ITB Berlin News 2018 - Day 2 Edition

THURSDAY 

8 th MARCH 

2018 

DAY 2 

EDITION 

ITB BERLIN CONVENTION EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

SPECIAL FEATURE: 

GASTRONOMY & WINE TOURISM 

Doug Lansky 

Hon. John 

International Tourism 

Amaratunga 

Amir Nahai 

Thought Leader, Travel 

Minister of Tourism 

CEO, F&B Group, AccorHotels 

Journalist and Author 

Development and Christian 

Religious Affairs, Sri Lanka 

“Larger destinations 

don’t really need to 

own and maintain a 

website anymore.” 

Read page 12 

“We have a rich heritage 

depicted through eight 

UNESCO World Heritage 

Sites” Read page 17 

“One new service that I 

am really excited about 

is a branded French-style 

wedding for our most 

luxurious hotels in China.” 

Read page 29 

DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: 

ASIA 

KJ Alphons 

Minister of State for 

Tourism, India 

“The introduction of e-visa 

has been the biggest game 

changer for the Indian 

Tourism Industry.” 

Read page 35 

Hall 5.2b / Stands 205, 205a 

Hall 6.2a 

Stand 106, 106a-b 

Hall 4.1 

Stand 110 

Hall 17 

Stand 109 

A Meeting of Minds 

ITB Berlin more than ever a global think tank 

for the industry 

The gathering of top minds at this year’s ITB Berlin 

appears to be without equal, as the “top brass” of 

virtually all the world’s key travel and tourism 

organisations are concentrated in the fairgrounds 

here for the period of just a few days. 

With Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel 

opening the show this year, ITB Berlin is also 

welcoming the new heads of the UNWTO and the 

WTTC, the CEO of the Chinese giant Ctrip – Jane Jie 

Sun, Airbnb founder Nathan Blecharczyk, Expedia 

President & CEO Mark Okerstrom, Booking.com 

President & CEO, Gillian Tans, and Booking.com’s 

co-founder Bas Lemmens, recently named as the 

new CEO of Meetings.com, just to name a few 

(see our exclusive interview with the latter, page 

14). Enabling access to these, the brightest minds 

in the travel industry today gives ITB Berlin a 

special shine, and ensures that all professionals 

attending the show gain a unique understanding 

of industry trends, both through the high-level 

meetings on the show floor, and through the truly 

exceptional series of conferences at the ITB Berlin 

Convention. 

Bas Lemmens, CEO, Meetings.com 

Read our exclusive interview, page 14 

DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT 

ASIA 

The continuous growth of 

Chinese outbound travel 

is an asset for all of Asia. 

In addition, increased 

air travel competition, 

good value for money in 

services, easier visa entry 

facilities to an increasing 

number of Asian 

countries and quickly 

expanding transportation 

infrastructures are 

also stimulating travel 

demand in the region. 

Read more about travel 

and tourism trends in 

Asia from page 33. 

Langkawi, Malaysia

NEWS 

3 

EDITORIAL 

Richard Barnes 

Editor-in-Chief, 

ITB Berlin News 

DAY 1 

EDITION 

Thursday 

8 th March 

2018 

All For One… 

CONTENTS 

News.............................................. page 7 

Trade Talk.................................... page 11 

ITB Berlin Convention................. page 12 

Exclusive Interviews.................... page14 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

Cruises ........................................ page 19 

Luxury Accommodation 

and Travel ................................... page 23 

Golf Tourism ............................... page 25 

Gastronomy and Wine Tourism... page 27 

Medical Tourism.......................... page 31 

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT 

Asia ............................................. page 33 

SPOTLIGHT 

ON GERMAN REGION 

Bavaria......................................... page 52 

WHERE TO GO IN BERLIN..... page 53 

In his speech at ITB Berlin’s opening 

press conference this week, Messe Berlin 

CEO, Dr Christian Göke stressed the 

particularly “multifaceted” world of ITB. 

“It’s about building bridges - between 

continents, nations, enterprises and 

individuals,” he emphasised. “This has 

been a constant feature of ITB over all 

these years. We represent the entire 

value chain better than any other fair 

in the world. We want to be the event 

representing the entire value chain better 

than any other fair.” 

This year, ITB makes an important 

paradigm shift. “One world, one 

industry, one brand… this is what we 

will try to clearly show during the next 

years”, explained the Messe Berlin CEO. 

