ITB Asia, the ‘Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market”, opened its doors today at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre welcoming 880 buyers and 760 exhibitors from 73 countries.

The show is now on its eight year and sees a strong presence from the Philippines who have increased booth spaces by nearly to 70 percent as well as Finland, Egypt, Argentina, and India. It also welcomes newcomers including Iceland, Laos, Azerbaijan, Lithuania sand Portugal.

The 3-day event kicked-off with a number of powerful keynote panels discussing key trends and opportunities — personalization, innovation and technology as the leading industry growth drivers.

The opening panel was lead by Christian Göke, CEO Messe Berlin, organizer of ITB Asia, was represented by Mieke De Schepper, Expedia Vice President APAC; Dr. Michael Frenzel, WTTC Chairman; and Julian Persaud, Airbnb regional director for APAC.