ITB Berlin News - Review Edition

TUESDAY 

18 th MARCH 

2014 

REVIEW 

EDITION 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT: EUROPE SPECIAL FEATURE: TRANSPORT 

TRADE TALK 

Kapila Chandrasena 

Director, Chief Executive 

Officer, SriLankan Airlines 

“By joining Oneworld, 

SriLankan will be flying 

alongside some of the 

biggest and premier brands 

in the airline business.” 

Read page 10 

Petra Hedorfer 

Chief Executive Officer of 

the German National Tourist 

Board (GNTB) 

“For 2014 we expect 

solid growth of 1% 

to 3% for incoming 

tourism to Germany” 

Read page 27 

Birgit Bohle 

Managing Director of DB 

Vertrieb GmbH 

“Each day more than 

40,000 passengers 

use Deutsche Bahn 

international daytime 

services.” 

Read page 31 

Richard Welker 

Managing Director, Welldays 

(Switzerland) 

“Everybody is here. We 

are looking for hoteliers 

and also talking to 

DMCs.” 

Read page 17 

Hall 22B 

Stand 

210 

Hall 18 

Stand 

125 

Hall 9 

Stand 

123 

FOLLOW US ALL 

YEAR ROUND 

ON 

itb-berlin-news.com 

New Maturity for Travel 

& Tourism Sectors 

ITB Berlin 2014: a major turning point where 

key stakeholders assumed more than ever their 

responsibilities 

As the figures come to light, it is already clear 

that 2014 has been a very, very good year 

for ITB Berlin. Indeed the key indicators are 

extremely impressive: 

Business in strong progression – estimated 

at 6.5 billion Euros 

5,700 accredited journalists from 81 countries 

125 foreign delegations 

97 ambassadors from around the world 

44 ministers and numerous undersecretaries 

10,147 exhibitors from 189 countries more 

than two thirds of whom came from abroad 

26 halls fully booked 

114,000 trade visitors 

22,000 attendees at the ITB Berlin Convention 

200 lectures at the ITB Berlin Convention 

And… feel free to contact 

our editorial team from 

today to prepare your 

communication at ITB 

Berlin 2015… 

editorial@itb-berlin 

-news.com 

… and our advertising 

department – to reserve 

your preferential space – 

ensuring your enhanced 

promotion 

Jeanfrancois.pieri@itbberlin-news.com 

Tel: +33 4 42 77 46 00 

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT 

– HIGHLIGHTS 

In our five preceding editions, we 

had the chance of highlighting – in 

each one – the various regions of 

the globe. Beginning with Oceania, 

we continued with the Americas, 

Asia, Africa & Middle East and 

finally, Europe. 

In this review edition, we decided 

to honour a number of very special 

destinations within all of these 

zones that we did not have the 

occasion to highlight in our other 

editions. This final “spotlight” 

indeed further reveals and 

underlines the incredible richness 

of the products and destinations 

proposed at ITB Berlin. 

Read more, from page 19 

But beyond all of this, and perhaps even more 

impressive, is the renewed emphasis placed 

on innovation and the incredible flourishing 

of social and political strengths of the show, 

working towards the continuous growth of 

Travel and Tourism sectors, but also more 

and more emphasis on ITB Berlin’s Corporate 

Social Responsibility Programme and the ITB 

Berlin Convention, which are increasingly 

being affirmed as the veritable think tank of 

the industry. 

David Ruetz 

Head of ITB Berlin

NEWS 

3 

Editorial 

Richard Barnes 

Editor-in-chief 

richard.barnes@itb-berlin-news.com 

Tel: +33 (0) 4 42 77 46 00 

“World 

Tourism – New 

Initiatives” 

Leaders’ Summit at ITB Berlin 

2014 by PATWA celebrates 

International Women’s Day and 

rewards key new projects 

Information – at the 

Heart of Industry 

Development 

The show’s over – time for a Holiday! ITB Berlin inspires 

new ideas – creating new dynamic for TOs and TAs 

With travel & tourism 

accounting for 258 

million jobs globally 

and a turnover of 

US$6 trillion, (9.1% 

of world GDP), the 

sector is a key driver 

for investment and 

economic growth. 

This year again, ITB 

Berlin has proven to be 

the key driver for the 

industry, stimulating 

thought leadership, 

informing on new trends, 

market developments, 

and deepening existing 

business relations. 

Dr Christian Göke, CEO of 

Messe Berlin, organiser 

of the show, made it very 

clear in his speech at the 

official opening press 

conference on 4th March 

that while the stands, 

dancers and samplers 

were the most obvious 

aspect of the event, it’s 

the INFORMATION people 

gain here that sets ITB 

Berlin apart from any 

other show in the world. 

Nowhere else is there such 

a richness and diversity of 

information and thought 

leadership, nor are as many 

trends revealed upstream 

of them becoming widely 

popular. 

ITB Berlin News, the 

show’s official magazine, is 

in its second year in 2014, 

but already has proven to 

fulfil its role as the “voice” 

of the key players present 

and a guiding light for 

trade visitors and media 

attending this mammoth 

event. It’s true to say 

that all those who were 

movers and shakers at ITB 

Berlin were featured in 

this publication, allowing 

those in the industry a 

chance to get a clear 

picture of exactly what the 

show is about – in all of its 

aspects. 

This review edition of ITB 

Berlin News allows us to 

give you a final round up 

of some the key elements 

you may have missed. 

We’d like to warmly thank 

all those who have taken 

the time to impart their 

thoughts and wisdom 

in each of our editions. 

You are truly part of a 

wonderful movement of 

information, as outlined by 

Dr Göke, which is not just 

important to the industry 

– it’s vital to its future 

growth and development. 

We look forward to seeing 

you again next year. 

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update these forward-looking statements during the period of publication. Photo Credits and Copyright: All Rights Reserved. 

PATWA Award 2014_Group 

photo of the award winners 

The Pacific Area Travel 

Writers’ Association 

hosted a highly successful 

leaders’ summit on the 

topic of World Tourism 

– New Initiatives on 6th 

March at ITB Berlin. 

At the ITB event, UNWTO 

Secretary General Taleb 

Rifai presided the PATWA 

International Awards 

Ceremony. After a welcome 

by PATWA Secretary 

General, Sagar Ahluwalia, 

and the presentation of 

the PATWA handbook, a 

programme of illustrious 

speakers included Mr Rifai, 

Alain St. Ange, Minister 

of Tourism and Culture, 

Seychelles - Mohamed 

Hisham Abbas Zaazou, 

Minister of Tourism, Egypt - 

Martin Craigs, CEO, Pacific 

Asia Travel Association 

(PATA) and Casimir Platzer, 

President, IH&RA. 

After being named – 

himself – as Tourism Man of 

the Year, Mr. Rifai oversaw 

the handing of prizes to 

Mohamed Hisham Abbas 

Zaazou – the recipient of 

the Best Tourism Minister 

Award- and Mrs Eglantina 

Gjermeni, Minister of 

Urban Development & 

Tourism in Albania. 

An award for the 

“Emerging Destination 

in India” was given to 

Rajiv Duggal, Senior 

Vice President - Tourism, 

Hospitality & Leisure, 

Lavasa Corporation Ltd. 

Mr Duggal declared that 

the prize “will create a new 

chapter in Lavasa’s history. 

We have earlier been 

recognised for design and 

development, but this is the 

first time that Lavasa has 

received an international 

recognition for tourism. 

The award is an extremely 

important milestone as we 

are now acknowledged 

by an international body”. 

Lavasa Corporation 

is involved into the 

development of medical 

tourism destinations in 

India. Another award was 

given by Martin Craigs to 

Odesha Tourism as the 

Best Relaxation Culture 

& Beaches Destination. 

Carlson Rezidor Hotel 

Group chairman for South 

Asia, K.B. Kachru, also 

received the Hall of Fame 

- Lifetime Contribution in 

Hospitality Award. 

The Seychelles Minister, 

Mr St. Ange, spoke about 

the ‘Seychelles Brand of 

Tourism.’ The Minister 

explained the philosophy 

behind the concept of 

Seychelles claiming back 

its tourism industry while 

still encouraging investors 

to the islands. “Our people 

must see themselves in 

their tourism industry, the 

industry that remains the 

pillar of their economy.” 

ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 18 th March 2014

4 NEWS 

© Messe Berlin 

ITB Berlin 2014: 

Trend towards international 

Halls fully booked, increase in trade visitors and new records for busi 

a bright future for industry 

This year’s ITB Berlin sent out very positive signals for the international 

travel industry. With the global economy expected to recover in the years to 

come, the world’s travel industry has begun 2014 confident of good tourism 

business. 

Following a recent period of 

relatively sluggish growth, 

the global travel industry is 

once again on course for 

rapid growth. This year’s 

ITB Berlin reported a 4% 

rise in trade visitors and 

an increase in business 

volume, which show 

organisers Messe Berlin 

estimate reached 6.5 billion 

Euros. 

The focus of the world’s 

leading travel trade fair, 

which came to an end on 

Sunday 9th March, was 

on travel bookings via 

smartphones and tablets 

and on sustainable practices 

in the travel industry. 

David Ruetz, head of ITB 

Berlin, says the show’s role 

as a think tank, with the 

ITB Berlin Convention, is 

now solidly confirmed: “The 

convention has become 

a firm fixture for trend 

scouts operating within 

the international travel 

industry”, said Mr Ruetz. 

“More than ever, Berlin is 

where innovative travel 

trends are shown. Luxury 

travel was a key topic 

that attracted keen visitor 

interest.” 

“Around 5,700 accredited 

journalists from 81 countries 

reported on events at ITB 

Berlin”, continued Mr Ruetz. 

“Furthermore, in addition 

ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 18 th March 2014 

MORE 

THAN EVER, 

BERLIN IS 

WHERE 

INNOVATIVE 

TRAVEL 

TRENDS 

ARE SHOWN 

to 125 foreign delegations, 

Thailand’s Princess 

Ubolratana Mahidol also 

attended the show. 97 

ambassadors from around 

the world, 44 ministers and 

numerous undersecretaries 

were also present.” 

“Never before was there such 

an emphasis on innovation 

as at this year’s ITB Berlin,” 

added Dr Christian Göke, 

CEO of Messe Berlin. “The 

mood among exhibitors 

and visitors at this year’s 

show was one of euphoria, 

which over the last five days 

could be felt everywhere 

on the Berlin Exhibition 

Grounds. The world’s 

leading travel trade show 

had an even more positive 

impact on trade buyers 

and holidaymakers than in 

previous years.” 

From 5 to 9 March 2014, 

10,147 exhibitors from 189 

countries – more than twothirds 

of whom came from 

abroad – were represented 

in 26 halls which were 

booked to capacity. Overall, 

some 114,000 trade visitors 

(2013: 109,616) travelled to 

Berlin. This year there was 

a slight increase again in 

buyers from the USA and 

the Middle East. 

The ITB Berlin Convention 

registered record levels 

of attendance. A total of 

22,000 took part in around 

200 lectures, discussions 

and workshops; over 5% 

more than in 2013. Social 

Media and Mobile Travel 

Services proved to be major 

visitor attractions. 

PARTNER 

COUNTRY MEXICO 

PUTS ON A BIG 

SHOW 

Mexico, this year’s partner 

country, fascinated visitors 

on the eve of ITB Berlin 

with a dazzling programme 

of entertainment and a 

fascinating multimedia 

show which highlighted its 

cultural treasures. Inside the 

display halls, Mexico put on 

a show of traditional music 

and dance performances, 

served authentic Mexican 

dishes, exhibited colourful 

handicrafts from the various 

regions and whetted visitors’ 

appetites for holidaying in 

a country with so many 

different attractions. Using 

interactive media visitors 

were able to go on a virtual 

trip to Mexico and take their 

experiences back home. 

Claudia Ruiz Massieu, 

Minister of Tourism of 

Mexico said, “Mexico shares 

its joy and satisfaction at 

the results of ITB. As the 

partner country in 2014 it 

was a great opportunity to 

showcase our country and 

destinations. ITB Berlin 

is the most important 

David Ruetz 

Head of ITB Berlin 

platform for tourism and 

we were able to show a 

sophisticated, modern and 

diverse Mexico.” 

Taleb Rifai, General 

Secretary of UNWTO for his 

part congratulated Messe 

Berlin on the success of the 

show: “ITB 2014 reflected 

the vitality of the tourism 

sector extremely well and I 

must particularly commend 

ITB for its Corporate Social 

Responsibility Programme 

which, year after year, 

reminds us all that with 

the continuous growth 

of tourism comes a great 

responsibility.” 

On the industry side, the 

President of the Federal 

Association of the German 

Tourism Industry (BTW), 

Dr. Michael Frenzel, also 

expressed satisfaction 

with this year’s edition, 

underlining the importance 

www.itb-berlin-news.com

NEWS 

5 

…ONE THING IS 

CLEAR: ITB BERLIN 

CONGRESS HAS BECOME 

A MUST-ATTEND EVENT 

FOR THE ENTIRE TRAVEL 

INDUSTRY… 

A New 

Image 

for ITB 

Berlin 

isation 

ness volume – ITB Berlin’s success underlines 

Bright colours and holiday motifs in 

the form of pictograms were to be 

found all over Berlin - on billboards, 

in newspapers and in the Metro – 

on the way to the ITB Berlin show 

grounds for the 2014 event. 

of such an up-to-the-minute 

event, as well as of keeping 

in touch with business 

partners and customers in 

a society dominated by the 

digital revolution: “Numerous 

politicians expressed their 

satisfaction with the positive 

impact that tourism has on 

industry and society. In that 

context it is all the more difficult 

to understand the many policy 

decisions, those currently 

imposed as well as those 

planned for the future, which 

weigh heavily on our industry. 

The aviation tax in particular 

is a source of major concern 

to many of our enterprises, as 

was made clear to me again 

in many conversations at the 

show. The tax is a burden 

on Germany’s commercial 

aviation business, which is of 

major importance to tourism. 

It undermines growth and 

should be scrapped once and 

for all.” 

Jürgen Büchy, president of the 

German Travel Association 

(DRV), said German citizens 

are as keen as ever to travel 

and business in selling tours 

for the upcoming holiday 

season is booming: “The 

number of early bookings 

gives us good reason to believe 

that Germans will be travelling 

even more than in the past. I 

am confident that traditionally 

popular destinations on the 

Mediterranean will benefit. At 

ITB we noted a growing interest 

in long-haul destinations. More 

and more Germans are not 

only keen to visit sunny places, 

beaches and the sea, but have 

become interested in the 

natural, cultural and historical 

attractions that other countries 

have to offer. As the leading 

association representing the 

tourism industry we forecast 

that overall the market will 

expand by two to four per cent. 

Barring unforeseen events, 

even five per cent is a realistic 

possibility.” 

International interest in ITB 

Berlin continues to grow. 

Christine Duffy, President & 

CEO, Cruise Lines International 

Association (CLIA), underlined 

this movement, stating, 

“Seeing this amount of 

attendees, one thing is clear: 

ITB Berlin Congress has 

become a must-attend event 

for the entire travel industry. 

Why? Because really all 

segments of travel meet here 

to intensify relations and talk 

about new trends – where 

we are going, how tourism 

impacts on the economy and 

why leaders are so excited to 

be part of this industry.” 

ITB Berlin Vice President, Dr 

Martin Buck further underlined 

the international vocation 

of the show, saying, “When 

it comes to the buyers, we 

certainly have a reach that is 

going far beyond the borders 

of Germany. 50% of our buyers 

come from Germany, but the 

other 50% come from other 

important European countries 

– and even further afield – 

that want to buy travel. And 

although these countries may 

have their own travel shows, 

the point is that you do not 

have at any other show the 

diversity of products and the 

broad product range that 

you have here at ITB Berlin. 

