FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Bruce Rosard, PhoCusWright Inc.
+1 860 350-4084 x375
email brosard at phocuswright-dot-com
Yeoh Siew Hoon, Web In Travel
+65 9680 1460
email siewhoon-dot-yeoh at gmail-dot-com
PhoCusWright Inc. Formulates New Partnership with Web In Travel
Two industry leaders combine forces for WIT 2008
Sherman, Conn. USA, June 2, 2008—PhoCusWright Inc., the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect, announces a new partnership with WIT-Web In Travel, Asia's leading travel distribution, marketing and technology conference, to formulate WIT 2008.
The program—themed "Ideas. Execution. Action"—will delve into the transformation taking place in each segment of the travel industry—aviation, hospitality, travel retailing, corporate travel management, online travel agencies and destination marketing—and share case studies from leading companies.
The fourth annual event will take place October 21-22, 2008, in conjunction with the first ITB Asia, which is set for Singapore on October 22-24, 2008.
"WIT will work closely with PhoCusWright to deliver the best event to date," said WIT producer Yeoh Siew Hoon. "With PhoCusWright's unparalleled expertise and knowledge in travel, tourism and hospitality, and ITB's trajectory to becoming Asia's largest travel exhibition, this year's event is guaranteed to be a true winner."
"Since its founding in 1994, PhoCusWright has tracked, analyzed and opined on the myriad ways travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect around the world," commented PhoCusWright CEO Philip Wolf. "We are excited to bring these ideas to the forefront in Asia through this important partnership." Mr. Wolf will be one of the distinguished speakers at this year's event.
"In developing the Asian travel market we are delighted to be working side by side with one of the world's leading providers of conventions and consultancy services for the travel technology sector," said Messe Berlin Singapore director Dr. Martin Buck. "Against the background of our joint success at the ITB Berlin, the collaboration with PhoCusWright provides a guarantee that Asian trade visitors in Singapore can expect to find the very latest industry topics presented in a highly professional and relevant manner. This is a very attractive asset to the conference program, providing our customers with several good reasons for participating. No trade visitors should miss this combined event by these two successful and extremely competent conference organizers, WIT and PhoCusWright," he said.
Speakers lined up
With four months to go, WIT 2008 has already lined up a formidable list of speakers, including:
- Adrian Cheok, inventor of "Human Pacman" and professor who runs the Mixed Reality Lab at Nanyang Technological University Singapore
- KP Ho, chairman, Banyan Tree Group
- Jim Donnelly, Pursuit Group Charlotte; co-founder, igougo
- Gordon Locke, vice president, airline marketing and strategy, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network
- David Brett, president, Amadeus Asia Pacific
- Robert Bailey, president and CEO, Abacus International
New programming in place
New to the program this year is "The Start-Up Pitch." Entries from start-up companies are being collected prior to WIT, where three finalists will have the opportunity to make a five-minute pitch to a panel of investor judges. This panel will be led by William Liu, chairman, Stream Global, a business advisory and management consultancy firm focusing on Infocomm Technology SMEs in the Asia Pacific region.
The winner will be determined by audience voting and be awarded a Professional Development Program (PDP) scholarship worth US$2,000 from the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI), as well as the opportunity to take their winning idea to the next level with the investor judges. A call for entries will be issued shortly.
Sponsors returning
Returning WIT sponsors include Amadeus Asia, Abacus International, Visa International, WORLDHOTELS, Pegasus Solutions and IFH Asia Pacific. New sponsors include Geek Terminal and CNN/Turner International.
WIT and ITB Asia are supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
About PhoCusWright Inc.
PhoCusWright is the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Independent, rigorous and unbiased, PhoCusWright fosters smart strategic planning and tactical decision-making.
PhoCusWright delivers qualitative and quantitative research on the evolving dynamics that influence travel, tourism and hospitality distribution. Our marketplace intelligence is the industry standard for segmentation, sizing, forecasting, trends, analysis and consumer travel planning behavior. Every day around the world, senior executives, marketers, strategists and research professionals from all segments of the industry value chain use PhoCusWright research for competitive advantage.
To bring this intelligence to life, PhoCusWright produces several high-profile conferences in the U.S., U.K., Germany, India and Singapore where industry leaders gather to debate issues, share ideas and define the ever-evolving reality of travel commerce.
The company is headquartered in the United States, with offices in Germany and India. www.phocuswright.com
About WIT-Web in Travel
WIT, launched in 2005, is Asia's leading travel distribution, marketing and technology conference. In its fourth year, WIT has gained a reputation for creative, interactive and lively programming. Expect to pick up lots of "Ideas. Execution. Action" in hard-hitting interviews, lively debates, thought-provoking panels, insightful case studies and audience voting sessions. www.webintravel.com
About ITB Asia
ITB Asia will take place for the first time at Suntec Singapore on 22-24 October 2008. It is organised by Messe Berlin Singapore Pte Ltd in conjunction with Singapore Tourism Board. The event will feature up to 500 exhibitors from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas and Middle East, covering not only the leisure market, but also corporate and MICE travel. It will include exhibition pavilions and tabletop presence for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) providing travel services. Exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels & resorts, theme parks & attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies are all expected to attend.www.itb-asia.com.
© 2008 PhoCusWright Inc., Sherman, CT USA
+1 860 350-4084 www.phocuswright.com
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