Indeed, over the past years, thanks to 

three events, ITB has tailored offers to 

boost business in three very different 

markets. In Singapore, with ITB Asia, 

the clear concentration is on buyers 

and their participation. The presence in 

Singapore is more than ever a support 

for the leadership of the show in Berlin, 

as the Berlin event has entertained 20% 

more exhibitors from Asia since ITB 

Asia was spawned just over ten years 

ago. ITB China, for its part, concentrates 

on Chinese specialists and buyers who 

want to meet international colleagues. 

Dr Göke explains that the event in 

Shanghai shows ITB takes into account 

the importance of the Chinese market. 

And this year’s event, only the second 

edition, will see more than double the 

surface hired compared to the show’s 

first year. 

In the future, ITB will present itself as an 

international “umbrella brand” and focus 

not only on promoting the annual event 

in Berlin. This re-orientation on a global 

scale means a concentration of three 

formats, the trade shows in Germany 

(ITB Berlin), Singapore (ITB Asia) and 

China (ITB China), under one label. 

While it’s a major change, such 

innovation comes as no surprise from 

Messe Berlin. It augers well for the 

industry at large, whose growth will be 

further underpinned and promoted by 

this bold initiative. 

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ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 8 th March 2018

NEWS 

7 

© TMV/Danny Gohlke 

Tourists in the beautiful French city of Metz… 

As a destination region, Europe benefitted most in 

2017, with 8% more trips in 2017 

Boats on the shore – Ventimiglia – Riviera Dei Fiori, Italy 

IPK World Travel Monitor 

– 2017 Statistics Revealed 

International travel sees one of the highest growth rates 

in the last twenty years 

2017 has been an 

exceptionally strong 

year for international 

travel, with Europe 

being the main growth 

driver as both a source 

market as well as a 

destination region. On 

Wednesday, March 7, 

Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK 

International presented 

the first preliminary 

figures of the World 

Travel Monitor for travel 

year 2017 at ITB Berlin, 

stating that worldwide, 

the number of outbound 

trips has increased by 

6.5%, reaching nearly 

1.2 billion international 

trips in 2017. 

IPK’s World Travel 

Monitor is an annual 

survey analysing 

the outbound travel 

behaviour in more than 

60 countries worldwide, 

covering over 90% of 

the global outbound 

demand. 

On a highly positive note, 

for the first time since 

IPK began surveying 

the impact of terrorism 

on international travel, 

terror sensitivity 

has decreased and 

destinations are 

perceived “safer” than 

before. 

EUROPE 

DRIVES GLOBAL 

OUTBOUND 

GROWTH WHILE 

SPAIN REMAINS 

TOP DESTINATION 

In 2017, Europe was the 

strongest source region 

for international travel 

with an overall increase of 

7% compared to last year, 

followed by North and 

Latin America with both 

6% and Asia with 5%. Also 

as a destination region, 

Europe benefitted most, 

with 8% more trips in 2017. 

Looking at destinations on 

a country level, Spain takes 

the lead, with the USA and 

Germany ranking second 

and third. France and Italy 

are the fourth and fifth most 

successful destinations. 

When it comes to holiday 

types, city trips have been 

the main growth driver last 

year with an increase of 

18%. Sun & beach holidays, 

which represent the largest 

holiday market share, grew 

by 9%. On the other hand, 

tour holidays worldwide 

decreased by 1%. 

ONE IN TEN 

INTERNATIONAL 

TRAVELLERS 

AFFECTED BY 

OVERTOURISM 

Overtourism has made 

headlines worldwide 

recently due to record 

visitor numbers at many 

destinations, prompting 

well-publicized protests 

by residents and diverse 

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 

IPK BEGAN SURVEYING THE 

IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON 

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, 

TERROR SENSITIVITY HAS 

DECREASED AND 

DESTINATIONS ARE PERCEIVED 

“SAFER” THAN BEFORE 

measures by local 

authorities. As this topic not 

only impacts destinations, 

tourist attractions, 

local infrastructure 

and residents, but also 

travellers themselves, IPK 

International conducted 

a special survey among 

international travellers 

in February 2018. The 

results show that 24% of 

all international tourists 

had the feeling that the 

destination they visited was 

overcrowded. However, 

only 9% said that this 

overcrowding actually 

affected the quality of 

their outbound trip. Most 

affected cities are Mexico 

City (23%), Shanghai (22%), 

Venice (20%), Beijing (19%), 

Hong Kong (18%), Istanbul, 

Amsterdam and Florence 

(all 17%) and Barcelona 

(16%). 