That’s the reason the buyers 

from the other countries 

come. This is why ITB Berlin 

is the biggest trade show in 

the world. This trend towards 

the internationalisation of the 

show is going to be a continuing 

trend because, for example, 

with the Buyers’ Circle, we 

try to facilitate the access of 

exhibitors to qualified buyers. 

A qualified buyer is one who 

has not only a comparatively 

huge purchasing power, but 

he also has a clear profile as a 

buyer. So you, as an exhibitor, 

can find out up front what this 

buyer stands for and what he 

wants to buy. And the buyer 

knows what he can expect 

from you, the exhibitor.” 


The new “look” for the exhibition was designed 

by the Berlin-based agency kleiner und bold 

and its creative team Daniel Freier and Robert 

Körtge. 

“The ITB Berlin is the leading trade fair in the 

travel industry,” explains Tammo F. Bruns, 

managing partner of kleiner und bold. “It points 

the way for the industry, provides direction. 

This image have we introduced in the design 

underlines the experience of the experts at the 

show, and develops a visual guidance system, 

using the style of pictograms.” 

Creative Director Robert Körtge adds, 

“Pictograms give orientation. They are the 

ideal elements for positioning the ITB Berlin 

as a guidance system for the industry. At the 

same time, the pictograms, which are each 

composed of a number of icons, symbolize the 

diversity of the fair.” 


6 NEWS 

TO DO!2013 

AWARDS FOR 

SUSTAINABLE 

TOURISM 

INITIATIVES 

GO TO IRAN, 

CAMBODIA 

AND MEXICO 

The TO DO!2013 Laureates 

for socially responsible 

tourism have been 

awarded to projects 

in Iran, Cambodia and 

Mexico. 

The three awards for 

sustainable initiatives that 

were presented at ITB 

Berlin by the Institute for 

Tourism and Development. 

The projects are judged 

on their contributions 

to improving the living 

conditions of the local 

population in the project 

areas through the 

strategic and cautious 

development of tourism 

products and services. 

Dr. Dietlind von Laßberg, 

deputy chairman of the 

Institute for Tourism and 

Development, said, “all 

of the three projects fulfil 

the main requirement 

of the TO DO! awards, 

namely the participation 

of the local population to 

a very high degree”. 

Abu Dhabi Wins 

“Best of Best” Award 

Nation selected by CBS Best Exhibitor Awards as most 

outstanding at show 

This year again the students of the Cologne 

Business School judged exhibitors at ITB Berlin 

for the Best Exhibitor Awards and Abu Dhabi 

“came up trumps” as “best of the best” at the 

show. 

For more than ten years, 

the BEA has been a quality 

indicator for an attractive 

trade fair appearance. It 

is organised by the CBS 

Cologne Business School 

on behalf of and in cooperation 

with Messe 

Berlin. A jury consisting 

of 30 potential tourism 

managers from the CBS 

evaluates every single 

stand of the approximately 

12,000 exhibitors at ITB. 

Important aspects of the 

evaluation include design, 

authenticity and creativity, 

as well as the quality of the 

information and services 

on hand. Friendliness, 

competence, the 

appropriate amount of staff 

relative to the booth‘s size 

and a uniform appearance 

are all key features. 

The Best Exhibitor Award- 

Show on the Saturday 

night of the fair has 

become a fixed component 

of the supporting ITB 

programme, which is 

also reflected in the 

international high-ranking 

guest list of the event. 

Winners of each DMO 

category were: 

Near and Middle East: 

Abu Dhabi (also winner of 

“best of the best” award”) 

Asia/Australia/Oceania: 

Korea 

Africa: Rwanda 

Americas and Caribbean: 

Dominican Republic 

Europe: Austria 

Germany: Bayern 

In the Hotel business 

section, the prize went 

to Design Hotels AG 

and the best carrier was 

awarded to Lufthansa. 

L’Tur Tourismus took the 

prize for the best travel 

Abu Dhabi’s stand at ITB Berlin 2014 

– “The Best of the Best” 

organisation, Globetrotter 

Ausrüstung was best in the 

travel support and media 

section and Alte Schule 

Jugendreisen Bildung und 

Arbeit e.V. was selected 

as best NGO or non-profit 

organisation. 


Offering locals alternative 

forms of income, these 

initiatives have also 

contributed to a decrease 

in logging and poaching 

in the project regions. 

Apart from having 

minimised the socialcultural 

and ecological 

footprints of the tourism 

industry, according to 

head of division of the 

Africa initiative of the 

Federal Ministry for 

Economic Cooperation 

and Development 

(BMZ) Holger Ehmke, 

“the projects link the 

participation of the 

people and economic 

benefits, they improve the 

quality and appeal of jobs 

in the tourism industry, 

they strengthen their own 

identity and minimize the 

impact. 

To read more, 

click here 

World Legacy 

Awards 

Announced 

for 2015 

National Geographic and ITB 

Berlin collaborate to reward 

sustainable tourism 

A groundbreaking 

collaboration between 

two giants in the world 

of travel, National 

Geographic and ITB 

Berlin, The World Legacy 

Awards were launched 

this week. The new 

awards will showcase the 

leading travel and tourism 

companies, organizations 

and destinations — 

ranging from airlines 

to eco-lodges and from 

cities to countries — that 

are driving the global 

transformation of the 

travel industry based 

upon sustainable tourism 

principles and practices. 

The Call for Entries for 

the World Legacy Awards 

will start on June 1 2014, 

when applications can be 

submitted for review by 

an expert judging panel 

led by Costas Christ, one 

of the world’s foremost 

experts on sustainable 

tourism. The awards 

ceremony itself will be 

held at ITB Berlin in March 

2015, after which the 

winners and finalists will 

be featured throughout 

National Geographic’s 

media platforms – 

reaching more than 500 

million people worldwide 

each month through its 

magazines, television, 

documentaries, radio, 

books, maps and more. 

The awards are in 

five categories: Eco 

Innovation, Cultural 

Heritage, Biodiversity, 

Community Engagement 

and Sustainable 

Destination. 

Dr. Christian Göke, 

CEO, Messe Berlin said 

“As the world’s largest 

travel trade show, with 

a strong commitment 

to promoting corporate 

social responsibility and 

sustainable tourism 

best practices, we are 

delighted to partner with 

National Geographic 

Travel on the launch of 

the World Legacy Awards 

at ITB Berlin.” 



NEWS 

7 

© Revinate 

Revinate On-Site Surveys, 

a turnkey solution 

Revinate Leverages ITB Berlin 

to Launch On-Site Surveys, an 

Innovative iPad Solution for 

Capturing Guest Feedback 

KIGO 

ANNOUNCES 

MAILCHIMP 

INTEGRATION 

At ITB Berlin, Kigo announced 

its integration with Mailchimp 

(email marketing) to allow Kigo’s 

customers to export all their guest 

data automatically into their 

Mailchimp account. In this way, 

they can manage all their marketing 

campaigns and newsletters 

“without friction”. 

Kigo is today one of the industry’s 

fastest growing platforms in the 

vacation rental industry. Based in 

the heart of Barcelona, with offices 

in Philadelphia and Bangkok, its 

50+ vacation rental specialists 

help over 1,000 property managers 

to welcome more than 20,000 

bookings per month, supporting 

over 50,000 individual properties, 

in more than 50 countries. In 2013 

alone, Kigo’s system processed 

300,000,000 Euros in revenue for 

its agencies. 

With the growing influence 

of online reviews on 

booking decisions, it 

has never been more 

important for hoteliers 

to ensure that guests 

check out happy. With 

Revinate’s iPad solution 

deployed in key locations 

throughout a hotel, 

guests and day visitors 

can quickly and easily 

report on their experience, 

satisfaction and likelihood 

to recommend the hotel. 

With integrated real-time 

alerts, Revinate’s solution 

instantly notifies staff of 

opportunities for service 

improvement and recovery, 

which results in delighted 

guests who are likely to 

become promoters. On- 

Site Surveys also tracks 

NPS (Net Promoter Score), 

which allows brands and 

properties to benchmark 

guest satisfaction over 

time. 

With On-Site Surveys, 

the Revinate platform 

now includes a full suite 

of feedback solutions 

across the entire guest 

lifecycle, offering hoteliers 

an intuitive, unified 

and actionable system 

designed to increase guest 

satisfaction and ultimately 

deliver higher revenue. 

Revinate On-Site Surveys 

is a turnkey solution and 

comes complete with both 

software and hardware, 

including an iPad and a 

secure stand. 

Cultural Sightseeing Just Became 

More Exciting 

The French company Sycomore presented two innovations at 

ITB Berlin in the field of interactive audio guides, in the form of 

an “audiopen” and “visit apps”. 

ITB Berlin News Editor 

in Chief Richard Barnes 

takes a closer look at the 

latest technologies by 

Sycomore 

© Cleverdis 

The Audiopen heralds a totally new, 

innovative concept of the guided 

tour. It comprises both an audio 

player and an interactive document. 

The system also enables users to 

design their own visit with a simple, 

intuitive plan. It interacts with 

printed documents, through digital 

half-toning invisible to the naked 

eye (without adding supplementary 

film during printing). 

All the user has to do is point their 

Audiopen at a picture, an icon or 

a section of text to listen to the 

commentary that goes with it. This 

gives visitors the freedom to design 

their own tour. It can be programmed 

according to the specific needs 

of any site and individual visitors, 

according to their centres of interest, 

age and nationality. 

The Audiopen features an integrated 

speaker, and a jack plug, allowing 

the use of any headphones. 

Meanwhile the Audiotour App is a 

fully visit-specific app, which turns 

a smartphone into a traditional 

audioguide. Commentary can be 

started via call number, list or Cover 

Flow. 


8 NEWS 

ICELAND, 

BEST IN CLASS 

WITH 21% GROWTH 

IN TOURISM 

Northern Lights - one of the 

key attractions driving major 

growth in Iceland 

© xxxxxx 

European Tourism in 2013 

– Trends & Prospects 

European tourism maintains growth momentum according 

to European Tourism Commission 

Tourism to European 

destinations grew by a 

robust 5% in 2013, which 

is well above the most 

optimistic projections. 

According to the latest ETC 

report “European Tourism in 

2013 – Trends & Prospects“, 

confidence is growing in 

the sector, as some of the 

factors underlying growth 

will persist into the next 

year. 

The ETC expects 

international tourism to 

grow between 3% and 4% 

in 2014. With a joint effort, 

the public and private 

sector can consolidate this 

growth path and secure 

Europe a long-term position 

as the world’s number 1 

destination. 

European tourism reached 

new peak levels in 2013 

and experienced the fourth 

consecutive year of growth. 

Growth spread across 

virtually all European 

destinations and accelerated 

as the year progressed, 

mainly due to strong 

summer travel demand 

from large outbound 

markets, such as Spain 

and the UK. Confidence is 

growing in the European 

tourism sector, as reflected 

in key industry indicators. 

“European tourism has 

a bright future ahead” 

said Eduardo Santander. 

Nonetheless, “competition 

is tough”, echoed Pedro 

Ortún, Director for 

Tourism of the European 

Commission, “but European 

destinations have by far all 

the means to stand out as 

the most attractive, diverse 

and unique destinations 

worldwide”. 

In 2013, Europe received 

29 million international 

visitors more than in the 

previous year, reaching 563 

million arrivals, according 

to UNWTO figures. In 

relative terms, this means a 

robust growth of 5%. Fasterthan-average 

growth is 

reported by Europe’s five 

largest destinations. France 

consolidates its position 

growing by a solid 8%. An 

unprecedented 60 million 

international tourists visited 

Spain (+6%), while in Italy 

(+3%) stagnation seems to 

be over, at least in terms 

of inbound travel. Tourism 

to Turkey (+10%) grew fast 

despite protests during 

the central months of the 

year, while Germany (+4%) 

remains on a steady growth 

path and hits the 30 million 

mark in foreign visitors. 

Stunning two-digit growth 

is reported by a remarkably 

high number of smaller 

destinations. Iceland is the 

best-in-class performer, 

with a 21% increase in 

foreign visits, followed 

by Latvia (+14%), Serbia 

(+13%), Greece (+12%), 

Slovakia and Malta (both 

+10%). 

Key industry indicators 

point to an increasing 

confidence in the European 

tourism sector. European 

hotel occupancy growth 

outpaced all other world 

regions throughout 2013, 

and raising pricing power 

is indicative of growing 

confidence in the tourism 

sector. Air seat capacity 

increased throughout the 

year as a further indication 

of industry expectations 

of ongoing growth in 

demand. 

SOLID 

FOUNDATIONS 

FOR FUTURE 

GROWTH 

Overall, ETC expects 

international tourism to 

grow between 3% and 4% 

in 2014. As the Eurozone 

area is turning the 

corner from recession to 

recovery, according to the 

IMF, the intra-European 

market is expected to 

support tourism growth 

throughout 2014. Russia 

is also expected to further 

consolidate its significance 

as outbound travel market, 

as its rising middle-class 

becomes more acquainted 

and independent with 

travel. 

Among long-haul markets, 

the US is expected to 

remain the powerhouse of 

long-haul tourism demand 

for Europe, while China will 

keep on leading growth 

in relative terms. Megaevents 

and the overall 

policy environment might 

instead lead to a softer 

growth of outbound travel 

from Brazil. Large-scale 

initiatives, such as the 

Winter Olympics in Russia 

or Germany’s UNESCO 

Word Heritage Year, 

will contribute to keep 

attention for European 

destinations high. 



NEWS 

9 

The Evolution 

of Shopping Tourism 

Chic Outlet Shopping spurs the growth of shopping tourism from 

Europe to China and even beyond 

Thibault Ruffat 

Head Of European Promotion & Global 

Marketing, Chic Outlet Shopping 

In the three years that Chic 

Outlet Shopping has exhibited 

at ITB Berlin, the perception of 

shopping tourism has changed 

significantly, according to 

Thibault Ruffat, Head of 

European Promotion & 

Global Marketing, Chic Outlet 

Shopping. “We have to justify 

our presence at ITB Berlin less 

and less. Shopping tourism is 

a real segment of the tourism 

industry, understood now by 

all the major players. We are 

working with the UNWTO on 

the Shopping Tourism Report 

to be published later this year.” 

Chic Outlet Shopping’s strategy 

of launching new products 

for the MICE market has also 

coincided with similar increase 

in MICE-related business deals 

taking place at ITB Berlin. 

WE ARE WORKING WITH THE 

UNWTO ON THE SHOPPING 

TOURISM REPORT TO BE 

PUBLISHED LATER THIS YEAR 

With the announcement of 

the Chic Outlet Shopping 

partnership with Hotelbeds 

further galvanizing the 

company’s status for shopping 

and activity packages, ITB 

Berlin 2014 has also seen the 

company’s footprint in the 

Chinese market grow. 

“China, for our European 

Villages, is the number 1 longhaul 

market in terms of revenue 

generated through tax-free 

figures,” said Ruffat. “Our first 

shopping village in China - 

Suzhou Village - opens in May 

and this is just the beginning 

for us. A second village is in 

the pipeline, connected to 

Disneyland China, and we 

are targeting the opening of 

five villages in China by 2020. 

Comparing the difference 

between Europe and China, 

what is interesting is that 

European villages tend to grow 

steadily, from 60 at launch to 

120 boutiques after ten years, 

while in China we start straight 

away with 150 boutiques. The 

dynamism of growth in China 

is amazing.” 

LGBT at ITB Berlin 

Gay and Lesbian Travel Pavilion grows to 400m 2 

It is difficult to quantify the exact size of the LGBT potential 

market, but today it’s clear that it is an important growth 

sector. ITB Berlin News asked John Tanzella, President and 

CEO of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association 

(IGLTA) how big he estimates the market as being. 

Looking at the UNWTO World 

Tourism Barometer and 

estimate that LGBT travellers 

would conservatively account 

for 5 percent of the 1.087 

billion international tourism 

arrivals for 2013 that would 

represent 50 million travellers 

is a significant market! IGLTA 

began participating in ITB Berlin 

more than 10 years ago, using a 

single tabletop to represent its 

members. In 2010, we became 

a founding partner of the Gay & 

Lesbian Travel Pavilion, which 

has now grown to 400 m2. 

