Mr Lim Hng Kiang at ITB Asia Opening Ceremony

OPENING ADDRESS BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT ITB ASIA OPENING CEREMONY ON 22 OCT 2008, 9.30AM AT SUNTEC SINGAPORE

Mr Ernst Hinsken, Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism, Germany,

Mr Raimund Hosch, President and CEO of Messe Berlin,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning

It is my pleasure to join you today at the opening of the inaugural ITB Asia Convention.To those who are visiting from overseas, I would like to bid you a warm welcome to Singapore.

Introduction

I would first like to take this opportunity to congratulate Messe Berlin for successfully bringing the Asian edition of the world’s largest travel trade show to Singapore.Singapore is proud to be chosen as the destination to host the first-ever Asian edition of ITB.

Growth potential of Asia

The focus on Asian travel buyers and sellers is timely, as there are many opportunities to be tapped with the emergence of the middle-class in China and India, as well as other source markets in the region.

In recent years, destinations in Asia such as Macau and Dubai have also launched multi-billion dollar tourism investments to keep pace with the competition while boosting their destination appeal to international visitors. Such developments have resulted in rising interest in Asia as a travel destination, encompassing the leisure, medical, as well as BT-MICE travel segments.[1]

The UN World Tourism Organization is upbeat that Asia will continue to be a well sought after travel destination with close to 400 million total visitor arrivals to the East Asia and Pacific region by the year 2020.

According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Tourism Forecast for 2008 to 2010, the Asia-Pacific region will see growth of 7% to 8% in international arrivals over the two-year period.The report projected that the Asian region will attract 460 million visitor arrivals by the year 2010, up from some 350 million visitors the region welcomed in 2006.

Intra-regional travel also continues to contribute a large percentage of Asia-Pacific travel traffic, with demand largely driven by travellers from China, India and South Korea.Other Asian source markets such as, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are similarly growing.

However, the current turmoil in the global financial markets, combined with higher air travel costs and rising fuel prices, have impacted consumer sentiment and discretionary spending in many tourism destinations around the world, including Singapore.

Nonetheless, while the current economic slowdown may affect the tourism industry in the short term, the region is expected to rebound and grow in the medium term, bolstered by the continued expansion of China and India.

I would like to encourage local and international tourism partners to continue working together, forging new partnerships, investing in the development and training of staff, as well as committing to capability building in Asian markets. By working together, we will better weather this downturn and emerge in a stronger position when the market rebounds.

Tourism industry in Singapore

Singapore is fortunate to be strategically located within the Asia-Pacific growth region. With our strong business fundamentals and low unemployment rate, coupled with the exciting pipeline of tourism projects coming on-stream, we expect momentum for our tourism industry to recover in 2 years’ time, allowing us to participate effectively in the expected growth of the region.

2010 will be a watershed year, with the completion of ground-breaking major projects such as our 2 Integrated Resorts - Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, Phase 1 of Gardens by the Bay, and the new Marina Bay Financial Centre.In the same year, Singapore will also host the first-ever summer Youth Olympic Games which will welcome about 15,000 overseas participants to our shores.Our new International Cruise Terminal is also scheduled to be ready at the end of 2010.

The exciting new developments in 2010 will enhance Singapore’s value proposition to beyond just a tropical shopping paradise.Indeed, by injecting new attractions and introducing more exciting world class events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix, our vision is to transform Singapore into a vibrant global city for all to live, work and play.From a quantitative perspective, our target is to welcome 17 million visitors and achieve a record S$30 billion in tourism receipts by the year 2015.

ITB Asia as a gateway to the region

Despite the current economic uncertainty, ITB Asia has shown that interest in Asia remains strong.Exhibitor space at ITB Asia was sold out in a mere 9 months, and the inaugural event this year will see the participation of some 5,000 overseas delegates, including tourism exhibitors and trade visitors from around the world.

This is not only testament to the resilience and strong potential of the Asia outbound travel market, but also demonstrates the demand for a show of this stature to address the diverse needs of the region’s travel industry.

Specifically, Messe Berlin’s link-up of the ITB Asia Convention with conferences organised by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and Web-In-Travel, have created a well-rounded trade show that comprehensively addresses current travel issues, needs and trends in Asia, while pushing the boundaries by exploring cutting-edge travel solutions and innovations.All in, offering an excellent platform for tourism industry professionals to network and generate new business ideas.

I understand that Messe Berlin has projected double-digit growth for ITB Asia over the next 3 years the event is hosted in Singapore, with the expectation that the event will continue to draw even more tourism exhibitors and trade visitors from all over the world, including tour operators, airlines and hoteliers.

Indeed, this is just the beginning, and I am confident that ITB Asia will further strengthen its position as a leading tourism trade show in the region in successive years.

Conclusion

I wish all delegates a very rewarding and fruitful time at ITB Asia and an enjoyable stay in Singapore.

Thank you.

[1] Business Travel, Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions