ITB China 2019 closed with 2 000 more attendees as China’s largest b2b travel trade show

The third ITB China successfully closed on Friday, 17-th of May, in Shanghai with around 17,000 attendees, a plus of 2,000 compared to last year. Buyers, trade visitors and exhibitors reported positive business results and experienced a unique gathering of the Chinese travel industry from 15 to 17 May 2019. The ITB China Conference, co-organized by Travel Daily China, has also maintained strong attendance figures of 4,000 in total, with positive feedback about the quality of speakers and insights generated from the sessions. The increase in the number of overall attendees was clearly noticeable in the exhibition halls and in the conference areas on all three days of the fair. 

 
In all, there were about 850 Chinese top buyers at the event. Their share significantly increased in terms of buyers coming from second and third tier cities, running 40 percent in total and proving the show’s acceptance in the Chinese travel market. 
This year a broad range of 800 companies and organisations coming from 84 countries presented their products to the Chinese travel industry, reflecting ITB China has become more international and established itself as the not-to-miss event for the Chinese travel industry within three years only.

First time exhibitor Italy was the official partner destination of ITB China 2019 and has recorded a successful first attendance. It co-hosted the Opening Dinner one day prior to the show, attended among others by the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food, Forestry Policies and Tourism, H.E. Sen. Gian Marco Centinaio, Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip or Feng Bin, Chairman of Utour. 

“We have set out to build the show as the key knowledge platform in China by boosting even more content and innovations this year and put a lot of efforts into increasing our networking event schedule. Overall, this year’s premieres, such as the customized travel area, new conference topics or the ITB China Travel Trends Report showed that ITB China has created unstoppable momentum and as such, is clearly bringing back optimism to the industry,” said Dr. Martin Buck, Senior Vice President, Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin.

Ms Maria Elena Rossi, Marketing and Promotion Director, Italian National Tourism Board) said: “We are investing in the Chinese market which is becoming very interesting for us as it has been constantly growing by 10 percent each year. Attending ITB China gives us the opportunity to be directly in touch with the main players of the Chinese market as they are all presented here and we can meet them directly.”
 
This year’s conference attracted 4,000 attendees and had an enhanced conference line-up, featuring 120 speakers and 70 topics to be held in two conference rooms and the presentation hub. The new conference sessions about Hotel Marketing & Distribution, IT & Travel and Customized Travel were also very well received by the attendees. 
 
With the launch of the ITB China Buyers Circle – a nationwide buyers’ community for all professional Chinese travel buyers – the organizers expanded the presence and activities of the show far beyond the fair itself. More than 30 of China’s leading travel agencies and travel agents from more than 400 different agencies have joined the circle by becoming Founding and Segment Partners. Throughout the year the circle will also be identifying the trends and developments of the Chinese source-market in the form of the yearly ITB China Travel Trends Report. In cooperation with Kairos Future, the report was built on insights sourced through members of the ITB China Buyers Circle, complemented with the analysis of online data.
 

ITB China hosted several new and established networking events during and after the show to encourage dialogue and exchanges between all ITB China attendees: The Grand Opening Gala Dinner one day prior to the show attracting more than 600 guests, the It’s my World Travel Award Lunch in partnership with Qyer.com gathering bloggers and Key Opinion Leaders from all over China as well as the third ITB China Cruise Night powered by Ctrip. In addition, the organizers launched a whole series of topic-based networking lunches during the trade show, providing dedicated exchange platforms covering topics such as customised travel, travel technology as well as MICE and corporate travel.
 
The date for ITB China 2020 is set: Wednesday to Friday, 13 to 15 May 2020 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre. Early committed exhibitors who registered on-site ITB China this year, could benefit from an Early Bird discount of 15 percent on their stand rental fees.