We’ve absolutely seen increased 

interest from our members in 

ITB Berlin – they appreciate the 

visible commitment to LGBT 

travel within such an important 

global show. 

How different is today the trade 

perception of Gay and Lesbian 

travel compared to your first 

time presence at ITB Berlin? 

It’s evolved a great deal since I 

first attended seven years ago. 

Our booth was not as busy as it 

is now. We have back-to-back 

appointments and interview 

requests. In the beginning, 

we were more of a curiosity, 

whereas now visitors to our 

booth are seeking us out. 

Do you see new countries 

or cities embracing today the 

concept of gay travel? 

Yes, and our ITB Berlin stand 

was a reflection of this. In the 

past two years, members from 

India and Poland have joined 

us. This year we have a business 

from China for the first time. In 

Fall 2013, our non-profit IGLTA 

Foundation launched a program 

to offset association membership 

fees for LGBT businesses in 

emerging destinations and the 

first business that signed up is 

based in Belgrade, Serbia. This is 

often how it evolves: We see one 

or two businesses join IGLTA from 

a city or country and then tourism 

boards and wider acceptance 

follow. It’s like the association 

itself – we were founded in the 

United States by 25 small business 

owners and now have members 

in more than 75 countries. 

John Tanzella 

President and CEO of the International 

Gay and Lesbian Travel Association 

(IGLTA) 

50 MILLION OF ESTIMATED 

LGBT TRAVELLERS IS A 

SIGNIFICANT MARKET” 


10 NEWS 

SriLankan Airlines, Welcome 

to Oneworld 

Kapila Chandrasena, Director, Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan 

Airlines reveals his company’s roadmap 

SriLankan Airlines invited journalists to the luxurious Hotel de Rome in 

Berlin on ITB-Thursday 6 th March 2014, to announce important news both 

for Sri Lanka’s national airline and for the aviation industry in general. 

SriLankan Airlines received clearance to join oneworld, as the first carrier 

from the Indian subcontinent to become part of any global airline alliance. 

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe and oneworld’s 

VP of Corporate Communications Michael Blunt officially announced that 

SriLankan Airlines would become a full member of oneworld from Thursday 

1 st May 2014. 

In an exclusive interview, ITB Berlin News spoke to Kapila Chandrasena, 

Director, Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlines, and asked him how his 

company is working to keep up with the increase in traffic generated by the 

new tourism boom in Sri Lanka… 

SriLankan Airlines, the 

national carrier of Sri Lanka 

has been playing vital role 

in the new tourism boom 

the country is experiencing 

presently. In terms of tourist 

arrivals, the currently 

identified highest growth 

markets are “India”, “China”, 

“Middle East”, “Russia” 

and also “Australia.” 

These numbers have been 

achieved through targeted 

promotional campaigns 

conducted by the Tourism 

Promotional Bureau of 

Sri Lanka. SriLankan, as 

the national airline, while 

actively taking part in these 

promotional activities, has 

also identified the potential 

markets and expanded our 

reach to these regions. One 

way of doing that is through 

codeshare agreements 

with other carriers on the 

identified routes such as 

our latest agreements with 

S7 Airlines and Malaysia 

Airlines on the routes; 

Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, 

Volgograd, Irkutsk, 

Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk 

in Russia and Sydney, Perth, 

SRILANKAN AIRLINES, 

RENOWNED FOR ITS AWARD 

WINNING INFLIGHT SERVICE 

AND HOSPITALITY WILL BE 

THE FIRST AIRLINE IN THE 

SUB-CONTINENT TO JOIN 

ANY OF THE GLOBAL 

AIRLINE ALLIANCES 

Brisbane and Adelaide in 

Australia, respectively. As 

the national carrier, we 

go by the tagline- fly to 

Sri Lanka on SriLankan, 

which means experiencing 

the traditional Sri Lankan 

warmth and hospitality 

right from the beginning of 

your holiday. 

Please tell us about your 

expansion plans. 

SriLankan Airlines will 

replace its current fleet of 

A340s with six fuel efficient 

A330-300s and four latest 

generation A350-900 

aircraft starting from this 

year. Operating with a 

new fleet will enable the 

airline to further upgrade 

the product which will in 

return, enhance the travel 

experience with SriLankan. 

With the increasing customer 

demands, SriLankan has 

started to operate direct 

flights to China instead of its 

operation via Bangkok. We 

are also looking at two more 

secondary destinations such 

as Kunming and Chengdu. 

SriLankan is also looking 

at improving network 

efficiency, while developing 

Colombo as the centre 

and the country’s second 

airport, Mattala Rajapaksa 

International Airport as a 

secondary hub. 

This year, you join oneworld 

alliance. What will that 

bring to your customers? 

By joining Oneworld, 

SriLankan will be flying 

alongside some of the 

biggest and premier brands 

in the airline business. 

SriLankan Airlines, 

renowned for its award 

winning inflight service 

and hospitality will be 

the first airline in the subcontinent 

to join any of 

the global airline alliances, 

thus enabling the flagship 

carrier of Sri Lanka to 

offer its customers more 

services and benefits: such 

as a wider route network, 

opportunities to earn and 

Kapila Chandrasena 

Director, Chief Executive Officer, 

SriLankan Airlines 

redeem frequent flyer miles 

on any one of the oneworld 

carriers. Similarly, the 

130 million frequent flyer 

cardholders of Oneworld’s 

member airlines will be 

able to earn and redeem 

rewards on SriLankan. 

Members of SriLankan 

Airlines’ FlySmiLes frequent 

flyer programme will enjoy 

privileges and benefits 

throughout the oneworld 

network, including, for top 

tier members, access to 

550 plus airport lounges 

worldwide. SriLankan will 

also be part of oneworld’s 

most extensive ranges of 

alliance fares. 

How important is ITB Berlin 

in terms of fostering new 

business for your airline? 

We view ITB Berlin as 

a great opportunity to 

meet new operators who 

currently do not feature 

our product destinations- 

Colombo and Male- and 

encourage them to include 

these destinations along 

with their other products. 

We have been participating 

at ITB Berlin for nearly 

two decades. It has been a 

knowledge sharing platform 

where we have drawn 

inspiration while seeking 

mileage for our product. 

Our objective of attending 

ITB Berlin is that through 

such a forum we have a 

great opportunity to mark 

our presence and promote 

Sri Lanka as a destination 

and SriLankan as a carrier. 



NEWS 

11 

The Sri Lankan stand 

takes home third prize 

among Asian exhibitors 


Sri Lanka Candidate to be 

ITB Berlin Partner Country 

Sri Lankan tourism authorities announce intention to bid for 

candidature as partner country 2016 

At an ITB Berlin 

Press Conference, Sri 

Lanka’s Ambassador 

to Germany, H.E. 

Sarrath Kongahage 

hinted that the country 

was planning to be a 

candidate as partner 

country for the 2016 

event. 

The candidature process for 

the role of partner country 

is based on a number 

of criteria, and several 

countries’ DMOs postulate 

each year. 

The bid will have no doubt 

received a welcome push 

as the Cologne Business 

School selected the Sri 

Lankan stand as one of the 

three best Asian exhibitors. 

Rumy Lauffer, Managing 

Director, Sri Lanka Tourism 

Promotion Bureau said, 

“Our stand has a very 

natural atmosphere and 

is perfect. ITB Berlin 2014 

was the ideal platform for 

our large delegation of 64 

tourism companies, hotels 

and organisations. We are 

happy and the future looks 

bright.” 

Sri Lanka’s Director- 

General of Tourism, Dr D. 

S. Jayaweera, announced at 

ITB Berlin that his nation is 

aiming to generate revenues 

in excess of US$4.2 billion 

from tourism in 2016, 

by attracting 2.5 million 

arrivals - more than a 50% 

increase on revenue and 

arrivals in 2013. Already 

the 2013 figure was a 26.7% 

hike over the previous year. 

Dr Jayaweera predicted the 

tourism industry would 

provide over 500,000 direct 

employment opportunities 

by 2016, thanks to a boost 

in hotel capacity from the 

current 16,600 rooms to 

40,000 by the end of 2015. 

H.E. Sarrath Kongahage 

told ITB Berlin News, “The 

story we are telling is 

that of the most strongly 

emerging tourism market, 

underlined by major travel 

magazines that have been 

highlighting this fact. An 

example was Lonely Planet, 

which named Sri Lanka as 

the ‘Best Destination’ in 

2013. In 2011, the Sunday 

Times declared Sri Lanka 

as the number one ‘value 

for money’ destination, 

and the New York Times 

named our nation as the 

best destination in 2010. 

National Geographic 

Channel also described 

Sri Lanka as one of the 

top global destinations 

for tourism. All in all, we 

ITB BERLIN 2014 

WAS THE IDEAL 

PLATFORM FOR OUR 

LARGE DELEGATION 

OF 64 TOURISM 

COMPANIES, HOTELS 

AND ORGANISATIONS 

are considered broadly as 

one of the top few tourism 

destinations in the world 

today.” 

Mr Kongahage continued, 

“Some people might think 

that Sri Lanka is like the tip 

of India. But the country is 

vastly different from any 

other in the region. The 

landscape is different, the 

culture is different... and 

with history dating back 

thousands of years we have 

no less that eight UNESCO 

World Heritage sites. 

Furthermore, it is important 

to underline the fact that 

Sri Lanka has the fastest 

growing economy in the 

region.” 


12 NEWS 

New Frontiers 

for Adventure Tourism 

UNWTO and Adventure Travel Trade Association sign agreement at ITB Berlin to 

advance adventure tourism globally 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Adventure Travel 

Trade Association (ATTA) signed a new partnership agreement on 7 th 

March, 2014, during Corporate Social Responsibility Day at ITB Berlin. 

At the crux of the agreement are precedent-setting initiatives dedicated 

to enhancing the understanding of and professionalisation of the global 

adventure travel sector. 

The Adventure Travel 

Trade Association (ATTA) 

boasts more than 900 

members in 80 countries 

worldwide, predominantly 

tour operators, tourism 

boards, specialty agents 

and accommodations with 

a vested interest in the 

sustainable development of 

adventure tourism. 

The new Memorandum 

of Understanding (MOU) 

was co-signed by UNWTO 

Secretary-General Taleb 

Rifai and ATTA President 

Shannon Stowell. 

Thanks to the MOU, over 

the next two years the 

UNWTO and the ATTA will 

collaborate to conduct an 

economic impact study to 

analyse the rapidly growing 

adventure tourism sector 

and its potential impact on 

regional communities. The 

two organizations will also 

INDUSTRY 

SNAPSHOT 

2014 

The Adventure Travel Trade 

Association’s February survey of 

306 member and non-member 

tour operators in 69 countries 

reveals that 77% of those 

surveyed expect higher revenue 

in 2014 and 24% of them expect 

growth in 2014 gross revenue. 

70% see an increase in demand 

for soft adventure, while 69% 

see an increase in demand for 

custom itineraries. 

THE 

ADVENTURE 

TRAVEL 

TRADE 

ASSOCIATION 

(ATTA) 

BOASTS MORE 

THAN 900 

MEMBERS IN 

80 COUNTRIES 

WORLDWIDE 

tackle matters concerning 

definitions, market size and 

trends, education/training, 

and standards and guideline 

development activities 

specifically concerning 

adventure travel. 

“We have been following 

closely what ATTA has 

been doing in the area 

of research and training 

and we are very happy to 

strengthen our relationship 

with this commitment,” said 

Secretary-General Rifai. 

The new agreement 

enhances the relationship 

between the public and 

private organisations, 

which was first officially 

established in October 2012 

at the ATTA Adventure 

Travel World Summit in 

Switzerland. 

“The UNWTO’s commitment 

is further fuelling destination 

and private sector interest 

in understanding and 

pursuing this specialised 

form of tourism,” stated 

Mr Stowell. “The economic 

impact study will provide 

data allowing us to measure 

definitely the role adventure 

tourism plays in responsible 

tourism development.” 

Specific, first-time projects 

to be implemented under 

the agreement include: 

Joint UNWTO Affiliate 

Members report on 

Adventure Tourism; 

Definition of standards 

and guidelines in 

Adventure Tourism; 

Research on the economic 

impact of Adventure 

Tourism on local 

UNWTO Secretary-General 

Taleb Rifai 

& 

ATTA President 

Shannon Stowel 

communities/regions 

The UNWTO and the 

ATTA will continue their 

two-year partnership 

on regional courses on 

Adventure Tourism through 

the ATTA’s AdventureEDU 

program in collaboration 

with the UNWTO Themis 

Foundation. The UNWTO 

and the ATTA have also 

agreed to pursue joint 

efforts to bring together 

global decision-makers 

and organisations from the 

public and private sectors 

to advocate for responsible 

tourism development 

through special events and 

speaking engagements. 

The signing of the 

agreement will also no 

doubt be welcomed by 

TOs dealing with local 

adventure destinations in 

Mongolia – ITB Berlin’s 2015 

partner country, whose 

tourism ministry is striving 

to retain the authenticity of 

local nomadic cultures and 

lifestyles. 



NEWS 

13 

The representatives 

of Kenya, Rwanda 

and Uganda 

present the new 

tripartite visa 

at ITB Berlin 

Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda: 

One Tourist Visa for All 

Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda worked together to create a tourist-boosting 

new Tripartite Visa that serves as one tourist visa for the three neighbouring 

East African destinations. 

Today, a journey in 

East Africa has become 

borderless, offering three 

fabulous touristic places 

with worldwide famous 

attractions: Rwanda with 

its gorillas, Uganda with its 

waterfalls and Kenya with 

its wildlife safaris. 

At a press conference at 

ITB Berlin, details of a new 

tripartite visa for East African 

nations were outlined 

in detail. Indeed, since 

January 2014, travellers can 

cross Kenya, Rwanda and 

Uganda’s borders in security 

and with less bureaucracy. 

Benefits of this association 

simplify the process for 

travellers to obtain a visa 

from one of these country’s 

consulates, to travel with 

one and only one visa in 

these countries during 90 

days (3 months) and pay less 

for enjoying more during the 

journey. 

To visit one country, it will 

cost US$ 60 and for three, 

US$100. In the past, the 

costs were higher (more 

than US$100 for only one 

tourist visa for one country). 

Tanzania and Burundi could 

follow this movement in the 

future since they are already 

united by a security and 

monetary pact. 

ECPAT Platform 

Launched at ITB Berlin 

The sexual abuse of 

children by travellers 

is an ever-growing 

problem, but it has also 

become more frequent 

for travellers to witness 

such abuses. Despite 

this, few European sex 

offenders are convicted 

or even reported, 

despite extraterritorial 

legislation in most 

European countries. 

ECPAT International used 

ITB Berlin as the launchpad 

for its new European 

reporting platform (www. 

reportchildsextourism.eu), 

a tool for travellers to easily 

report suspected cases of 

child sexual exploitation 

in the context of travel 

and tourism, even after 

coming back to their home 

country. This platform is 

part of the “Don’t Look 

Away!” campaign, a 3 year 

ECPAT program supported 

by 16 countries of the 

European Union. Conceived 

in partnership with these 

countries and their national 

police, the platform benefits 

from the support of Interpol 

and Europol. 

European citizens and 

residents will be able to easily 

access online reporting 

forms as well as information 

on how to act if they suspect 

a case of sexual abuse 

and information on sexual 

exploitation of children in 

travel and tourism in general. 

By answering the simple 

questions “Who?”, “Where?” 

and “When?”, travellers are 

able to help the police nab 

the perpetrators of these 

heinous crimes, even if the 

names of the victim and 

perpetrator are not known. 

A version of the platform 

is already 

available on 

android and 

will soon be 

available on 

iTunes. 


