Events and exhibitions organizer RX has elected to cancel the Asia Pacific debut of its IBTM show, which had been scheduled for the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on March 19-20, 2025. The regional launch was intended to complement the IBTM World, IBTM Americas and IBTM Africa events.
Getting the show off the ground has been a challenge for the organizers; it had previously been scheduled for September 2022 in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands, was rescheduled to March 2023 due to the Covid Omicron-variant restrictions and postponed again last year.
According to IBTM organizers, it is now a boon in outbound travel from the region, rather than a clampdown, that has led to the most recent cancellation.
"The continued global increase in the outbound meeting and business travel market, specifically from the APAC region, and the coinciding growth in international representation at IBTM World — taking place in Barcelona this November — has led us to announce that IBTM APAC will no longer take place as scheduled in 2025," noted a spokesperson for the group. "Research findings highlighted that the APAC and especially Chinese outbound business travel planners are becoming increasingly adventurous in their choice of destination, and that spread of choice is at IBTM World."
Serving the APAC market
This past spring, Northstar Meetings Group launched The Meetings Show Asia Pacific to acclaim, attracting more than 1,000 meeting professionals from around the world in its first edition and becoming the company's largest organic launch for a new show. Now the only international MICE exhibition in the region, The Meetings Show Asia Pacific will return for its second edition April 16-17, 2025, at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
