These include panel discussions on loyalty programmes, boutique hotels, women in action and a business travel plenary session.

The conference programme is the show’s largest line-up to date, with the addition of the inaugural TTG Travel Agent Conference, the Asia for Asia Conference organised by Singapore Tourism Board, and the second instalment of the successful ITB Asia Association Day.

Nino Gruettke, ITB Asia executive director of ITB Asia (pictured right) said the conference component has always been a key element of ITB Asia’s knowledge-sharing platform.

“This year’s programme is all set to be even bigger and better with over 3,000 minutes of high powered content, about 40% more compared to 2010.”

The conference kicks off on the first day of the show, October 19, with a keynote speech from Paul Brown, Hilton Worldwide’s president of global brands & commercial services, who will address the impact of demography and technology on MICE business in Asia.

The panel on loyalty programmes on the day features Paul Kerr, President & CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World; Robert M. Rush, president & CEO of LRA Worldwide; Maria Taylor, vice president loyalty and direct sales, Accor Asia Pacific; Sung-A Hong from Starwood’s Loyalty and Partner Marketing division; Alfie Yee, director of marketing, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide; Sim Beng Koon, regional director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).

The session on boutique hotels, also on October 19, includes speakers from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Wanderlust, New Majestic, Hotel 1929, The Scarlet Hotel, W Hotels Worldwide and Design Hotels.

The business travel plenary session on October 20 highlights research findings on “The Economic Impact of Business Travel in Asia Pacific” by Adam Sacks, managing director of Tourism Economics.

The final conference session on October 21 puts the spotlight on female travel leaders who share stories of their journeys, what they have done to achieve success and their vision for the future of travel and tourism in “Women in Action”. On the panel are Claire Chiu, director of business development from Warwick International Hotels; Jeanette Ho, vice president of sales and marketing, Raffles Fairmont Hotels; Aya Aso, president & CEO of Agora Hospitalities, Japan; Barbara Gallay, president, FROSCH New York.

ITB Asia is also a partner event of TravelRave, a mega travel and tourism festival week organised by the Singapore Tourism Board to be held in Singapore in October 2011.