14 ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 

Lee McCabe, 

Head of Travel Strategy, 

Facebook 

Social Goes Mobile 

Global Keynote by Lee McCabe, 

Head of Travel Strategy, Facebook 

With a very downto-earth 

delivery, Lee 

McCabe, Head of Travel 

Strategy, Facebook 

gave a simple factpacked 

presentation that 

nonetheless delivered 

some surprises. As much 

about the general habits 

of modern consumers 

as about Facebook 

itself, the first fact that 

impressed the audience 

gathering in Hall 3 of 

the ICC was this: “Last 

year, in the USA, digital 

consumption overtook 

TV consumption for 

the first time. This is as 

significant as the last 

big change, when TV 

overtook radio in the 

1950s.” McCabe was 

quick to point out that the 

rest of the world would 

quickly follow the USA. 

It was an interesting way 

to stress the importance 

of focusing on reaching 

those people that live 

in a more digital world. 

“Omni-channelling” was 

very much the buzzword 

at the ITB Summit; 

McCabe broke this down 

into efficiency, multichannel 

and identity. 

Looking specifically at 

how the travel industry 

could use Facebook and 

other mobile platforms 

more efficiently to target 

advertising, he illustrated 

how “70% of people 

updated their Facebook 

status while on holiday” 

– and that this, as well 

as the role of Facebook 

as the world’s “mostused 

platform to share 

holiday photos,” was the 

moment that inspired the 

user’s friends to “dream” 

and think about taking a 

holiday themselves. 

BY 2015, 

12% OF ALL 

TRAVEL 

BOOKINGS 

WILL BE 

DONE ON 

A MOBILE 

DEVICE 

In other words – one 

person’s entire friendlist 

becomes a captive 

audience primed to 

think about potential 

travel destinations and 

booking a holiday of 

their own. This kind of 

site-specific targeting, 

alongside the ability to 

identify the real people 

with their individual 

tastes, income and 

circumstances, was the 

best way to use the kind 

of “Big Data” Facebook 

specialises in. 

Another intriguing 

statistic, relevant to 

the market, is how 

quickly mobile activity 

is overtaking traditional 

desktop & laptop 

behaviours. “By 2015, 

12% of all travel bookings 

will be done on a 

mobile device,” McCabe 

predicted, suggesting 

that, in the move from 

web to apps, any travel 

company that invented 

“one good app” for all 

travel needs would drive 

efficiency and loyalty. 

One of McCabe’s final 

revelations was the way 

mobile social media 

has re-democratised 

the way people make 

their travel choices. A 

process that historically 

began with person-toperson 

word-of-mouth 

recommendations, 

through generations 

of dealing with travel 

agents and then web 

algorithms, has gone 

full circle and is back – 

literally - in the hands of 

the people. 

ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 2014: 

FOCUS ON DIVERSITY 

The ITB Berlin Convention 

again underlined its role 

as the leading think tank 

of the international travel 

industry with a wide and 

fascinating range of topics. 

From 5 to 8 March 2014 

leading international experts 

and tourism professionals 

gathered to discuss the 

future of the travel industry. 

This year, Malaysia, the 

Convention & Culture 

Partner, made a special 

contribution. The Hon. Dato’ 

Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan 

ITB MARKETING AND 

DISTRIBUTION DAY 

– INVESTIGATION: HOW RELIABLE 

ARE ONLINE CUSTOMER 

EVALUATIONS? 

Anyone listening to Professor 

Dr Roland Conrady at the 

ITB Berlin Convention 

2014 can be reassured: the 

investigation carried out by 

the Academic Director of 

the ITB Berlin Convention 

and professor at the Worms 

Technical College together 

with his students for ITB 

Berlin 2014 reveals that 

everyone – travellers, 

platform operators and 

hoteliers – have become 

much more professional in 

their dealings with online 

hotel evaluations. 

Although almost half of 

all guests still believe 

Sri Abdul Aziz, the Malaysian 

Minister of Tourism and 

Culture, opened the ITB 

Berlin Convention. 

BUSINESS TRAVEL DAY 

– A JOURNEY AROUND THE EARTH 

IN 90 MINUTES – WITH NASA 

When Ulrich Walter relates 

details about his trip into 

space he sounds like a 

professional tour guide, 

even providing advice about 

taking photographs. But the 

scientist and astronaut, who 

is also chair of the Aerospace 

Systems Department at 

the Technical University of 

Munich, is in fact ”only“ 

describing a fascinating 

series of images at the ITB 

Berlin Convention: These 

photos, taken from an 

altitude of between 350 and 

400 km present the world 

from every perspective. 

The northern lights at 

night, the archipelago of 

artificial islands off Dubai 

and, in particular: one of 

eight sunrises and sunsets 

experienced each day, 

because one circles the Earth 

every 90 minutes. 

that up to one third of all 

the evaluations provided 

have been manipulated 

most review sites have 

established quality assurance 

processes, automatically 

filter out suspect evaluations, 

subject them to thorough 

examination and make their 

decision about publication on 

this basis. The highest ratings 

for the comprehensiveness 

of the hotel information, 

detailed nature of the 

evaluation and protection 

against manipulation are 

obtained by Holidaycheck 

and Opodo, followed by 

Expedia, TripAdvisor and Abin-den-Urlaub. 



ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 

15 

© Cleverdis 

(From left) Michael 

Altewischer, Executive 

Director, Wellness-Hotel 

& Resorts; Moderator 

Christina Eulgem, Chief 

Executive, Margengold 

PR; and Ronald Fricke, 

Executive Director, 

beauty24 

Healthy Wellness Market 

for 2014 

Steady growth rates in past years due to increased frequency among 

existing customers 

At this year’s ITB Berlin 2014 Convention, wellness organizer beauty24 

and Wellness-Hotels & Resorts presented current trends and developments 

in the wellness travel industry. Based on a 2014 survey with more than 

3000 participating hoteliers and guests, the results reveal a chastened 

yet optimistic industry outlook-- despite the first decrease in growth 

numbers since the beginning of the wellness boom 20 years ago. 

Michael Altewischer, 

executive director of 

Wellness-Hotel & Resorts, 

and Ronald Fricke, 

executive director of 

beauty24, spoke about the 

underlying reasons for the 

changing growth rates and 

provided insights into the 

preferences of frequent 

wellness travelers. 

According to the survey 

findings, only 43% of the 

participating hoteliers 

registered a revenue 

growth in 2013 compared 

to almost 65% in 2010. 

58% of the hoteliers expect 

further growth in 2014 

compared to 75% in 2010. 

Referring to the curbed 

industry optimism as 

“complaining on a high 

comfort level,” Fricke 

highlights the industry’s 

longstanding and steady 

growth rates. 

Both Fricke and 

Altewischer attribute 

decline to the exhaustion 

of potential markets. After 

the target group already 

expanded to encompass 

men and families, there 

remain few new markets 

the wellness sector could 

tap into. Despite this lack 

of opportunity, the industry 

was fortunate enough to 

maintain steady growth 

rates in the past few 

years due to the increased 

frequency of wellness 

holiday bookings among 

existing customers. 

Another relevant survey 

cited in the discussion 

refers to customer 

preferences. In comparison 

to other types of holidays, 

wellness tourists spend 

more time in their hotels, 

regardless of their age. 

It therefore comes to no 

surprise that 95% of the 

surveyed wellness tourists 

state the most decisive 

factor for relaxation was 

ambience. 

These findings also reflect 

the 2013 investment trend 

among hoteliers: 85% 

invested in the renovation 

and expansion of their 

hotels in the past year. 

Michael Altwischer clearly 

attributed this development 

to “the positive effects of 

the reduced VAT rate for 

the hotel industry.” 

Facts & figures 

Global wellness tourism 

economy spotlighted in 

ITB Berlin conference 

As more and more people pay attention to their 

health and want to keep up their healthy habits when 

they travel, sometimes even taking trips specifically 

to maintain their health and wellbeing, wellness 

tourism is becoming increasingly recognised as a 

sector in its own right. 

During a conference at ITB Berlin, Susie Ellis, 

Chairman of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit 

announced her organisation’s new affiliation with the 

UNWTO, which has recognised Wellness tourism as a 

niche category. The UNWTO will soon start promoting 

wellness tourism and collaborate on research with 

the Global Spa & Wellness Summit. 

At the conference, it was revealed that wellness 

tourism accounts for 14% (438.6 billion dollars) of 

all domestic and international tourism expenditures. 

International wellness tourists spend about 65% 

more per trip than average international tourists, 

and domestic wellness tourists spend in average 

150% more per trip than average domestic tourists. 

Europe, North America and the wealthier Asian 

countries are leading the market today; however, half 

the projected growth through 2017 will take place 

in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North 

Africa. Wellness tourism is projected to grow by 9.1% 

annually through 2017, a growth rate that is nearly 

50% higher than the overall global tourism. 


16 ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 

CSR Climbs 

on Priority List 

At ITB Berlin Convention, corporate 

social responsibility is at the heart of 

debates 

Rika 

Jean-François 

CSR Commissioner, 

ITB Berlin 

Tina Hirt 

Head of Human 

ResourcesTravelmanagement, 

Festo AG & Co. KG 

Susanne 

D. Schick 

Senior Manager, 

Fraport AG 

At the ITB Corporate 

Social Responsibility 

Day on 7th March, 

prominent experts 

from the tourism 

industry and politics 

gathered to discuss 

strategies, best 

practices and the 

economic potential of 

sustainable tourism. 

The world’s leading travel 

trade show also set the 

tone with a focus on 

human rights in tourism. 

Furthermore, at the 

ITB CSR Day ITB Berlin 

signed an agreement 

committing to support 

human rights in tourism. 

At ITB Berlin, for the 

first time a management 

concept was laid out that 

advises tour operators on 

how to address the issue 

of human rights. A new 

guide provides companies 

with practical tips to assist 

its implementation. 

Jenny Rushmore, 

director of Responsible 

Travel Tripadvisor, 

and Deirdre Shurland, 

senior consultant, UNEP 

Tourism & Environment 

Programme discussed 

how marketing heads can 

successfully communicate 

the idea of sustainable 

tourism in exciting ways. 

Ms Rushmore stated: 

“Responsible travel can 

encompass many different 

areas. We have only just 

started in our journey at 

TripAdvisor, so our first 

step is focussing mostly 

on the environment. 

The Green Leaders’ 

Program is primarily 

environmental. The idea 

of having environmentally 

responsible practices 

in the hotel is certainly 

becoming increasingly 

common. Properties that 

receive the highest scores 

range from luxurious, 

expensive hotels through 

to budget chain properties, 

small B&B’s and motels. 

It’s clear that a lot of people 

have the basic messages 

and are starting to do the 

right thing, but I think 

there is still a lot of room 

for improvement. We are 

highlighting properties 

that are doing all the 

best practices, explaining 

exactly why a hotel is in 

the program and what 

they do. We are hoping 

to educate the public, and 

encourage other hotels 

to look towards the role 

models, thinking ‘if they 

can do it, so can I’.” 

For their part, cruise tour 

operators have come 

under fire as regards their 

approach to sustainable 

tourism. In an interview 

Thomas P. Illes, a cruise 

market analyst, university 

lecturer and journalist, 

and Dr. Henning Brauer, 

principal consultant, DNV 

GL, and former head of 

Neubau Europa 2, Hapag 

Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, 

discussed new Association 

technologies and how 

effective they are. In this 

respect, Cruise Lines 

International (CLIA) CEO 

Christine Duffy told ITB 

Berlin News, “Cruise lines 

are investing very heavily 

in new technology that’s 

available today to reduce 

emissions, cut down on 

our carbon footprint and 

soften our impact on the 

environment. It is a journey 

that’s never finished. I 

know in Europe, with the 

work that CLIA does with 

the International Maritime 

Organisation, there is an 

ongoing focus looking 

at lower sulphur marine 

fuels and the availability 

of those fuels.” 

Business 

Travel for 

Women 

Risks and requirements 

for female business 

travellers 

The proportion of business 

trips made by women 

has reached 50% in the 

USA, Northern Europe 

is still a little behind at 

40%. Revealing these 

figures in her convention 

speech, Tina Hirt, Head 

of Human Resources 

Travelmanagement, Festo 

AG & Co. KG, addressed 

those issues faced 

uniquely by the female 

business traveller - 

primarily issues of safety, 

comfort and cultural 

sensitivity. 

“Researching destinations 

and planning ahead 

are essential,” she said, 

highlighting the different 

attitudes to women, the 

serious religion-based 

expectations of dresscode 

and behaviour in 

different countries, from 

Afghanistan to Mexico, 

but also the dangers of 

“finding yourself alone, 

at night, waiting for a 

transfer.” 

Ultimately, she advised 

pragmatism, preparation 

and common sense. 

During the ensuing panel 

discussion asking if 

travel managers should 

be affording special 

treatment to female 

clients, the overall 

consensus was that 

women and men travelling 

for business have 

identical requirements – 

from health & wellbeing 

in hotel facilities to 

conveniently-organised 

transfers. 

As Susanne D. Schick, 

Senior Manager, Fraport 

AG said “We are so 

emancipated now we 

don’t need special rules, 

but there are certainly 

things that can make 

our travel more safe and 

comfortable” - from chainlocks 

and women-only 

floors, to skirt-hangers 

and less-complicated 

shower controls. 



TRADE TALK 

17 

Meeting 

Place 

for Top 

Buyers 

The ITB Buyers 

Circle focuses on 

top buyers from 

the operational 

departments of 

medium-sized to 

large enterprises 

in the global travel 

industry 

The exclusive ITB Buyers Circle Lounge 

provides 700 top buyers of the tourism 

industry with a separate meeting room 

facilities in a private atmosphere onsite. 

About half the buyers are German and the 

other half from international markets. 

The Buyers Circle offers free entrance to 

the trade fair and the ITB Berlin, as well 

as the convention (and a free trade visitor 

ticket for ITB Asia). 

For Buyers Circle members, there’s no 

waiting time thanks to the Fast Lane and 

a special shuttle service. 

And the Buyers Circle Lounge with 

refreshments, meeting rooms and 

relaxation area is popular. Members can 

sit in the work zone with free internet, 

trade journals and newspaper. Or book 

a meeting room for a private business 

session. There’s even a massage service 

on-hand to relieve some of the physical 

tension that comes with high-powered 

business. 

This exclusive Circle of Buyers is a free 

service, reserved for a hand-picked list 

from the operational departments of 

medium-sized to large enterprises of the 

global travel industry. If you interested, 

you can actually apply for the ITB Buyers 

Circle 2015 when the next application 

round starts in November 2014. 

Contact is at 

itbbuyerscircle@messe-berlin.de 

You may have seen the interviews with 

members of the Buyers Circle in each 

day’s issue of ITB Berlin News. Our 

reporters stopped in and chatted with 

several members at random. 

Richard Welker 

Managing Director Welldays, Switzerland 

Welldays travel agency was 

established in September 1999 

under the name of “wellness 

holidays” and has been 

specializing in high quality 

health and wellness holidays. 

The owner Richard Welker 

explains why he is here at ITB 

Berlin, “Everybody is here. We 

are looking for hoteliers and also 

talking to DMCs. The conference 

Susanne Leinzinger 

Hotel Buyer, Montana Touristic GmbH, Germany 

Montana Touristic GmbH is 

an incoming agency exclusive 

partner of Thomas Cook Group 

since 1993. Their hotel buyers 

touring every year all over 

Germany in order to expand the 

portfolio for the tour operator. 

Ms Leinzinger is visiting ITB for 

the first time. 

“ITB Berlin is very big, very 

impressive,” she notes. “It’s 

important for us to meet contact 

Casey Yoon 

Michael Stuewe 

was very useful as we were 

particularly interested in the 

online marketing sessions.” 

“I am packed with meetings,” 

notes Welker, “with only a free 

half hour here or there. Most of 

my appointments were booked 

three weeks in advance. If you 

don’t have an appointment, you 

won’t be able to get in to meet 

the right people you need.” 

here, as well as to see what’s 

happening in the industry. We’re 

doing contracts with hotels in 

Germany only, so most of our 

meetings were booked one 

month ahead.” 