TRAVEL 

BEHAVIOUR STILL 

INFLUENCED BY 

TERROR FEAR 

YET TO A LESSER 

EXTENT 

For the fifth time, IPK 

International conducted 

a special survey on the 

influence of terror threats 

on international travel 

behaviour in main source 

markets worldwide in 

February 2018. The study 

revealed that for 37% of 

international travellers 

the recent instability and 

terror warnings will have 

an influence on their travel 

plans for 2018, compared 

to 41% in October 2017. 

Regarding the question 

what kind of influence the 

current situation could have 

on the travel behaviour, 24% 

stated that they will still be 

travelling abroad, however 

only to destinations they 

perceive as “safe”. For some 

destinations, the safety 

image has improved and 

they are rated slightly safer 

compared to October 2017. 

This applies e.g. to some 

of the biggest destinations 

such as Spain, USA, 

Germany and Great Britain. 

OUTLOOK 2018 

Although different 

travel risks do exist, IPK 

International anticipates 

global outbound trips to 

increase by a robust 5% 

in 2018. According to IPK 

International’s Outbound 

Travel Forecast for 2018, 

Latin America is expected 

to be one of the high 

performers with an increase 

of 7%, closely followed by 

Asia (+6%). International 

travel from Europe as 

well as North America is 

forecasted to grow by 4% 

each 


8 NEWS 

© Messe Berlin GmbH 

Alfonso 

Paredes 

Vice President of Sales, 

EMEA and LATAM, 

EAN brand 

Blogger Speed dating @ ITB Berlin 2017 

Expedia Affiliate 

Network Unveils 

Rapid API Solution 

Expedia Affiliate Network 

(EAN) is using ITB Berlin 

2018 to announce EAN Rapid, 

a new API solution which 

allows EAN’s partners to 

provide greater choice to their 

customers and is built with the 

flexibility to adapt to evolving 

partner business needs and 

growth. EAN Rapid, initially 

offered to new partners only, 

is EAN’s latest solution to help 

power the travel industry and 

offer travellers the best choice 

possible. 

According to EAN, EAN Rapid 

gives partners faster access 

to competitive rates and 

availabilities from more than 

400,000 accommodations 

across the globe. Built using the 

latest technology, EAN Rapid 

has been designed with a new 

modular architecture to allow 

for versatility to meet partners’ 

varying needs. 

The API also introduces 

faster responses for partners, 

providing a more efficient 

customer experience 

overall. EAN Rapid offers 35 

accommodation types, giving 

travellers access to unique and 

meaningful experiences across 

more than 25,000 destinations 

around the world. 

Ariane Gorin, President, 

Expedia Partner Solutions 

brand, said: “In 2017, the 

Expedia group spent $1.3 billion 

ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 8 th March 2018 

in technology innovation. 

In our partner business, we 

leverage that investment by 

advancing our products to 

provide our partners with the 

best solutions possible to drive 

their businesses. EAN Rapid 

is one of these innovations. 

EAN’s new API is all about 

speed, giving our partners 

faster access to our rates and 

availabilities in order to service 

their customers better.” 

IN 2017, 

THE EXPEDIA 

GROUP SPENT 

$1.3 BILLION 

IN 

TECHNOLOGY 

INNOVATION 

XML Travelgate, specialists in 

XML integration to the travel 

industry, are the first platform 

partner to be certified to launch 

EAN Rapid. Pedro Camara, 

CEO, XML Travelgate, said: “We 

are excited to be the very first 

platform partner to integrate 

EAN Rapid into our system. 

The API will give us the ability 

to connect our clients to EAN’s 

rates and availabilities faster 

than ever. In turn, our clients 

will be the first in the world to 

be seamlessly connected to 

EAN’s unrivalled portfolio” 

Hall 9 / Stand 301 

Speed Dating at ITB Berlin 

With today’s two Speed Dating 

events, ITB Berlin offers buyers 

and bloggers an opportunity to 

network efficiently with exhibitors 

and establish valuable contacts in 

the shortest possible time. 

In the morning, members of the 

ITB Buyers Circle can attend the 

ITB Speed Networking event where 

they will be able to meet exhibitors. 

In the afternoon, experienced 

travel bloggers will be offered 

eight-minute time slots in order to 

exchange views with partners from 

the global tourism industry. 

Hunting Miles 

With Miles & More 

Miles & More is celebrating its 

25th year anniversary at ITB Berlin 

with an innovative competition 

which will see show visitors and 

members of the frequent flyer and 

awards programme embark on a 

great mileage rally. 

A mileage symbol with an 

integrated beacon is hidden at the 

exhibition booths of 30 partners, 

from Austrian Airlines and Hilton 

to Sixt. To take part in the mileage 

rally, all you need is the Miles & 

More app and make sure that your 

Participants can make use of 

the ITB Matchmaking Tool for 

appointments in the run-up to both 

events. 

