Tourism Technology Asia 2016
Date      : 20-21 July 2016
Venue   : Marina Bay Sands
Country : Singapore

Products, services, and topics featured will include technologies (software and hardware) that aims to improve the overall customer experience and return-on-investment for organisations servicing tourists.

Rosalind Ng, Managing Director of Globe International Events Consultancy Pte Ltd, brings over 30 years of experience of organizing events, including those in the Pro AV & Light industries.

“TTA 2016 is an international trade exhibition targeting the tourism industry,” said Rosalind.

“It will attract decision makers from identified venue categories including hospitality, leisure attractions, live event organizers and F&B outlets. Annual growth in tourism numbers coming to the region continues to be the highest in the world with a projected 8 per cent annual growth. Most incoming visitors have also been exposed to technologies that they can no longer live without such as fibre-optic internet speeds. As a result, tourists expect more from service providers such as Wi-Fi in your hotel and short wait times for attractions. Additionally, high quality entertainment and projection systems are now mandatory for organizations aspiring to compete within their market. Smartphones have changed the landscape on how we access information and as a consequence, businesses strive to continuously upgrade their customer services & experience, added Ms Rosalind.’

Globally acknowledged as having an attractive environment for developments in the tourism industry, TTA’s host country, Singapore, was ranked top in ASEAN and 11th globally in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 20151, which measured countries for the attractiveness of their environments in developing the travel and tourism industry.

With the highest smartphone penetration globally2 and an internet penetration rate of 73%3, Singapore also provides a conducive landscape for exploring advancement in technologies for the tourism infrastructure space.

In addition, Singapore was selected to host the launch event owing to the continued development of its tourism infrastructure. The Singapore Tourism Board offers a Business Improvement Fund (BIF) scheme for Singaporean registered companies to encourage technology innovation and adoption in the tourism industry.

Separately, BIF Plus provides funding support to hotels and technology developers who invest in or develop technologies that increase productivity.

“The tourism infrastructure space is evolving and to capture a memorable experience, Singapore continues to upgrade to meet the demands of the Travel & Tourism sectors,” commented Janet Tan-Collis, President SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers).

“The launch of Tourism Technology Asia 2016 is very timely to support the development and growth of the tourism infrastructure space from hospitality, to events/concerts and large scale venues. SACEOS is committed to support the development of the MICE and tourism sector and is excited to support TTA 2016 to further engage the industry for expansion and growth of the market place.” added Tan-Collis.

Around the region, hotel projects for 2016 in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are projected to be valued at US$23.5 billion for 2016, whilst the infrastructure projects for 2016 are projected to be valued at US$76.8 billion.

TTA has also cited the construction of many large scale music and entertainment events in the region hosting concerts, festivals and special events.

"Many visitors to the region are amazed by what is on offer here – not just in Singapore, but also Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines," added Ms Ng.

"For example, top theatres that are on par with those on Broadway or London’s West End; ultra-modern casino resorts in Macau, Manila and Singapore that attract families with a diversity of entertainment programmes and a growing arts culture. To enable them to compete successfully, multi-purpose venues require state of the art IT and A/V systems that are future-proofed and offer significant ROIs. Having created this unique platform for the main suppliers in the market, it is TTA’s main goal to ensure that delegates and visitors in general are provided with a whole landscape of technologies that will better enable their businesses in this ultra-dynamic environment."

Technologies that will be showcased at TTA 2016 include pro-audio, lighting, AV systems, projection systems, ticketing systems, queue management systems, CRM systems, registration systems, special effects, screens, staging and trussing, video conferencing, integrated systems, security systems, communication systems, RFID technologies, in-room technologies, check-in technologies, cashless payments, housekeeping systems, e-commerce, and more.

Trade visitors to TTA 2016 would include professionals in the following sectors:

• Hospitality venues including hotels, resorts, and other accommodations

• Events: concerts, music festivals, national events, special events

• Large scale venues: stadiums, MICE venues, airports, auditoriums, cinemas and theatres

• Leisure attractions: theme parks, museums, tourist attractions, and casinos

• F&B venues: restaurants, bars, pubs & clubs

The two-day exhibition will feature the latest products and services and include a main conference addressing subject matters aimed to improve businesses for key buyers in attendance.

In addition, educational programs and workshops will be held alongside for technical personnel with hands-on experience while the business matching buyer-seller meetings will also form part of the agenda.

1 http://reports.weforum.org/travel-and-tourism-competitiveness-report-2015/index-results-the-travel-tourism-competitiveness-index-ranking-2015/
2 http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/smartphone-penetration-singapore-highest-globally-survey
3 https://sg.news.yahoo.com/internet-penetration-singapore-scores-73-thailand-26-indonesia-031602165.html

www.tourismtechnologyasia.com