Her advice to other visitors new 

to ITB Berlin: “You have to know 

where to go on the fairgrounds, 

otherwise you can easily be 

lost.” 

Product Manager Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro for Category Management 

AutoReisen, TUI Deutschland, Germany 

TUI Germany GmbH is one of 

the leading travel and leisure 

companies in Europe. Based 

in Hannover, Mr Stuewe is a 

Product Manager with specific 

geographical responsibility 

covering Croatia, Slovenia, and 

Montenegro in the Category 

Management AutoReisen. 

Jayden Kwak 

Team Manager in the Sales Team Manager in the Sales & Marketing 

& Marketing Division Division 

Jason Travel Service, Korea 

Jason Travel Service is 

recognized as one of the 

prestigious travel agencies 

in Korea, with 20 years 

of experience in high end 

honeymoon, family and 

corporate incentive markets. 

At least 30% of their business 

is repeat business from a loyal 

customer base. 

“We are here to find partners,” 

says Mr Yoon. “ITB Berlin is so 

big, and it’s my first visit. It’s 

a good thing that ITB Berlin 

makes such clear directions to 

get around this large show” 

“It is extremely convenient 

to have access to the Buyers 

Circle with lounge.” 

“Most of my clients are in one 

hall so I’ll be here just two days,” 

explains Mr Stuewe. He is a 

veteran of many ITB Berlin and 

still finds the Buyers Circle as an 

important service. 


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AMERICAS EUROPE 

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS 

19 

Towards Year-Round 

Tourism Business 

Trinidad & Tobago continues on strategic vision 

for sustainable development of the sector 

At ITB Berlin, Trinidad & Tobago highlighted its strategic vision to expand 

the islands’ tourism sector into a year-round industry. We asked Tracy 

Davidson-Celestine, Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretary of Tourism 

and Transportation in the Tobago House of Assembly what key factors 

are being leveraged in developing tourism in her nation… 

Tactical marketing, 

strategic development and 

investment stimulation 

are essential for the 

sustainable development 

of Tobago’s tourism 

industry. Our efforts are 

succeeding, as for the 

period January-December 

2013, a total of 1,001,752 

passengers arrived 

in Tobago, 4% higher 

when compared to 2012 

(962,883). 

What new tourism 

products were highlighted 

at your stand? 

In addition to our 

continued commitment to 

improving Tobago’s room 

stock, sites and attractions, 

the intent has been to offer 

a different and unique 

visitor experience that was 

unmatched and of high 

value. 

A new four-star resort is 

planned for development. 

Could you tell us more? 

Work on Indigo Bay is 

scheduled to begin in 

the first quarter of this 

year. The 79–suite hotel 

is due be completed in 16 

months. It will be situated 

on the western end of 

the island. Distinguishing 

features include a design 

that will make guests feel 

Tracy Davidson-Celestine 

Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretary of Tourism and 

Transportation in the Tobago House of Assembly 

as though they are on the 

deck of a ship; and a pool 

wall will double as a movie 

screen allowing guests to 

view 1930 movies under 

the stars. 

THE INTENT WAS TO OFFER 

A DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE 

VISITOR EXPERIENCE THAT 

WAS UNMATCHED AND OF 

HIGH VALUE 

What other new 

attractions were 

highlighted at ITB Berlin? 

The Heritage Trail 

through Scarborough is 

a celebration of Tobago’s 

Rich History. It will begin 

at the Scarborough 

Harbour/Sea Port, linking 

eight historical sites and 

ending at the main and 

most preserved fort on 

the island- Fort King 

George. Then there is 

the new Underwater 

Museum featuring sunken 

Dutch battleships in the 

Harbour of our capital, 

Scarborough. 

How important is ITB 

Berlin as part of your 

global marketing plan? 

ITB is a vibrant mustattend 

business-tobusiness 

event for Tobago. 

It allows us to meet all 

our trade partners, update 

travel agents and network 

with a diverse range of 

destinations and industry 

sectors. 

TOBAGO 

UNDERWATER 

MUSEUM 

Development of 

this new attraction 

from sunken Dutch 

battleships in the 

Harbour in the 

capital, Scarborough. 

Initial collaborative 

effort has been 

between the Dutch 

Embassy, University 

of Connecticut, 

University of Trinidad 

& Tobago and The 

Division of Tourism 

& Transportation. 

Great prospects for 

training and career 

opportunities in 

Marine Archaeology, 

Coastal and Marine 

biology and other 

marine sciences. 

Project to be launched 

in the third quarter of 

2014. 

‘ROMANCE HUT’ FOR 

TOBAGO’S PIGEON 

POINT HERITAGE 

PARK DEVELOPMENT 

6000 square feet with 

all modern amenities. 

This ‘Romance Hut’ 

will be used to 

raise the profile 

of the Weddings & 

Honeymoon product 

offering in Tobago. 

However the facility 

will also be used for 

other events and 

meetings. Future 

Plans include: 20 Eco 

Lodges, Zip Lining, 

Rock Climbing and 

Increased Parking 

Facility and further. 

pphp.ilitegroup.com 

SHAW PARK 

CULTURAL CENTRE 

The Shaw Park Cultural 

Complex project is 

expected to bring 

significant benefits to 

Tobago by providing a 

5000-seat facility that 

can host all carnivaltype 

and cultural 

activities, facilitate 

entertainment and 

convention tourism 

and indoor sport 

activities. By the 

end of 2014, Tobago 

will be home to the 

Caribbean’s premiere 

arts and culture venue 

with a mission to 

support, advance, and 

promote the arts in 

Tobago, Trinidad, the 

Caribbean and the 

Latin American Region. 

www.shaw-park.org 


20 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS 

EUROPE ASIA 

China: 

Travel Just Got Smarter 

ITB Berlin is the platform for China’s launch of new and exciting 

communication campaign 

From left to right: 

Dr. Christian Göke 

CEO Messe Berlin 

Klaus Wowereit 

Mayor of Berlin 

Shanhua Xiong 

Deputy Director General, 

China National Tourism Administration 

China made the official 

European debut for its official 

global campaign “Beautiful 

China – 2014 Year of Smart 

Travel” at ITB Berlin 2014. 

The Year of Smart Travel 2014 

has been designated by China’s 

National Tourism Administration 

(CNTA) to promote the optimal 

combination of information 

technology and tourism industry, 

including travel products design, 

travel service upgrading and 

tourism market developments. 

At the European launch of this 

campaign at ITB Berlin, the CNTA 

spoke of the efforts China has been 

making to use technology to make 

visiting China even more navigable 

and enjoyable. Special events 

and promotions are taking place 

throughout 2014 to emphasize this 

theme. 

The new website can be viewed 

at www.travelchina.gov.cn which 

serves as the official website 

for China tourism promotion 

throughout the world. The website 

is currently in English and Chinese, 

but will eventually be offered 

in multiple languages to include 

French, German, Russian, Korean, 

Japanese, and other languages. 

The new site is rich with content, 

from geographic and activity 

information about what to see and 

do in China, as well as interactive 

trip planning. In the near future, 

the website will also be updated 

for smartphones, tablets and other 

mobile platforms. 

It is reported that to forge 

“Beautiful China” into a core brand 

of Chinese tourism and to form a 

lasting promotional effect, CNTA is 

designing a series of China tourism 

years around this theme in the 

coming years. 

The website project for overseas 

promotion of tourism in China 

was officially started by CNTA 

in September 2012. Supported 

by six databases, namely, the 

geographical database, product 

database, market and user 

database, comprehensive tourism 

information database, tourism 

promotion database, and China 

profile database, it incorporates 

the four major functions of 

tourism information release, 

tourism product introduction, 

brand promotion, and search 

& interaction with tourists. 

Meanwhile, the website offers 

simultaneously apps for smart 

phones, tablet computers and 

other mobile terminals, providing 

official tourism information and 

promotion in an all-round manner. 

In the future, a visitor database will 

be created in addition and more 

functions will be offered, including 

market survey, outreach service, 

destination cooperation, user 

tracking and analysis, etc. 

Mr Shanhua Xiong, vice director 

of Marketing & Cooperation at the 

CNTA explained the concept of the 

site to around 200 journalists and 

trade professionals in Berlin, at 

China’s official press event at ITB 

Berlin. 

China’s stand at ITB Berlin was 

among the most impressive, with a 

total of 116 representatives belong 

to the delegations of 16 cities and 

provinces, such as Tianjin, Inner 

Mongolia, Jilin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, 

Fujian, Henan, Hubei, Guangdong, 

Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, 

Yunnan, Shaanxi, Qinghai and 

Xinjiang, including 37 companies 

and 34 tourism offices. 

The upshot of China’s press event 

at ITB Berlin was that the country 

has so much to offer that is still 

unknown, spread across all the 

provinces. It was part of a general 

trend at ITB Berlin for countries to 

“dig deeper” and introduce new 

venues and attractions. 



EUROPE ASIA 


21 

A Taste of 

Indonesia 

Riding on the wave of 

promotional success at ITB 

Berlin 

Visit Malaysia 

Targets 36 Million 

Arrivals In 2020 

Ambitious plans to grow tourism in 

Malaysia aided by regional economic 

integration 

Indonesia booth at 

ITB Berlin 2014 

Indonesia, last year’s official partner country of 

ITB Berlin, continues on a path towards more 

highly diversified tourism throughout the region. 

The Vice Minister of 

Tourism and Creative 

Economy, H.E. Sapta 

Nirwandar, accompanied 

by a team of top-level 

tourism personnel from 

his administration, were 

present at ITB Berlin. 

Mr Nirwandar says 

his country is well on 

the way to improving 

infrastructure to welcome 

tourists: “We recognise the 

need to develop physical 

and soft infrastructure 

to ensure sustainable 

development of beyond 

Bali destinations,” says Mr 

Nirwandar. “We are also 

facilitating private sector 

investment to participate 

in developing tourism 

destinations in Indonesia. 

Tourists increasingly ask 

for different activities 

and things to do, and 

there are many excellent 

opportunities in Indonesia. 

Besides beautiful beaches 

and coral reefs, the 

potential for tourists to 

discover Indonesia’s sun, 

sea, sand, and relaxation 

will be progressively 

promoted.” 

Indonesia’s stand at ITB 

Berlin is always one of 

the most impressive in the 

Asian section of the show, 

with a large number of 

local tour operators and 

hotel chains present. Mr 

Nirwander says this is not 

just for show: “Honestly, 

this is business. We cannot 

push or force people to 

come. They are happy 

with the business here, as 

they are not just selling 

to German clients. Here 

they are able to sell to 

customers from all around 

the world, and that’s what 

makes it interesting. This 

is the global sellers’ and 

buyers’ market.” 

“Promoting a country at 

ITB Berlin is not a cost. 

It’s long-term, mid-term 

and even short-term 

investment”, says the Vice- 

Minister. “Investing here at 

ITB, I am confident that the 

Return on Investment for 

any country that partners 

with the show will be very 

interesting. Last year, we 

invested in this way and we 

are enjoying the Return on 

Investment now. We have 

to consistently continue 

promotion. Even Coca 

Cola, who are well known 

all over the world, are still 

promoting themselves all 

the time. We also have so 

many regions to promote 

that it must be an ongoing 

activity. This is important 

as tourism creates jobs, 

reduces poverty, and brings 

prosperity for the people.” 

At ITB Berlin 2014, 

it’s the fourth “Visit 

Malaysia” year. We 

asked Dato’ Mirza 

Mohammad Taiyab, 

Director General, 

Tourism Malaysia, 

what was different 

compared to previous 

editions… 

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 

is the springboard to 

boost Malaysia’s tourism 

industry and to effectively 

position Malaysia as the 

ideal holiday destination in 

the minds of both domestic 

and international tourists. 

Malaysia aims to receive 

28 million foreign tourist 

arrivals & RM76billion 

(€17b) tourist receipts in 

2014. VMY 2014 will also 

serve as the catalyst for the 

Malaysia tourism industry 

to move forward and 

realise the Government’s 

target of 36 million tourist 

arrivals and RM168 (€37b) 

in receipts by year 2020. 

How do you see Malaysia’s 

image in Europe? 

Thanks to the support of 

European media, agents 

and our own active 

presence in the market, 

Malaysia enjoys a positive 

tourism image in the 

region and we are working 

hard to maintain this 

positive relationship with 

the market here through 

smart partnerships, media 

visibility and engagement 

with the public. 

With ASEAN moving into 

a single market under 

the ASEAN Economic 

Community, what would 

be the benefits for 

Malaysia Tourism? 

Dato’ Mirza 

Mohammad Taiyab 

Director General, Tourism Malaysia 

AEC 2015 IS A GAME- 

CHANGER AS IT WILL 

ENHANCE THE TRAVEL 

FACILITATION AND 

CONNECTIVITY WITHIN 

ASEAN 

The goal of ASEAN 

Economic Community 

(AEC) is regional economic 

integration by 2015. 

The AEC will transform 

ASEAN into a region with 

free movement of goods, 

services, investment, 

skilled labour, and 

freer flow of capital. In 

this respect, tourism in 

Malaysia would definitely 

be able to reap the benefits 

from this free movement of 

people within the region. 

AEC 2015 is a gamechanger 

as it will enhance 

the travel facilitation 

and connectivity within 

ASEAN, as transport 

is an important key 

factor in tourism. It has 

helped to accelerate 

the process of ASEAN 

Open Skies. This will 

mean more destinations, 

increased capacities 

and lower cost of travel, 

thereby encouraging 

more tourists to travel 

not only to Malaysia but 

also Southeast Asia as a 

region. 



EUROPE ASIA 

More than Lucky for Travellers 

777 Days of Incredible Indian Himalaya reflects great beauty of region 

With an extraordinary cultural diversity 

and beautiful landscapes, India is one of the 

destinations that appeals most to international 

travellers; a fact confirmed by 6.85 million 

international arrivals in 2013, according to a 

government press conference at ITB Berlin. 

Girish Shankar, Additional 

Secretary, Ministry of 

Tourism for the Government 

of India, spoke at the press 

conference about two ideas 

for attracting tourists to the 

destination in 2014. 

First, with 365 days in 

a year, India suggests 

a fascinating journey 

with its new campaign 

on the Himalayas: “777 

Days of Incredible Indian 

Himalaya.” That lucky 

number filled with 7s reflects 

the great natural beauty in 

a two-year discovery visit 

to the region of the country 

(Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal 

Oradesh, Uttarakh and, 

Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, 

Westbengalen), which 

borders Tibet, Bangladesh, 

Bhutan and Myanmar. 

Secondly, to help the visitors 

and tour operators prepare 

their trips, the Ministry of 

Tourism’s website has been 

updated and reorganised. 

IATO (Indian Association 

of Tour Operators) takes 

part in the changes with 

Plan Your Vacation. Other 

important links are online: 

Indian visa info, bookings 

(for a flight, a hotel, a bus, a 

train), e-books, 360° virtual 

walking tour, general and 

essential information. 

(From left to right) 

Ajit Gupte, Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy 

of India, 

Girish Shankar, additional Secretary 

Ministry of Tourism for the Government of India, 

Pasang Dorjee Sonq, Parliamentary 

Secretary – Government of Arunachal Pradesh 

Osaka… 

and All That Jazz 

Osaka selected as global host city 

for UNESCO International Jazz Day 2014 

The Japanese delegation to 

ITB Berlin has revealed that 

Osaka is to be the Global Host 

City for International Jazz 

Day 2014. The concept for 

the event was spawned by 

UNESCO Director-General 

Irina Bokova and UNESCO 

Goodwill Ambassador 

Herbie Hancock. 

Presented each year on 

April 30 th in partnership 

with the Thelonious 

Monk Institute of Jazz, 

International Jazz Day 

encourages and highlights 

intercultural dialogue and 

understanding through 

jazz, uniting people in all 

corners of the globe. 

