ALTM 2008 OPENS WITH HIGH LEVEL LUXURY TRAVEL CONFERENCE

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Asia Luxury Travel Market (ALTM) 2008 opens at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre a week today and is preceded by a high-level conference on June 16, with leading figures in the luxury travel and brand sectors discussing the future of the industry, with a special focus on China.

The conference is being introduced and moderated by Varun Sharma, executive producer and presenter of the travelogue television series Inside Luxury Travel, which airs in over 170 countries including the USA, UK, China and the Middle East.

Serge Dive, co-founder of ALTM and International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) introduces the potential of luxury travel in ‏Exciting China'.

Keynote: China's Generational Transformation & Luxury Consumption; will be given by Andrew Wu, Group Director of LVMH China. An MBA Holder from the Shulich Business School in York, Andrew was the Vice President Asia for Sony Music from 2000-2005 before re-joining LVMH in 2005, where he previously held the position of Managing Director of perfumes Christian Dior operations in China.

A group discussion on "China, a world capital for the luxury experience economy" follows. Panelists with vast experience of the China market share their perspectives on how the market is changing, the investment potential and the ‘new thinking’ of luxury in China.

The discussion is moderated by Alyson Cook, editor of Luxury Travel magazine, the only bi-monthly business-to-business magazine in Europe serving this burgeoning sector of the travel industry.

The panel includes Alan Hepburn, managing director of Shanghai's award-winning Three on the Bund; Akram Touma, general manager of Jumeirah's first hotel in Asia, Jumeirah HanTang in Shanghai; and C.J. Liang, general manager of Shile Boutique Lifestyle Centre, one of the most talked about venues in Shanghai.

The final panel discussion features some of the region's leading luxury travel journalists providing insights on how brands can improve their image and appeal through the media.

The discussion is moderated by Paul Hicks, a founding partner in Grebstad Hicks Communications, a leading PR agency with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai specialising in the luxury travel industry.

The panel includes Tae Yonezawa, deputy editor-in-chief of Japan's influential GOETHE magazine; Merry Kirkwood, founding editor of Australia's Luxury Travel and Style magazine; Lucas Krump, vice president and associate publisher of Media Transasia Thailand, publishers of Travel + Leisure magazines in Southeast Asia, South Asia and India; and Ning Zhang, editor of leading Chinese luxury lifestyle magazine, TARGET.

‘The ALTM Conference will set the tone for the show and will be an excellent forum for participants to share their knowledge of the luxury travel industry in the Asia Pacific region, and especially the vast new market in China,’ said Jay Martens, ALTM event director.