The third ITB Asia closed today in Singapore with 6,605 attendees, a more then 7% increase on last year; organizers, Messe Berlin (Singapore), attributed growth to three forces: the diversity of specialist travel forums within ITB Asia, resurgent Asian outbound demand, and enhanced buyer quality.

"The feedback on Association Day, Web in Travel, the Luxury Meetings Forum and the Responsible Tourism Forum at ITB Asia shows that ITB Asia has created unstoppable  momentum through diversity," said Dr Martin Buck, Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore).

Some 580 buyers attended the three-day event, many of them joining the inaugural Association Day interactive forum which aimed to expand the quality and quantity of large association events in Asia.

"ITB Asia and Association Day provided excellent networking to make new contacts and to clarify issues -- all in a very friendly atmosphere," said Mr Manojit Das Gupta, Secretary General, the Indian Tea Association.

Ms Sharyati, Datuk Shuaib, Director Destination Management, World Gas Conference 2012, said: "Association Day was an eye opener on how associations manage their membership and run events – a fascinating exhibition with many networking opportunities."

Association Day, a first of its kind in Asia, attracted over 100 attendees. "We created a new platform based on the exchange of high quality information that never existed before," said Buck.

Innovative formatting characterised Web in Travel (WIT) which attracted nearly 400 attendees. Two WIT Clinics were created to let travel industry ‘doctors' consult with IT Asia attendees on how to make money from their website and how they should better use social media.

Successful formats geared to the exchange of rich content characterised specialist sectors such as luxury meetings. The ITB Asia Luxury Meetings Forum attracted leaders from brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, the Event Company, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Egypt was the official partner country of ITB Asia 2010. It held a travel agent workshop just prior to ITB Asia and organized an exotic Egypt Night extravaganza on the opening day of the show.

"Our activities in and around ITB Asia were excellent," said Mr Hisham Zaazou, First Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Tourism in Egypt. "We want to build on the success of this year with increased space next year. I will report to the industry in Egypt to ensure even greater participation in 2011."

Other exhibitors had similar sentiments: Peter Blumengstel, Director of the German  National Tourist Office Japan, said: "Our schedule has been very busy from day one and there's hardly time in between meetings with buyers from all over Asia."

Momentum and specialist forums have induced a high number of early bookings for ITB Asia 2011. "We have received a higher than usual number of super-early bird bookings for ITB Asia next year," said Mr Nino Gruettke, Executive Director, ITB Asia.

"With exciting new branding for ITB Asia 2011 about to be announced, we are looking forward to building on the momentum, quality and specialist success of this year in 2011," he said.