“It is a great honor for Osaka 

to host this celebration and 

global movement in which 

appreciation for culture 

becomes the common 

language, an enabler for 

embracing our differences. 

Osaka has a rich history 

of fertile grounds where 

many forms of art have 

flourished. In the early 

1920’s Osaka was known 

as the Mecca for Jazz in 

Japan. We look forward to 

welcoming the world to 

the Asian Gateway Osaka 

with our city’s hospitality” 

- Director Ken Kunio of 

the Osaka Government 

Tourism Bureau. 

Osaka will kick off the 

2014 International Jazz 

Day celebration on April 

30 th with a daylong 

series of jazz education 

programs, performances, 

and community 

outreach. Master classes, 

roundtable discussions, 

improvisational 

workshops, and education 

programs led by worldrenowned 

jazz musicians, 

educators, and diplomats 

will take place in various 

places around the city. 

In the evening an All- 

Star Global Concert at 

the Osaka Castle Park, a 

fortress carrying over 430 

years of history for the city, 

will feature performances 

by Herbie Hancock, Dee 

Dee Bridgewater, Wayne 

Shorter, Kenny Garrett, 

Esperanza Spalding, 

amongst many other 

internationally acclaimed 

artists. From the home 

grounds of Japan, artists 

such as acclaimed jazz 

trumpeter Terumasa Hino 

and Japanese-American 

Jazz Pianist Toshiko 

Akiyoshi are expected. 



EUROPE ASIA 


23 

Crisis or 

Opportunity? 

Thawatchai Arunyik, Governor of the Tourism 

Authority of Thailand, explains how his 

government is planning for further growth despite 

problems in Bangkok 

In 2013, Thailand 

welcomed 26.73 million 

international visitors, 

up 19.6% over 2012. 

Thawatchai Arunyik, 

Governor of the Tourism 

Authority of Thailand, TAT 

told ITB Berlin News that 

his government expects 

further growth this year 

despite political mayhem 

in the country. 

China is our biggest market at 

4.7 million arrivals followed 

by Malaysia with 2.99 million 

arrivals. Five other markets- 

India, Russia, Japan, Korea 

and Laos- generate over a 

million arrivals each. Europe 

historically played a major 

role in Thai tourism. In 2013, 

European visitor arrivals 

reached 6.3 million. For 2014, 

we expect 6.36 million arrivals 

and 10.2 billion € in revenues 

from Europe. 

Bangkok is currently 

experiencing political 

turbulences. Do you see 

the current situation as an 

opportunity to promote 

destinations beyond 

Bangkok? 

That is exactly what we are 

doing. Due to the current 

situation in Bangkok, TAT 

is converting a crisis into an 

opportunity by promoting 

many wonderful and emerging 

destinations in regions. We 

organise for example more 

media and agents fam trips to 

unaffected areas such as Krabi, 

Samui, Phang-nga, Chiang 

Rai or Sukhothai. We are 

also promoting border areas 

with our neighbours from the 

Greater Mekong Subregion. 

You took over the Governor’s 

position last December. 

Thawatchai 

Arunyik 

Governor of the Tourism 

Authority of Thailand 

What are the new impulses 

you would like to infuse into 

promotion and marketing? 

Is social media becoming 

an essential communication 

tool? 

TAT has worked tirelessly over 

the years to build a strong 

tourism foundation. My job is 

to build on that and implement 

the strategies and projects 

outlined in our Marketing 

Action Plan. I want to further 

strengthen alliances with 

industry partners, boost costeffective 

communications 

via social media and ensure 

that the industry never 

loses sight at environmental 

sustainability. 

Thailand is a faithful partner 

of ITB Berlin. How important 

is this presence at ITB in your 

strategy? 

This year, ITB Berlin marked 

the 49 th anniversary since its 

DUE TO 

THE 

CURRENT 

SITUATION IN 

BANGKOK, TAT 

IS CONVERTING 

A CRISIS INTO 

AN 

OPPORTUNITY 

inauguration in 1966. It also 

marked Thailand’s 40th year 

of participation in the show. 

I am proud to recognise the 

unparalleled contribution of 

this great event in developing 

European travel to Thailand. 

At ITB Berlin this year, we had 

over 116 Thai participants. 

Vigan, North Luzon, Philippines 

Tacloban 

and Bohol 

“Back in 

Business” 

Philippines overcomes 

typhoon tragedy to push 

ahead with tourism 

Visitor arrivals in the Philippines in 

2013 reached 4,681,307, up by 9.56% 

over 2012, despite the archipelago’s 

tragic typhoon. But what is the 

outlook for the current year? We 

put the question to Daniel Corpuz, 

Undersecretary of State for the 

Philippines Department of Tourism… 

Tourism continues to demonstrate sustained 

growth despite challenges brought forth by 

natural calamities that struck the central 

part of the Philippines in the last quarter. We 

remain optimistic that 2014 will be a recordbreaking 

year as we are likely to reach the five 

million arrival mark. 97% of the country was 

not affected by the calamity. Rebuilding and 

rehabilitation of Tacloban is now in full swing 

while Bohol is also back in business and is 

stepping up its promotion. 

How important is Europe for the Philippines? 

Do you expect a boost thanks to PAL return 

to Europe? 

Arrivals from Europe comprise around 11% 

of all our tourist arrivals. This is a lucrative 

market for Philippine tourism as it combines 

high expenditures and longer stays. The 

Department is very happy that PAL now flies 

the route Manila to London. With the UK being 

our biggest European source market, this 

development is expected to generate greater 

growth. And with excellent flight connections 

linking London to the rest of Europe, we are 

very optimistic that arrival figures from other 

European markets will also be boosted. We 

also encourage PAL’s introduction of more 

flights to Europe in the months and years 

to come. The Department of Tourism will 

certainly work together with PAL in promoting 

these new services. [INTERVIEW BY LUC CITRINOT ] 


EUROPE AFRICA 


25 

The Number 1 Safari Destination 

… And Much More! 

Kenya spotlights stable political and financial 

conditions as key to tourism growth 

Kenya is more than ever on the African tourist map as conditions continue to improve 

in the country. We asked Phyllis Jepkosgei Kipkingor–Kandie, Cabinet Secretary for 

East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism how she would best describe the current 

political and economic climate in Kenya… 

The climate has been 

very stable since the 

successful March 

2-13 elections and 

the government is 

delivering to Kenyans 

as per expectations. 

The devolution of 

power and resources 

is ensuring that all 

parts of the country are 

developed in a fairly 

uniform manner. 

How does the ministry 

of tourism work 

together with local 

TOs and hoteliers to 

ensure you have a 

harmonious offering? 

The government and 

industry are in the 

process of considering 

consolidation of their 

tourism marketing 

strategy. The Cabinet 

Secretary is working 

closely with tourism 

stakeholders who 

have a representation 

through a committee. 

S t a k e h o l d e r 

engagement forums 

are held regularly to 

engage the industry 

in discussing issues 

affecting the industry. 

What are some of 

the key internal 

destinations you 

featured at ITB Berlin 

this year? 

Kenya’s pristine 

beaches have been 

under the spotlight, 

along with our coastal 

culture, and authentic 

safari adventures. 

What is your key 

message to the world’s 

tour operators and 

travel agents present 

at ITB Berlin? 

Magical Kenya is now 

home to Oscar Award 

winner Lupita Nyong’o! 

Kenya remains the No. 

1 safari destination, and 

was winner of the WTA 

Awards in December, 

2013. The East African 

joint tourist Visa has 

enhanced the tourist 

product offering for the 

three countries Kenya, 

Rwanda and Uganda. 

Other East African 

countries are expected 

to come on-board in 

the near future. The 

diversification of our 

tourist products means 

people are now able 

to embrace sports, 

medical, cultural and 

eco tourism. Kenya is a 

secure destination and 

key international events 

continue to be hosted 

in Kenya. In terms of 

infrastructure, the Jomo 

Kenyatta International 

Airport (JKIA), a key hub 

in the region, is currently 

being expanded to 

accommodate more 

traffic. 

Phyllis Jepkosgei 

Kipkingor–Kandie 

Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, 

Commerce and Tourism 



MIDDLE EUROPE EAST 

MICE Just 

Got Hotter 

in Sharjah 

More than AED100 Million 

to Construct Expo Hotel 

Sharjah 

The Dubai Mall Night 

Towards Expo 2020 

Dubai thrills and surprises already at 

ITB Berlin 

HE Sheikh Sultan bin 

Ahmed Al Qassimi 

Board Member of Sharjah Executive Council 

At ITB Berlin 2014, it was revealed that an agreement has 

been signed for the construction of the Expo Hotel Sharjah 

at a cost of more than AED100 million with the aim of 

serving the Emirate’s various sectors and participants in 

the Expo Centre’s numerous events. 

The agreement was signed by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed 

Al Qassimi, who represented United Investment, and HE 

Ahmed Al Midfaa, Chairman of SCCI, in the presence of 

members of the SCCI’s Board of Directors, HE Hussain Al 

Mahmoudi, Director General of SCCI, and HE Khalifa Al 

Shaibani, Director General of United Investment. 

The first of its kind in Sharjah, the 200-room hotel, 

according to Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, will 

be constructed to the highest standards and will serve 

touristic and economic purposes in the emirate. The 

hotel, which will be strategically located near the Expo 

Centre Sharjah, will add a touristic value to the Emirate 

and will be part of an integrated system of services aimed 

at further enhancing the bright image of Sharjah across 

the world. 

Winning the bid to host Expo 2020 was a landmark moment for Dubai 

during 2013. But what will Expo 2020 change for Dubai in the years 

running up to the event? 

Dubai’s Expo bid is part 

of long-term vision that 

ensures sustainable 

national development 

and a prosperous future 

for the UAE. In May 2013, 

His Highness Sheikh 

Mohammed approved 

the Tourism Vision for 

2020, with a target figure 

of welcoming 20 million 

visitors a year to Dubai 

by 2020, a strategy which 

sets a clear path towards 

developing Dubai’s tourism 

industry and furthering 

its contribution to the 

Emirate’s economy. 

Saleh Al Geziry - Director of 

Overseas Promotions and 

Inward Missions, DTCM, 

Dubai confirms, “Although 

this Vision is separate to 

the Expo bid, we can now 

leverage the hosting of 

Expo 2020 and the focus 

it will place on Dubai as a 

means to attract visitors to 

Dubai.” 

Mr Al Geziry says his 

administration has been 

focusing on demonstrating 

why his country continues 

to capture the attention of 

more and more tourists 

from around the world: 

“When we won the Expo 

bid, His Highness Sheikh 

Mohammed bin Rashid 

Al Maktoum, UAE Vice 

President and Prime 

Minister and Ruler of Dubai 

promised to ‘astonish the 

world’ in 2020, but under his 

leadership we continue to 

surprise tourists, whether 

they be first time visitors or 

people who return again 

and again. Our destination 

offer continues to expand, 

with more hotels, more 

attractions and more 

events and the range of 

partners from the city who 

will represent Dubai at 

DTCM will demonstrate the 

ever-increasing breadth 

of our offer. JonesLang 

LaSalle recently named 

Dubai as one of the three 

most dynamic cities in the 

world – alongside London 

and San Francisco – and 

the New York Times has 

named Dubai as being 

within the top 25 places 

to go during 2014, and 

the increasing breadth of 

our offer is getting a lot of 

attention within the travel 

media. We are well known 

for our landmarks and 

headline developments 

such as Burj Al Arab, Burj 

Khalifa and The Palm 

Jumeirah; for our luxurious 

five-star resorts and hotels; 

for our beaches and for 

our retail offer but there 

is much more to Dubai 

such as the huge range 

of world-class events on 

offer throughout the year; 

a developing Art scene; 

and a choice of restaurants 

which is placing Dubai 

amongst the world’s top 

gastronomy destinations.” 



EUROPE 


27 

4 th Record Year 

for German Tourism 

GNTB says UK, Russia, Switzerland, Gulf States and Poland drive growth 

2013 was Germany’s fourth record year in succession for inbound tourism, 

with 71.6 million overnight stays from abroad and an increase of 4%, 

meaning Destination Germany is in top shape. We asked Petra Hedorfer, 

Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) 

what the key drivers were for growth. 

Five markets generated 

almost half of the total 

increase in overnight stays: 

the United Kingdom, Russia, 

Switzerland, the Arab Gulf 

States and Poland. For 2014 

we expect solid growth of 1% 

to 3% for incoming tourism 

to Germany, with the annual 

number of overnight stays 

by international visitors 

increasing to as much as 73 

million. 

For 2014, North America 

and Europe are on the up 

again. The industry has 

been showing buoyant 

growth since the start of 

the year, especially in the 

Eurozone. Source markets 

that were heavily affected by 

the financial and economic 

crises, such as Spain and 

Italy, are recovering and 

showing increasing stability. 

China and the Arab Gulf 

States continue to deliver 

strong growth. 

Germany celebrates this 

year its UNESCO listed 

heritage. How far is 

culture a driving factor for 

tourism? 

Cultural holidays are the 

second most frequent 

type of holiday taken by 

international visitors in 

Germany. The UNESCO 

World Heritage sites alone 

generate around five million 

international overnight 

stays every year. 7% of 

travellers from abroad list 

“visiting a UNESCO World 

Heritage site” as one of their 

holiday activities. We aim to 

use the UNESCO theme to 

highlight the importance of 

the UNESCO World Heritage 

sites, and we are giving 

equal emphasis to one 

each one. To this end, we 

are organising a wide range 

of measures, including 

the www.germany.travel/ 

unesco website, intensive 

media work in the form 

of press conferences, PR 

events and press highlight 

tours, and sales activities at 

trade fairs, roadshows and 

workshops. 

How are you promoting 

the 25th anniversary of 

the fall of the Berlin Wall? 

For the anniversary we are 

showcasing the huge variety 

of tourist attractions on offer 

in Destination Germany 25 

years after reunification. 

The focus is on our two-year 

campaign ‘25 perspectives 

on Destination Germany’, 

which is targeted at top 

international media, key 

market players, the travel 

industry and consumers. 

Of course, we are working 

closely with visitBerlin on 

this theme. The highlight of 

the festivities in Berlin on 

the weekend of 9 November 

2014 will be a large light 

installation along the line 

where the Berlin Wall used 

to stand. 


Berlin for GNTB? 

ITB Berlin is the world’s 

biggest and most important 

B2B platform for the tourism 

sector and is consequently a 

key instrument in the sales 

and marketing portfolio 

of the GNTB. We have 

overhauled our stand design 

in recent years to optimise 

the way we reach our 

target audience, creating 

an innovative trade fair 

stand concept. At our press 

conference in particular, we 

take advantage of the high 

number of representatives 

from the German and the 

international media to 

market the attractions of 

Destination Germany and 

new developments in the 

German tourism industry in 

a way that generates a high 

level of publicity and media 

impact. 

Remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall 

Petra Hedorfer 

Chief Executive Officer of the 

German National Tourist Board 

(GNTB) 

FOR 2014 

WE EXPECT 

SOLID 

GROWTH OF 

1% TO 3% 

FOR 

INCOMING 

TOURISM 

TO GERMANY 



EUROPE 

NBTC Expands Presence 

at ITB Berlin 

BRIC countries set to drive ongoing growth in Dutch Tourism 

© NBTC 

© NBTC 

Almost sixteen million tourists from aboard are expected to visit Holland in 

2025. This represents a growth of approximately 30% compared with the 

12.2 million tourists who visited the country in 2012. The performance of 

the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC) at ITB Berlin 

2014 will thus be of vital importance in terms of sticking to the nation’s 

plan for growth. 

Jos Vranken, General 

Manager of the NBTC is 

spearheading efforts at 

the show, beginning with 

a brand new Holland 

pavilion. “It’s bigger than 

ever, so in these times 

where you see little shows 

and stands decreasing 

and even disappearing, 

we’re quite happy that at 

such important show like 

ITB Berlin, we are there 

bigger than ever and with 

more partners than ever. 

