UBM To Launch Cruise Shipping Asia Event Nov. 16-18, 2011

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM International Media, organizers of the annual Cruise Shipping Miami, the world's largest and most important international tradeshow and conference serving the cruise industry, announces today the launch of Cruise Shipping Asia. The inaugural event will take place Nov. 16-18, 2011, at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Organizers expect the new event to unlock the region's potential as Asia emerges as the industry's next major growth market. In 2010, Asian cruise passenger numbers are predicted to rise by 40 percent, to more than 1.5 million.

"Globalization of the cruise passenger is one of the key areas of growth for the cruise market," said Michael Kazakoff, vice president, UBM International Media. "As the industry expands from a North American base to passengers worldwide, we see Asia's growing number of passengers as a strong indication that this region will continue to expand."

The event will include a tradeshow and conference program focusing on the Asian cruise market.

"The arrival of this major cruise event in Asia underscores the growing recognition of this market's strong potential, and will greatly complement our ongoing efforts in promoting Asia's cruise industry development," said Jennifer Yap, spokeswoman for Asia Cruise Association and managing director of Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte Ltd. "We look forward to giving our support to and working with the organizers as well as cruise companies and travel agents across Asia to make its debut a success."

Michael Duck, senior vice president of UBM Asia, said: "We are delighted to bring Cruise Shipping Asia back to Singapore. It has been 10 years since we last organized a cruise event here and today the Asian market is primed for tremendous growth. Singapore has rejuvenated itself in the past few years as an exciting cruise destination and now plays an important role as a platform for the global and regional industry to showcase itself."

Cruise Shipping Asia's exhibition will feature product sectors including destinations, itinerary planning, shore excursion services, port and terminal development as well as ship operations, ship services and hotel operations.

Conference sessions will be led by panels of industry experts discussing pertinent industry issues.

UBM International Media (www.ubm.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Business Media plc (LSE: UBM) a leading provider of business information services to the maritime, travel, fashion, technology, healthcare, media, and property industries. UBM offers services in trade shows, online, news distribution, and publishing to customers across the globe. Its brands are represented in more than 30 countries and are organized into specialist teams that serve their business communities helping them excel in their market by working effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com

About UBM Asia Ltd. (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by United Business Media Ltd. (UBM), which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia operates in 13 market sectors with headquarters in Hong Kong. We have over 130 media products in three categories: trade fairs, print and B2B portals. As Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in the two fastest growing markets in Asia: China and India, we stage the leading events of their kind across Asia.  Our 110 events attract an annual attendance of 30,000 quality exhibitors and 1,270,000 visitors from all over the world to meet their target business partners face-to-face for business matching and networking. We publish high-quality trade publications for 191,000 industry professionals to capture the market trends and industry news. Complementing our exhibitions and publications are round-the-clock and industry-specific online B2B portals that provide a series of online trading networks, industry news hub and sourcing and marketing platforms for the world's trade buyers and suppliers. We have over 650 staff in 15 major cities in Asia.

SOURCE UBM International Media