyers come from mainland China and the remaining 3 percent from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

ITB has firmly established itself as an international brand. With the start of ITB China 2018 the brand new ITB logos were launched combining the individual profiles of three trade shows under the umbrella of an international hub. Changing views of the globe reference the individual trade show locations and create variations of a monolithic brand family which, sporting uniform trade show and product colors, font styles and logo designs, will in future be perceived globally as a single brand.