Mr David Ruetz, Senior Vice President, Messe Berlin

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Your Excellencies amongst us and

 

To all our foreign guests who are visiting Singapore, either as a repeat visitor or as visitors to our shores for the first time.

 

Introduction

 

1. Just looking at our Ambassadors here and many familiar face – one thing that our Ambassadors who are based in Singapore always tell me is this: coming to Singapore, or being posted to Singapore, is a very tough role.

 

2. You must be wondering why is it a tough role – it is a very nice city, you enjoy the food, the sights and sounds. But, it is very busy. I see them at almost every event: across tourism, across culture, across manufacturing, across aerospace; they are always there.

 

3. And that is one of the main reasons that they are super busy, because there are many different countries in the world that are represented here, and they are represented by their Ambassadors, and they come together to showcase the best that their country has to offer. That is why Singapore is such a melting pot and a convenor of many of these events.

 

4. That is also one reason why ITB Asia is here.In fact, as David mentioned, we have a very long-running partnership with ITB Asia. This is the 18th year of ITB Asia being held in Singapore. It reflects a longstanding partnership, friendship, and our shared commitment to grow our tourism sector.

 

5. I came early; we had a good chat with David. We talked about both the urban setting and the natural setting. We also mentioned a little bit about how we see the tourism sector growing.

 

6. Just about a week or so ago, we hosted the Formula One Singapore night race. And again, many of you would have been here, you would have seen that we have crossed the 300,000 mark, and we would have crossed it but for some of the improvements that we are making around the track. When I speak to many of the guests that come to the F1 race, they constantly say one thing – that we are here because of the ability of Singapore to convene and to organise something. And it’s not just the race itself that brings very much a lot of different people to Singapore. It’s also the events at the sidelines of the race.

 

7. And it’s the same thing which ITB Asia does today. Because right now, you’re not just having ITB Asia today, you also have ITAP Asia, which is also happening at the same time – that’s on advanced manufacturing. So you see, what I’m trying to say is that there are so many things happening in Singapore at the same time. And my team and I at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and STB are very much encouraged that we can do this together.

 

8. For ITB Asia, this is my fourth time being here, and I am just really encouraged to see ITB Asia grow time after time. I am inspired by Messe Berlin’s sustained commitment to work with us.

 

9. Please allow me to also paint a broader picture. David has talked about ITB Asia as an event, but let me share a bit about – against the global backdrop –  what Singapore is doing and our plans for our tourism and MICE sector.

 

10. As many of you know, global economic shifts are happening and traveller preferences are also changing. We all are adapting and putting on some of our foresight, to try to be more innovative and try to reimagine the future of tourism.

 

a. This year’s theme for ITB Asia is “Future Forward: Transforming Travel & Tourism in a Changing World”. It reflects the bold vision captured in Singapore’s Tourism 2040 strategy, which outlines our next chapter of tourism.

 

Our Vision

 

11. We announced our Tourism 2040 ambitions earlier this year, and we have envisioned to achieve S$47 billion to S$50 billion in tourism receipts by 2040.

 

a. At the core of this ambition and our target lies our commitment not just to quantity but to quality. Our focus is on capturing demand from high-growth visitor segments and markets, because we believe that this will strengthen Singapore’s attractiveness and build a future-ready tourism sector.

 

b. In this case, many of you play a really important role – business travellers. You play a pivotal role in this approach for us to achieve high-quality tourism. We thus plan to strengthen our position as a premier global MICE destination and triple our MICE tourism receipts from S$1.4 billion in 2019 to S$4.5 billion in 2040.

 

c. And to support that vision and objective, we continue to build a strong pipeline of MICE events in Singapore. For example, we have the Passenger Terminal Expo Asia 2026 next year, ASEAN Energy Business Forum 2028 and AIDA World Insurance Congress 2031. So, we’re not just focused on the present or even the near future, but we are planning ahead, making sure that there are pipelines to help us achieve this strategy. And these are just the few that we’ve mentioned; there are more that we expect to come. And what this means is that it also reflects – and I thank all of you for this – it reflects confidence in Singapore’s ability and potential to host premier MICE events.

 

d. And again, as I mentioned, it’s not just quality or quantity, but it is also the diversity in events. It demonstrates Singapore’s versatility in hosting specialised industry gatherings that drive meaningful business outcomes and foster knowledge exchange across multiple sectors.