The ITB Speed Networking event, 

where leading buyers belonging 

to the ITB Buyers Circle can get 

together with exhibitors, is being 

held at ITB Berlin 2018 for the 

fourth time and is scheduled to 

take place from 9.30am to 11am 

This year’s event, which will be 

held at the CityCube Berlin on 

Level B 

GPS and Bluetooth settings are 

enabled. 

When you visit one of the relevant 

booths at the exhibition, the 

beacon will send a signal to the 

Miles & More app on your device, 

upon which 50 award miles will 

be credited automatically. App 

users who visit at least 10 partner 

booths will also be entered into 

a draw to win one of 10 prizes of 

25,000 award miles 


www.itb-berlin-news.com

10 NEWS 

ADVERTORIAL 

Majda Rozina Dolenc, Director, 

Slovenian Tourist Office in 

Munich, said that sustainability 

will be a key topic for the country 

at this year’s ITB Berlin. We 

asked her to elaborate on what 

visitors to the booth can expect. 

In recent years sustainability has been 

focussed on nature in particular, but 

is now also manifesting itself in terms 

of culture. In this context we also 

include our cultural heritage, cities of 

culture, architecture and events in our 

promotion. Therefore the Association 

of historical cities of Slovenia is a main 

partner at ITB Berlin this year. 

Another partner is Postojna Cave in 

the Karst region with its impressive 

underground cave system and the 

biggest and most beautiful cave. Also 

connected is the medieval Predjama 

Castle near there and the newly opened 

Hotel Jama. 

How is tourism progressing in Slovenia? 

Last year, tourism in Slovenia once 

again reached new record levels and 

recorded a total of 12 million overnight 

stays. This corresponds to a 11.3% 

growth rate compared to the year 2016. 

Foreign guests accounted for more 

than eight million overnight stays, 

accounting for 67.4% of total overnight 

stays and represents an increase of 15% 

compared to the year before. 

This positive dynamic is particularly 

strong among guests from Germany. 

ITB BERLIN IS 

IMPORTANT FOR 

PROMOTING 

SLOVENIA AS A 

COMPETITIVE 

TOURISM 

DESTINATION 

Majda Rozina Dolenc 

Director, Slovenian Tourist Office in Munich 

Slovenia Serves 

Sustainability 

Strategy 

After years of continuous growth, the 

year 2017 was particularly successful 

with 26.1% more arrivals and 24.5% 

more overnight stays by German guests 

compared to the previous year. 

Germany is already the second most 

important source market with 11.9% of 

total arrivals behind Italy (13.4%) and 

ahead of Austria (11.2%). 

International overnight stays were 

up 15% in 2017 over the previous 

year. What are the reasons for this 

exceptional growth? 

We actively promote Slovenia on 

the German market and throughout 

Europe as a destination worth visiting 

at the meeting point of the Alps, the 

Mediterranean and the Pannonian 

Plains. In addition to active or wellness 

holidays, this year’s focus will be 

on culture with Slovenian cities and 

festivals. 

The many years of targeted presence 

and work of the Slovenian Tourist Board 

is noticeable and brings with it positive 

results. 

How important is ITB Berlin as part of 

your promotion, and why? 

ITB Berlin is important for promoting 

Slovenia as a competitive tourism 

destination. As a small country, Slovenia 

is fighting against bigger and stronger 

players on the global tourism ground. 

Therefore, ITB Berlin is a platform and 

must-have for a small country like 

Slovenia to present itself 

KEY INVESTMENTS 

DRIVING SERBIA 

FORWARD 

Marija Labović, Director Of The Tourist 

Organisation Of Serbia, said that at ITB Berlin 

new hotel openings in Belgrade and Novi Sad 

are being presented on its stand. She talked 

to ITB Berlin News about this year’s show and 

what Serbia is highlighting. 

New hotel openings will include some of the world’s 

leading international hotel chains namely Hilton, Mama 

Shelter and the Sheraton. We have also invested in 

the development of summer activities in typical winter 

regions like Kopaonik and Zlatibor to foster a whole-year 

tourism offer. We introduce interesting products such as 

mountain biking, hiking and sightseeing on chairlifts. 

What does the future hold for Serbia’s tourism industry? 

As a result of our promotional activities, tourism 

infrastructure developments and improved flight 

accessibility, we expect a growth in international tourist 

arrivals in general for the upcoming years. This is not 

only about growing the number of Chinese guests, which 

is foreseen due to the exemption from visa requirements, 

but also increasing tourist arrivals from important 

markets such as Russia and the opening of new markets 

namely Israel and Iran among others are forecast. 

