China solidifies its position as a travel industry powerhouse with the highly anticipated ITB China 2024, taking place from May 27-29 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. The event promises to be a significant gathering for the global travel industry, with over 600 exhibitors and 1,000 carefully selected buyers expected to attend. The concurrent ITB China Conference and various networking events add to the event’s allure.
With over 600 entities representing the travel and tourism industries from over 80 countries registered, ITB China 2024 has reached the scale of its pre-pandemic 2019 edition, signaling a robust sector recovery. Lydia Li, Deputy General Manager of ITB China, expressed optimism: ‘This year’s event marks a return to pre-pandemic levels in China, reflecting renewed confidence in the industry. Despite ongoing challenges, the overwhelming participation of our exhibitors, buyers, and visitors is a testament to the resilience of China’s travel market.’
ITB China remains at the forefront of the Chinese tourism industry, showcasing a comprehensive range of travel trade sectors, including Leisure Travel, MICE, Business Travel, and Travel Technology. This year’s event features 11 new destinations making their debut on the exhibition floor, such as Almaty, Bahrain, Buenos Aires, Georgia, Hawaii, Korea, Morocco, Peru, Romania, Sarawak, and Uzbekistan. Notable new commercial entities include Artyzen Hospitality Group, CTG Travel, Egypt Air, Huawei, and Mize.
Exhibitors at ITB China 2024 represent a diverse spectrum of tourism suppliers from across the globe. Participants hail from Asia and Oceania (31%), Europe (28%), China (16%), the Middle East (9%), the Americas (9%), and Africa (7%), showcasing a variety of categories within the tourism industry. Long-standing participants such as Beijing, California, Egypt, the European Travel Commission, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Maldives, Malaysia, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and leading commercial suppliers like CTG TRAVEL, Expedia Group, Heytrip International, Jin Jiang International, Meliá Hotels International, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Tongcheng Travel, Trip.com Group, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and many others continue to show their support for ITB China.
ITB China’s Hosted Buyer Program facilitates highly effective B2B pre-scheduled meetings, connecting exhibitors with premier buyers. This year, the event boasts over 1,000 meticulously chosen buyers, a 40% increase from the previous year. These buyers span the breadth of the travel industry’s supply chain, with 65% dedicated to leisure travel and 35% to MICE and corporate travel. In response to increasing demand for Chinese offerings globally, ITB China has also introduced its first Inbound Buyer Program. This new initiative welcomes international buyers from top markets including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Korea.
The ITB China Conference serves as a pivotal hub for knowledge within the travel sector, delivering a diverse range of content designed to meet the informational needs of both exhibitors and buyers. This platform will provide deep dives into both the Chinese and global tourism landscapes, featuring approximately 100 distinguished speakers discussing nearly 50 engaging topics. One of the event’s key sessions includes an esteemed round table discussion co-hosted with the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), aimed at enhancing the professionalism and global reach of China’s MICE sector.
ITB China stands as the leading B2B industry expo, playing a crucial role in connecting industry experts, facilitating significant business interactions, and providing extensive networking possibilities. This year’s edition includes a series of networking events, such as the Official Opening Dinner featuring this year’s Partner Destination, Maldives, the well-attended Cruise Night hosted alongside Trip.com, the Beijing Night organized by the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, and the After-Show Sundowner in collaboration with TUI Blue.