So, that’s a strong sign of 

confidence in the current 

market in this particular 

event.” 

ITB Berlin marks the 

launching-point of 

Holland’s new campaign 

aimed at revitalizing 

the nation as a cycling 

destination. “We do have 

a strong reputation in 

terms of cycling, but we 

haven’t done an awful lot 

to activate that,” said Mr 

Vranken. 

The NBTC boss says 

expected growth over 

coming years will mainly 

be due to the relatively 

strong growth from the 

emerging travel markets, 

the BRIC countries: “With 

respect to the more mature 

travel markets, such as 

Europe, the prosperous 

baby-boomers will 

contribute significantly to 

the growth of international 

tourism in the coming 

years. A growing group 

of active senior citizens 

who have both the time 

and the money to travel 

will visit our country. 

In addition, the further 

growth and development 

of social travelling will 

offer opportunities.” 

NBTC’s expanded presence 

at ITB Berlin is in no way 

an accidental measure, as 

the show takes on growing 

importance in the market: 

“The fact that ITB Berlin 

is becoming more global 

is extremely important, 

because we’re active in 

12 foreign source markets 

and it’s quite efficient and 

effective to meet up and 

get in touch with your 

existing and potentially 

new partners at this event. 

So, for us and certainly 

for our trade partners, it’s 

probably one of the more 

efficient and effective ways 

of getting in touch with 

the global trade audience,” 

concluded Mr Vranken. 

© Dritan Tanku 

THE FACT 

THAT ITB BERLIN 

IS BECOMING 

MORE GLOBAL 

IS EXTREMELY 

IMPORTANT 

United cultural colors of 

the “New Balkans”! 

Experience the most 

hospitable people of 

Europe, amid beautifully 

preserved nature, 

culture and traditions 

Elite Travel DMC 

City Center 

Elite Travel DMC - Lufthansa City Center 

Ladja: Beqir Dardha, Rruga: 11 Nentori, P41/3 Elbasan, Albania 

Tel: +355 542 44094, Fax: +355 542 59934, Mob: +355 69 20 44654 

Email: Elbasan1@Icc-mail.com Web: www.Icc-elitetraveldmc.com 



EUROPE 


29 

Inviting You to a Fabulous Trip 

in a Magical Land 

Under the motto “Polska - Come and find your story”, Poland presents 

unique destinations and ideas 

After being ITB Berlin’s 

official partner country 

a couple of years ago, 

for Poland the “buzz” 

still continues at the 

show! We asked Jan 

Wawrzyniak, Director 

of the Polish National 

Tourist Office in Berlin 

how Poland presented 

itself at ITB Berlin this 

year. 

Poland presented itself at 

ITB Berlin as a destination 

for wellness holidays. 

To convince our visitors 

of the quality of our spa 

treatments, we invited them 

to our wellness island in the 

centre of Hall 15.1, where 

they were able to relax with 

a small massage. Several 

spa hotels presented their 

offerings there. In Germany, 

Poland is already a very 

popular destination for 

health resorts. Our aim was 

to show at the ITB Berlin 

that Poland also has many 

new wellness offers in the 

most beautiful regions 

of the country. Another 

aspect Poland wants to 

emphasize is that of sport. 

In September 2014, our 

country is for the first time 

hosting a Volleyball Men’s 

World Championship. 24 

teams compete in seven 

different Polish cities for the 

title and Poland hopes to 

attract many international 

fans, also from Germany. 

Another main topic at the 

ITB Berlin was that of cities 

and cultural trips to Poland, 

for us an important and 

fast-growing market. 

Which source markets are 

you seeing developing the 

fastest? 

Poland has made excellent 

results in the past year. The 

number of foreign tourists 

increased by 7% to 15.8 

million. For the source 

market Germany, the result 

turned out even better. Here, 

we recorded an increase 

of more than 10% to 5.3 

million tourists who stayed 

at least one night in Poland. 

That is a new record! 

THE 

IMAGE OF 

POLAND AS 

A YOUNG, 

MODERN 

AND OPEN 

COUNTRY 

SPREADS 

FAST 

We also experienced strong 

growth from the eastern 

neighboring countries, 

Ukraine and Belarus. 

We interpret the growth 

partly as a result of the 

2012 European Football 

Championship, in which 

Poland was able to present 

itself to the world as a 

good host and attractive 

tourist destination. 

However we also see it 

as a consequence of the 

continuous expansion of 

our tourism infrastructure. 


Berlin for Poland this year 

– having already been a 

partner country a couple 

of years back? What did 

that bring? 

German tourists represent 

more than a third of all 

foreign tourists. Therefore, 

it is by far our most 

important source market 

- and consequently ITB 

Berlin is a very high priority 

for us. As partner country 

in 2011, we especially 

found ourselves in the 

public eye and enjoyed 

special attention. But every 

year, our Hall 15.1 always 

represents one of the 

visitors’ big magnets at the 

fair. 

What are you doing to 

change preconceived 

ideas about Poland 

following the launch of 

your creative advertising 

campaigns some years 

back at ITB Berlin? 

The transformation of the 

image of Poland is a very 

long process. The accession 

of Poland to the EU exactly 

ten years ago was certainly 

an important milestone. At 

that time there was much 

reported about Poland and 

the entry became easier. 

This has especially in the 

border regions encouraged 

many people to visit our 

country. Besides, all of this 

has also changed the image 

of Poland in Germany 

and Europe. Many young 

Germans spend their study 

semester abroad in Poland 

or work there, conversely, 

many young Poles are 

active in Germany and other 

countries. This way, more 

and more contacts develop 

among them. Consequently 

the image of Poland as a 

young, modern and open 

country spreads fast. Major 

cities such as Warsaw or 

Krakow are now popular 

SPA, Polska 

destinations for many 

young travellers from all 

over Europe. This is exactly 

where our advertising 

campaigns are positioned. 

Poland is an exciting and 

diverse destination - 

which is mediated in these 

campaigns. However, the 

campaigns would not work 

if they did not carry the 

Polish way of life. Under 

the motto “Polska - Come 

and find your story”, we 

present unique places in 

Poland at the ITB Berlin. 

We want to play a little 

with the imagination of the 

audience and invite them to 

a magical journey through 

our enchanting country. 

Jan Wawrzyniak 

Director of the Polish National 

Tourist Office in Berlin 

See the video, 

click here 


30 SPECIAL FEATURE 

TRANSPORT 

Jens Bischof 

Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa 

German Airlines with the new cabin 

& seats at ITB Berlin 

World Premier: Premium 

Economy Class from Lufthansa 

For the first time in 35 years, the German airline introduces a new 

class of service 

A new Premium 

Economy class has 

been revealed by 

Lufthansa at ITB 

Berlin 2014. We asked 

Jens Bischof, Chief 

Commercial Officer, 

Lufthansa German 

Airlines to explain: 

We celebrated a world 

premiere at this year’s ITB 

Berlin. Lufthansa’s new 

Premium Economy Class 

was being presented to 

industry experts. The new 

travel class can be booked 

from May onwards and 

will be available from 

November 2014, initially on 

the Boeing 747-8. The new 

seats will gradually be fitted 

on the entire long-haul fleet 

within twelve months. Our 

Premium Economy Class 

will create a completely 

new travel experience that 

combines affordability 

with greater comfort. 

The seats offer up to 50% 

more room than Economy 

Class and will position us 

in a premium segment 

within the international 

competitive environment. 

Who will the key target 

customers be? 

The new product will 

enable Lufthansa to meet 

the requirements of many 

business and private 

passengers who travel 

with other airlines in a 

similar travel class or who 

fly Economy Class due 

to travel specifications. 

Following the introduction 

of its new full-flat Business 

Class, Lufthansa created a 

much wider gap between 

Economy and Business 

Class. As a result, there 

is now room for its new 

Premium Economy Class, 

which offers considerably 

more space and comfort 

as well as many additional 

product features, but is 

closer to Economy Class 

than Business Class in 

terms of its average prices. 

The move also means that 

Lufthansa is introducing a 

completely new travel class 

for the first time in 35 years. 

A number of other airlines 

already have Premium 

Economy. What will be 

your key differentiator? 

It’s all about German 

Engineering and a real new 

product – it’s a Premium 

Economy and not just an 

Economy Plus. Also we have 

not just taken a seat off the 

shelf. The new seats were 

designed in partnership 

with the company Müller/ 

Romca Industrial Design 

in Kiel and produced by 

the seat manufacturer 

ZIM Flugsitz near Lake 

Constance. Depending on 

the aircraft type, they are up 

to 3cm wider and provide 

greater privacy as well as 

approximately 10cm more 

room at the side thanks to 

each seat having its own 

wide armrest and a centre 

console between the seats. 

The back-rest can be 

reclined further and the seat 

pitch is a significantly more 

spacious 97cm. 

With a baggage allowance 

of two items weighing up 

to 23 kilogrammes each, 

passengers can take twice 

as much free luggage 

with them compared 

with Economy Class. 

An enhanced service 

awaits Premium Economy 

IT’S ALL ABOUT 

GERMAN ENGINEERING 

AND A REAL NEW 

PRODUCT – IT’S A PREMIUM 

ECONOMY AND NOT JUST 

AN ECONOMY PLUS 

passengers on board: 

they are greeted with a 

welcome drink and will 

find their own water bottle 

as well as a high-quality 

amenity kit with practical 

travel accessories at their 

seat. Meals are presented 

on menus commensurate 

with the new travel class 

and served on porcelain 

tableware. 

Did you survey customers 

and clients to assess what 

you would offer? 

The design and features of 

the new seat in particular 

are based on extensive 

passenger surveys and 

workshops with sales 

partners – a process that 

has been successfully used 

at Lufthansa. More than 

200 passengers took part 

in a ‘seat lab’ to select 

the optimal seat type for 

Lufthansa and the other 

components of the product. 

For the first time, some 300 

representatives of sales 

partners and companies 

worldwide were involved in 

interviews and workshops 

at a very early stage in order 

to evaluate market potential, 

product design and pricing 

structures. Upselling 

models and marketing ideas 

were devised and discussed 

jointly in an online panel 

with around 600 participants 

in Germany, China and the 

USA. 



TRANSPORT 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

31 

Making Tracks 

in New Territories 

Deutsche Bahn markets new services through the continent 

International tourism and cross-border transport have been increasingly 

important for DB Vertrieb GmbH who are responsible for sales of the 

Deutsche Bahn passenger transport and a variety of other carriers on public 

transport (PT). As the professional interface between transport companies, 

they handle approximately 860,000 ticket sales and reservations daily. 

In an exclusive ITB Berlin News interview, we asked Birgit Bohle, Managing 

Director of DB Vertrieb GmbH, “What is the impact of international tourism 

on DB’s activity? Do you know how many international travellers use rail?” 

Birgit Bohle 

Managing Director 

of DB Vertrieb GmbH 

OUTSIDE GERMANY, 

OUR FOCUS IS ON 

RAISING AWARENESS 

OF OUR BRAND 

AND PRODUCTS, AS 

WELL AS MARKETING 

DEUTSCHE BAHN 

OFFERS 

Today, Deutsche Bahn offers 

around 300 connections, day 

and night, to 80 European 

cities. Each day more than 

40,000 passengers use 

our international daytime 

services. Our flagship ICE 

trains travel to six European 

countries: Austria, Belgium, 

Denmark, France, the 

Netherlands and Switzerland. 

On the subject of the ICE: we 

were delighted recently to put 

our new ICE 3 into service. 

This train offers passengers 

even more comfort. 

What specific marketing 

activities are you undertaking 

towards international 

inbound markets? 

Outside Germany, our focus 

is on raising awareness of 

our brand and products, as 

well as marketing Deutsche 

Bahn offers. Together 

with our partners in the 

tourism sector, we therefore 

market Germany as a travel 

destination and establish 

networks with marketing 

and sales partners in source 

markets. We are also steadily 

expanding our network 

of agencies. We currently 

have 224 overseas agencies 

in 47 countries – the latest 

additions are in Malaysia, the 

Philippines and Slovakia. We 

are also extending the reach 

of our DB products abroad 

with strong online marketing. 

The centrepiece of this is 

bahn.com, Deutsche Bahn’s 

international mobility portal, 

which recorded around 17 

million visits in 2013. The 

page is currently available in 

ten different languages and 

is of course continually being 

expanded. 

Which new products will DB 

Vertrieb be highlighting at 

ITB Berlin this year? 

This year’s highlights include 

our new luggage service for 

cruises, Fly&Rail Codeshare 

as an intermodal service for 

international air passengers, 

DB Gruppenreisen – our 

new tour operator for group 

travel packages – as well 

as the offerings of our tour 

operator Ameropa and those 

of Fahrtziel Natur. This is a 

cooperation in which 21 

regions in Germany, Austria 

and Switzerland commit 

themselves to sustainable 

tourism and environmentally 

friendly mobility. 

Online and mobile services: 

how far are they used today 

by customers and the trade? 

What are the future services 

that you could provide 

online in the near future? 

As an innovative and 

integrated mobility manager, 

The new ICE 3 

online and mobile services 

are extremely important 

to us. These help us to 

intelligently link different 

offers and means of transport 

and offer our customers 

tailor-made mobility 

solutions. Our mobility 

portal, bahn.de, with around 

1.2 million visitors every day, 

is of key importance here, 

as is our DB Navigator app 

for travel connections and 

ticket booking, which has 

been downloaded by 13 

million users. Further service 

offerings include the train 

radar, which allows users to 

follow all the trains on our 

network in real time, or the 

delay alarm, which informs 

passengers by e-mail or 

push message if their train is 

running late. 

And we haven’t stopped 

there: we are currently 

working hard to set up Qixxit, 

our intermodal, neutral 

mobility platform. Qixxit not 

only compares individual 

means of transport, but also 

combines these into complete 

travel chains covering the 

whole of Germany. 


32 SPECIAL FEATURE 

HOSPITALITY 

Luxury 

Lifestyle is 

Paramount 

New hotel brand aims to 

capitalise on the Hollywood 

glamour of its heritage 

Damac Towers by 

Paramount Hotels and 

Resorts in Dubai - 

Opening end of 2016 

The Personal 

Approach 

InterContinental Hotels Group research 

shows that hospitality needs to become 

personalised 

Research shows 

that travellers 

are increasingly 

demanding more 

from their hotel 

experience. We asked 

Matt Luscombe, 

Chief Commercial 

Officer, Europe, 

InterContinental 

Hotels Group (IHG) 

how important this 

factor is as part of his 

key message at ITB 

Berlin 2014… 

Thomas Van Vliet, CEO, Paramount Hotels & 

Resorts FZ LLC, explains how this new venture 

is leveraging ITB Berlin to promote the brand. 

We are a newcomer 

in the international 

luxury lifestyle hotel 

industry, however we are 

convinced that with our 

unique and exclusive link 

to Paramount Pictures 

Corporation, the brand 

DNA we have created 

and the right marketing 

approach, our brand will 

soon become one of the 

leading brands in this 

hotel category. 

The Paramount Pictures 

logo with its mountain 

and 22 stars has been 

synonymous with 


creativity, and following 

in its footsteps Paramount 

Hotels & Resorts will 

create an innovative 

and refreshing guest 

experience. Our primary 

associations with the 

Paramount Pictures 

brand are linked to the 

word “film” and include 


technology, Hollywood 

glamour and California 

lifestyle – this can be 

translated into timeless, 

beautiful, star treatment, 

red carpet, dramatic, 

theatrical, and elegance. 

What kind of customers 

are you targeting? 

Our main focus will be 

the development of hotels 

in capitals and gateway 

cities and resorts in key 

resort destinations, with 

some of these resorts 

integrated with a casino or 

a Paramount theme park. 

This means that, 

depending on the location 

of the property, we 

will cater for business 

travellers, including the 

MICE segment, and leisure 

travellers, for both short 

and long term stays. 