 

12. Let me also turn to our 2040 ambition, and what we are doing to foster this momentum.

 

a. In the first half of this year, Singapore’s tourism sector posted an encouraging performance. We recorded S$15.7 billion in tourism receipts (TR), a 5% year-on-year increase compared to the same period in 2024.

 

b. From January to September 2025, international visitor arrivals (IVA) grew 2% year-on-year to reach 12.9 million, with September 2025 bringing in 1.3 million visitors.

 

13. And this is good momentum that we want to build on. To do so, we will continue to invest in our infrastructure to attract and anchor even more high-quality MICE events to Singapore.

 

14. As many of you know, Singapore never rests on our laurels, but we constantly think of new ways to offer new products and services. And that includes expanding the offerings in our Integrated Resorts and investing in critical infrastructure.

 

15. Chief among this is our new Changi Airport Terminal 5. Many of you have probably visited our Jewel at Changi Airport – if you haven’t, please do so – but we are not done yet. Our new Changi Airport Terminal 5 will be about the size of Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 combined. With the completion of Terminal 5, it will boost annual passenger capacity by over 55 per cent beyond the current 90 million passengers.

 

16. So we are bullish on air travel, we are bullish on what our airport can do, and we are committed to making sure that Changi remains one of the best airports in the world. Of course, when we do that and expand Changi, it will increase the number of international delegates that come to our shores. In the same spirit, beyond Changi, we are also studying the potential of developing a MICE hub in the downtown area to expand the capacity beyond this.

 

Building the Future with Messe Berlin

 

17. Now, let me turn to building the future with Messe Berlin. Our ambitions will also only be possible through continued trust and support from our industry partners like you.

 

18. So we can build as much as we can, we can build as high quality as we can, but ultimately we will need our partners to bring in all these exciting products and projects. On this, I would like to acknowledge Messe Berlin, who has been one of our longstanding and steadfast partners.

 

a. Messe Berlin has expanded their events portfolio here with Smart Health Asia in 2026 and InnoTrans Asia in 2027. And your decision to launch these new events in Singapore underscores our position as a gateway for emerging industry sectors to secure their footing in the growing and exciting Asia Pacific region.

 

19. I am also delighted to share that STB and Messe Berlin will renew their Memorandum of Understanding in Singapore for another three years, from 2026 – 2028.

 

a. This commitment reflects the strength of our collaboration that has seen ITB Asia grow through its many years in Singapore.

 

20. This year, ITB Asia is set to break multiple records:

 

a. We are witnessing the largest delegate turnout to-date, with over 18,000 delegates set to attend the three-day event.

 

b. This will also be the first time ITB Asia spans five halls, with over 1,000 exhibitors and 1,500 buyers expected in attendance.

 

21. This year’s event will also happen in conjunction with three others that are also organised or supported by Messe Berlin:

 

a. MICE Show Asia will enable Destination Management Companies and hotels to connect to meet the needs of business travellers and business events.

 

b. Travel Tech Asia will showcase the latest tech and digital solutions for travel businesses to help them capture their next wave of growth.

 

c. Lastly, the inaugural Singapore Hospitality and Tourism Conference will offer students opportunities to gain valuable industry exposure and connect our emerging talent with industry leaders.

 

22. Together, these events will create fresh and exciting opportunities for collaboration and growth for our travel industry.

 

Emerging Sector – Wellness

 

23. Finally, I just wanted to say one part which is important and where we are also taking this even further, and that’s our wellness sector, because we think the wellness sector holds significant promise.

 

a. According to the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2024, over a billion wellness trips were made in 2023, of which over 40 per cent were made by Asia-Pacific travellers.

 

b. We want to capture that, and therefore we have set our sights on growing this sector as part of our Tourism 2040 strategy.

 

c. Singapore has a unique value proposition as a City in Nature that can offer wellness experiences in an urban setting. Together with our industry partners, we will pursue innovative wellness concepts such as medical spas, longevity clinics and wellness hotels. Both Singaporeans and tourists can look forward to enhancing their personal well-being and enjoying new developments in this area, including a world-class attraction at the Marina South Coastal site in the coming years.

 

24. I hope ITB Asia can also contribute meaningfully to the wellness sector’s ecosystem and open more doors to even more business opportunities.

 

Conclusion

 

25. Thank you very much to David and the team. I am excited for the future of tourism, and look forward to achieving even more together with you. I wish everyone a fruitful time in Singapore.

 

26. Thank you.