TravelRave 2011, Asia’s mega travel and tourism festival, opens in Singapore today with a compelling programme of anchor events, content from new partners, and delegate representation from the entire spectrum of the travel and tourism industry.
To be held from 17 to 23 October 2011, TravelRave 2011 aims to create a strong foundation and platform to fuel growth and collaboration for the Asia Pacific region, and is the only comprehensive regional platform of its kind.
“Last year was a significant year for Asia and the travel and tourism industry. This year, set against a challenging environment and a slowdown in international tourism, Asia has once again proved its mettle, growing at a healthy rate of five per cent for the first half of the year. It is becoming increasingly imperative for the different sectors of the travel and tourism industry to come together and discuss how to not only leverage this growth, but to sustain it in the future as well,” says Ms Aw Kah Peng, Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). “This year’s TravelRave will see the return of key events such as the Asia Travel Leaders Summit and ITB Asia, while delivering an exciting line-up of business events with new partners on-board.”
Mr. Zubin Karkaria, Chief Executive Officer and Managing director of VFS Global Group, as well as Chairman of Kuoni for India and South Asia, said, “When I heard of TravelRave and the Asia Travel Leaders Summit, I felt it was a great opportunity to make contact with like-minded individuals who had the same agenda to not only leverage but also sustain Asia’s growth. The bringing together of thought-leaders from across the sectors to collaborate and discuss the challenges and opportunities presented in the region will enable us to fully realize the potential of Asia’s travel and tourism industry.”
TravelRave 2011 will comprise six existing anchor events: the Asia Travel Leaders Summit, Web In Travel, Singapore Experience Awards, Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Congress, ITB Asia, and Aviation Outlook Asia.
In testament to the strategic role that TravelRave plays in the Asian tourism industry, this year’s TravelRave also brings with it four new events: the UNWTO High Level Meeting in Asia, the Asia Pacific Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference 2011, the Cornell Hotel Society Asia Pacific Regional Meeting, and Asia for Asia – a high level meeting of Asia’s MICE industry leaders.
International partners and event organizers are also launching new and original content, furthering catalysing opportunities for investment in new tourism products, services and capabilities in Asia.

Questex Media Group will bring together hotel owners and investors to showcase distinctive opportunities for Asia. They will launch the Asia Pacific Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference 2011, a strategic half-day meeting that will lead up to the full-fledged International Hotel and Tourism Investment Forum (Asia Pacific) in 2012. The inaugural event will be the only one in the region to showcase distinctive opportunities for the Asia hotel travel and tourism investment sector.

ITB Asia, a main anchor event at TravelRave, will launch new dedicated forums including an Associations Conference and a one-day travel agent conference with TTG Asia. In addition, Travel + Leisure’s Luxury Travel Insights Paper and latest findings from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) on the Economic Impact of Business Travel will be shared for the first time at TravelRave 2011.

Beyond providing meaningful content, the vibrant line-up of business events of TravelRave 2011 will create synergy across the various sectors in the travel and tourism eco-system. This year, delegates can look forward to complementary cross-event networking sessions, and discover surprising business opportunities and collaborations derived from the cross-sector interaction.

WTTC’s President and Chief Executive Officer David Scowsill, one of the distinguished speakers who has chosen to attend several TravelRave events as a delegate, adds, “TravelRave creates synergies across diverse travel and tourism sectors by locating related business events and gathering industry leaders who share best practices, expand business networks and set the stage for collaboration to leverage and sustain Asian’s tourism growth. I am delighted to take part and attend some very important events in the same city in only one week.”

City.Mobi

Also in Asia today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Singapore.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Singapore.city.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.