In general, Paramount 

Hotels & Resorts will 

focus on attracting those 

belonging to the creative 

classes, encompassing for 

instance media, music, 

design, fashion, publishing 

and art, but at the same 

time to attracting all those 

want to be seen with these 

creatives. 

We are focusing on 

personalisation: We 

established thanks to our 

research that in the past, 

the hospitality industry 

has traditionally focused 

on how to be 2D – global 

and local. Our research 

shows that given the rapid 

rise of technology-enabled 

personalisation travellers 

now want hotel brands 

that are 3D – global, local 

AND personal. 

People now expect 

products and services in all 

aspects of their lives to be 

completely personalised 

and the travel industry is 

no exception. For instance 

“millennials” – people 

aged between 18 and 34 – 

are particularly interested 

in access to personal 

content, such as movies or 

music while travellers over 

65 are most interested in 

healthy food and beverage 

choices. Also three in 

four of these millennial 

travellers believe that 

global hotel brands do 

a better job at being 

innovative in comparison 

to local hotel brands. 

This research shows that 

travellers are increasingly 

demanding more from 

their hotel experience – 

they want authentic and 

Matt Luscombe 

Chief Commercial Officer, Europe, 

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 

GIVEN THE RAPID 

RISE OF 

TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED 

PERSONALISATION 

TRAVELLERS NOW WANT 

HOTEL BRANDS THAT ARE 

3D – GLOBAL, LOCAL AND 

PERSONAL 

exciting experiences as 

well as the comforts of 

home, wherever in the 

world they are 

Although the IHG brand 

is very well known in 

the hotel industry and 

within the investment 

community, some guests 

may not still make 

the link between your 

different hotel brands. 

What’s being done to 

correct this? 

We operate some of the 

longest-standing, largest 

and most famous hotel 

brands in the world, 

including 60 years of 

Holiday Inn, 66 years of 

InterContinental Hotels 

& Resorts and 30 years 

of Crowne Plaza. In July 

2013, we re-launched our 

loyalty programme, which 

is the largest in the world 

with its new name, IHG 

Rewards Club – a badge 

of responsibility, trust and 

confidence for our growing 

family of brands. 



HOSPITALITY 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

33 

Sawatdee! 

The Changing Face of Thailand’s Hotel Market 

With major growth in incoming tourist figures, Thailand is seeing luxury hotels mushrooming in many areas. For tour 

operators and travel agents, it can be somewhat confusing when attempting to sell anything other than the “classic” island 

or northern destinations. We visited with and spoke to the management of a number of key establishments about how they 

see the sector progressing. 

Grande Centre Point 

Hotel Ratchadamri, 

Bangkok 

Beach at Nishaville 

Resort, south of Prachuap 

Khiri Khan 

The Amari Vogue Resort’s 

beach is on TripAdvisor’s list of 

“top ten sunsets in the world” 

BANGKOK – 

STAYS GETTING 

LONGER 

Until recently, the average 

length of stay for foreigners 

in Bangkok was under 2 days. 

This, according to Kriengkrai 

(Joe) Sojikul, director of 

sales and marketing for the 

Grande Centre Point Hotel 

Ratchadamri, is changing. 

The Grande Centre Point was 

originally conceived as a long 

stay residence, however in 

2012, it was remodelled and 

turned into an international 

luxury hotel, now strongly 

promoted to western markets. 

“We realised that more and 

more visitors from other parts 

of the world were looking 

for a long stay hotel such as 

ours, with bigger rooms than 

the competition (min. 44 m2), 

and kitchen and washing 

facilities in the room,” said 

Sojikul. The area around 

Bangkok’s Lumphini Park 

continues to gain in popularity 

for international visitors, with 

the latest “star” edition being 

the spectacular and highly 

eclectic Sofitel So Bangkok. 

HUA HIN / PRACHUAP 

KHIRI KHAN INCREASING IN 

POPULARITY 

Just a couple of hours drive 

south of Bangkok, this 

area – second residence 

to the Royal Family – is 

becoming a “good pick” 

for those wanting to avoid 

the more crowded tourist 

destinations in Thailand. 

Here a number of trendy, 

cool and classy boutique 

hotels are gaining ground. 

One such establishment, 

the Putahracsa – part of 

the Unique Collection – 

is seeing an increasing 

among of repeat business 

from year to year. Manager 

Manuel Lang says while a 

number of Thais descend 

on the establishment 

from Bangkok on 

weekends, there is a 

strong attraction for the 

region by Scandinavians 

and Dutch clients. “Some 

come back year after 

year, attracted by the 

stress-free atmosphere 

here”, he said. With the 

heat and humidity on 

this part of the Gulf coast 

much lighter than in the 

south, the quiet and idyllic 

setting is an easy sell for 

mature couples. The 

Unique Group has also 

recently opened a new 

establishment – Nishaville 

– south of Prachuap Khiri 

Khan, a little over an hour 

from Hua Hin. Nishaville 

is a collection of villas 

somewhat reminiscent 

of Key West, on a virgin 

stretch of pristine sandy 

beach. Resort manager 

Christopher Cribbs says 

the fact his establishment 

is a good half an hour’s 

drive from Prachuap is on 

the one hand a handicap, 

but is also a big advantage 

for those wanting peace 

and quiet. Cribbs revealed 

to us that Nishaville has 

also been selected as a 

punctual stopover for the 

Orient Express, with topline 

catering done by the 

resort itself in its seafront 

restaurants. 

NEW IDEAS ON THE ANDAMAN 

COAST 

When romance is in the air, 

there are few places more 

beckoning than Thailand’s 

gorgeous Bay of Phang 

Nga. The number of UK 

and Australian visitors 

coming to the region not 

only for honeymoons, but 

indeed for weddings in a 

spectacular beach setting, 

is reported to be growing 

astronomically from year 

to year. David Martens, 

GM of the Centara Grand 

Beach Resort in Krabi says 

weddings are becoming 

a big part of his business. 

They can be booked by TAs 

or TOs, with anything up 

to 150 guests, or as little 

as two for an intimate 

ceremony on the beach. An 

advantage of this particular 

establishment is the fact it 

can only be reached by boat, 

making the beach setting 

all the more exclusive. High 

level catering is done on 

site, managed by Eric, the 

highly affable Belgian F&B 

manager. 

The Krabi region was also 

recently placed under the 

spotlight by TripAdvisor, 

whose users voted the 

highly romantic setting of 

the Amari Vogue Resort 

(an Onyx property) as 

being in the top ten places 

in the world to watch the 

sun sink down behind the 

horizon. Indeed, with the 

changing colours of the sky 

over the Andaman Sea and 

the stark, unique shapes of 

the islands off the coast, 

for honeymooners this is 

another dream destination. 

General Manager Michael 

Vogt says the resort’s 

Sunset Lounge on Tub 

Kaek Beach is attracting 

an ever-growing number 

of romantic couples, but 

families also appreciate the 

calm of the location: “These 

memorable experiences 

embody the spirit of local 

culture as well as enhancing 

the renowned traditions of 

Asian hospitality”. 


34 

ITB BERLIN NEWS 

Distribution 

– a Pleasure, not a Chore 

Ensuring ITB Berlin News arrives in the right place – at the 

right time – is a fine art 

The distribution of ITB 

Berlin News is one of the 

keys to its success at the 

world’s most important 

travel and tourism trade 

show. From Wednesday 

5th through Saturday 

8th March, the official 

show magazines, printed 

overnight just outside 

Berlin, were transported 

first thing in the morning, 

ready to be handed-out to 

trade visitors and press. 

And our day one edition 

was printed just that 

little bit earlier to enable 

distribution on the eve of 

the first day – at the official 

opening ceremony at the 

Berlin ICC. 

Once people are at the 

show, some may be too 

busy to stop and read. This 

is why ITB Berlin News 

is also distributed before 

breakfast time to Berlin’s 

top hotels, so the decisionmakers, 

planning their day, 

can browse its pages at 

leisure before heading out 

for the day. 

UNWTO Secretary General 

Taleb Rifai hit the nail 

on the head when he 

said, “You know, there 

are thousands of people 

attending ITB, and without 

some communication link 

to know who is doing 

what, we can get lost 

there in the middle of the 

busy crowds. I am hoping 

that your publication will 

become something that 

every participant to ITB 

would have to go though in 

the morning, on the metro, 

in the train, in the taxi, in 

the car, before entering 

the grounds; so that they 

would be prepared as to 

what is going on, who’s 

thinking of what, who’s 

doing what, and what are 

the issues that are being 

debated…” 

While ITB Berlin News 

is also distributed in 

electronic version by ITB 

Berlin to its database of 

trade visitors, another 

key factor to the success 

of this publication is the 

friendly, smiling faces of 

the hostesses handing it 

out to all those entering 

the show grounds by 

the main entrances. 

These exceptional ladies, 

working for the Cinnamon 

Hostess and Promotion 

agency, add a wonderful 

human touch to our 

distribution. We would like 

to thank all the girls from 

Cinnamon very much for 

a great job throughout the 

show. Bravo girls! We look 

forward to working with 

you again next time! 

ITB BERLIN 

NEWS 

IS ALSO 

DISTRIBUTED 

BEFORE 

BREAKFAST 

TIME TO 

BERLIN’S 

TOP HOTELS 



ITB BERLIN NEWS 

35 

That’s Why We’re Here 

ITB Berlin News works towards true 

“information intelligence” at this 

mammoth event 

Over these past two editions of 

ITB Berlin, we, with ITB Berlin 

News, the show’s official daily 

news magazine, have been 

aiming to create an information 

platform which channels and 

harmonises information flow 

where otherwise it would 

be difficult for any person to 

digest and use. Luckily, some 

of the industry’s key players 

understand the importance of 

this role. Here is the feedback 

from just a few of them… 

Taleb Rifai 

Secretary General, 

UNWTO 

ITB Berlin News is, and has been 

so far, a very important tool to 

bring us together. I am looking forward 

to it becoming THE connecting force in 

ITB Berlin; what we are talking about 

now, the issues, the news and the 

follow-up. You know, there are 

thousands of people attending ITB 

Berlin, and without some 

communication link to know who is 

doing what, we can get lost there in the 

middle of the busy crowds. I am hoping 

that your publication will become 

something that every participant to ITB 

Berlin would have to go though in the 

morning, on the metro, in the train, in 

the taxi, in the car, before entering the 

grounds; so that they would be 

prepared as to what is going on, who’s 

thinking of what, who’s doing what, 

and what are the issues that are being 

debated… and I see it developing in 

that direction.” 

David Scowsill 

Detlef Altman 

Ivan Walter 

Eva Seller 

President & CEO, 

WTTC 

Senior Vice President, 

airberlin 

CEO, GTA 

Regional General Manager 

Continental Europe, 

Tourism Australia 

Well, it’s good to hear that the 

people attending the show see 

some kind of output of what’s 

happening in the previous 

day because it enables them 

to keep a grasp of all of the 

debates and discussions that 

are going around the holes 

and it also makes them aware 

of who’s actually around over 

the course of those days as 

well. 

So, it’s important to have 

a summary once a day and 

it’s important to test the 

temperature if you like of 

what’s going on and that’s the 

most beneficial thing you can 

get for us. 

I am very much in favour 

of this initiative, and have 

enjoyed reading the ITB Berlin 

News. It enables everyone 

to get direct information on 

the many innovations in the 

industry. 

It’s always flattering to be 

invited to be part of the official 

show magazine with some 

of the other leaders of our 

industry. 

ITB Berlin News is probably 

the one publication that 

everyone will take the time to 

read and a great opportunity 

for us to reach out to leaders 

and influencers in the world’s 

tourism and hospitality trade. 

Hopefully, it’s been a chance 

to share some of the benefits 

that B2B distribution can offer 

to the wider travel industry. 

We felt that ITB Berlin News 

was a very useful tool to get 

an overview of the news at 

ITB Berlin and a good glimpse 

on a daily basis, and then in 

addition to that, it’s getting 

a bigger picture of what is 

happening in the world of 

tourism. 

On our stand all the people 

make good use of it by reading 

it as soon as they see it. 


36 

WHERE 

TO GOIN 

BERLIN 

Apartments am 

Brandenburger Tor 

Hospitality 

Bars 

Cultural 

Entertainment 

& Shopping 

and innovative form of 

entertainment which is unique 

in Germany. 

Hackesche Höfe 

Rosenthaler Straße 40/41 

10178 Berlin-Mitte 

Phone: +49 (0)30 4000 590 

www.chamaeleonberlin.com 

info@chamaeleonberlin.com 

Metro: 

S-Bahn Hackescher Markt: 

S3, S5, S7, S75 

U-Bahn Weinmeisterstraße: 

U8 

Hallen am 

Borsigturm 

Futurist shopping in a listed 

industrial building 

Where once steam locomotives 

rolled in and out, visitors now 

enter a shopping centre in 

futurist design. The French 

architect Claude Vasconi 

brought sensitivity and 

imagination to the project, 

breathing new life into three 

whole and two halves of the 

halls of the former locomotive 

factory. Over 120 shops and 

other facilities guarantee 

an experience to remember 

in these award-winning 

architectural surroundings. 

Am Borsigturm 2 

13507 Berlin Reinickendorf 

Monday to Saturday 

- 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. 

Tel: +49 30 72626600 

www.hallenamborsigturm.de 

Metro 

Bahnhof Tegel S25 - 

U-Bahnhof Borsigwerke U6 

Apartments am 


Apartments am 

Brandenburger Tor, in central 

Berlin, near the Brandenburg 

Gate and Potsdamer Platz 

offer you reasonably priced 

accommodation in the heart 

of Berlin. The apartments 

in central Berlin are an 

excellent starting point for 

exploring and discovering the 

metropolis. They’re situated 

only a few minutes‘ walk away 

from many of the city’s sights 

and cultural offerings. 

Location, location, location 

Immediately adjacent to your 

apartment you will find Unter 

den Linden, Pariser Platz, 

the Holocaust memorial the 

government district, and many 

tourist attractions and cultural 

sites. Its central location in the 

City and good links to public 

transport (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, 

bus), mean you can reach all 

the destinations you want in 

the city and its surroundings, 

easily and quickly. 

Many of the apartments have 

a good view of the skyline 

of Potsdamer Platz and the 

Tiergarten. 

Apartments am 


Behrenstraße 1C 


Tel: +49 30 200 75 70 

info@apartments-mitte.de 

www.apartments-mitte.de 

Metro: S+U Brandenburger 

Tor U55 S1 S2 

Lang Bar 

The Lang Bar is a stylish 

and sophisticated gathering 

place featuring impeccable 

personalized service. Named 

after one of city’s most 

influential and colorful 

residents, film director Fritz 

Lang, the Lang Bar serves 

both classic and creative 

cocktails as well as fine beers. 

Its specialties are bottle and 

cask-aged cocktails, served 

in an atmosphere created for 

socializing and relaxing. The 

back-lit bar offers an extensive 

selection of fine and rare spirits 

and liqueurs, vintage wines 

and champagnes, whiskies and 

cognacs. 

Lang bar Waldorf 

Astoria Berlin 

Hardenbergstraße 28 


Metro 

U Zoologischer Garten U2 U9 

Lang Bar, 

Waldorf Astoria 

Chamäleon Theater 

In the charming backyards of 

the historical Hackeschen Höfe 

in the middle of Berlin is the 

Chamäleon Variety and Music 

Theatre - a cultural attraction 

providing innovative artistic 

entertainment for the modern 

age. 

Chamaeleon Theater 

Let yourself be totally surprised 

by the singular atmosphere of a 

historical ballroom in the centre 

of the scenic quarter of Berlin. 

Enjoy in the Chamäleon Theatre 

a state-of-the-art, musical 

variety entertainment with a 

high artistic standard full of 

unusual ideas. 

The Chamäleon Theatre 

presents lavishly produced and 

modern show productions 

and offers a high quality 

Hallen am Borsigturm 

ITB BERLIN NEWS • Saturday 8 th March 2014

ITB Berlin News - Review Edition

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