How important is ITB Berlin for you as a global platform 

and why? 

ITB Berlin is the world biggest travel fair with a large and 

diverse professional audience from all over the world. 

Therefore, it is an important platform for us not only 

to promote the destination Serbia to an international 

audience but also to meet and network with interesting 

partners of travel media and the travel industry to 

communicate fruitful collaborations. Additionally, 

Germany is one of the key markets for inbound tourism 

to Serbia. This makes it essential for us to be present at 

ITB Berlin to maintain current partnerships and attract 

new partners. Many Serbian local tourist organisations, 

including Belgrade and Vojvodina, as well as incoming 

tour operators and hotels welcome interested visitors at 

the stand (hall 1.1/203) this year 

Marija 

Labovic 

Director, 

Tourist Organisation 

Of Serbia 



11 

74% OF ITB BUYERS 

CIRCLE MEMBERS HAVE 

BUDGETS EXCEEDING 

€1 MILLION 

ITB Buyers Circle: 

The Meeting Place for Senior Buyers 

The ITB Buyers Circle is a hand-picked group of international buyers with high spending power. ITB Speed Networking and 

evening events provide an opportunity to meet representatives from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the official partner of the 

ITB Buyers Circle and at the forefront of activities, to offer tours after the convention, starting on Friday. 

This year marks the 

seventh occasion that 

the ITB Buyers Circle will 

welcome 1,000 senior 

buyers from around the 

world who have been 

hand-picked based on a 

qualitative application 

procedure. 

ITB 

BUYERS 

CIRCLE IS AN 

ESTABLISHED 

INSTITUTION 

AT ITB BERLIN 

Buyers from SMEs, startups 

and global players will 

all be taking part. Members 

of the ITB Buyers Circle 

will benefit from numerous 

additional services that 

make it easier for them to 

do business at ITB Berlin. 

This includes early access 

to the exhibition grounds 

as of 8.30am, use of fast 

lanes at the entrances and 

an exclusive shuttle service 

on the grounds. Separate 

rooms for appointments 

and workplaces with free 

Wi-Fi are also available at 

the Marshall Haus. 

David Ruetz, head of ITB 

Berlin, said: “With the ITB 

Buyers Circle we have 

established an institution 

at ITB Berlin. This year 

numerous senior buyers 

have applied. Many of 

them are regular visitors 

whom we are welcoming 

again. This is proof that 

our exclusive circle is very 

popular with buyers.” 

Ruetz said that 74% of 

the buyers have budgets 

exceeding €1 million and 

close to 70% consider 

economic developments 

in their market to be 

positive. More than half of 

the participants work for 

companies with over 100 

employees. One-in-three 

are visiting ITB Berlin 

for the 10th time. Buyers 

belonging to the ITB 

Buyers Circle work in the 

leisure, luxury, business 

and MICE travel sectors. 

After the convention 

M e c k l e n b u r g - 

Vorpommern, this year’s 

partner of the ITB Buyers 

Circle and the official 

partner region of ITB Berlin, 

will be offering buyers free 

tours of Mecklenburg- 

Vorpommern for the first 

time. The three tours will 

take visitors to Hanseatic 

cities on the Baltic, the 

islands of Rügen and 

Usedom and to the federal 

state’s palaces, lakes and 

national parks. 

During ITB Berlin the 

official partner region 

will be at the forefront of 

activities. The federal state 

will be represented with 

two stands at Marshall 

Haus. On the Wednesday 

of ITB it will be organising 

a networking breakfast 

and also taking visitors on 

a guided tour of its display 

hall. 

Matthias Machinek, 

a hotel buyer for DER 

Touristik Frankfurt GmbH, 

said: “The ITB Buyers 

Circle offers buyers a 

whole range of privileges 

that make working at the 

world’s largest travel trade 

show a lot easier. 

“Being a member puts 

us in an ideal position to 

achieve good results at 

ITB Berlin. The activities 

of this year’s partner 

region are impressive 

too. Mecklenburg- 

Vorpommern’s offer of 

tours after the convention 

and a networking event is 

very attractive.” 

At the ITB Speed 

Networking event on the 

Thursday of ITB members 

of the ITB Buyers Circle 

will be able to establish 

important contacts with 

national and international 

exhibitors. In order to do 

so exhibitors and buyers 

will have previously made 

appointments with the 

ITB Matchmaking Tool. 

Other opportunities for 

networking will include 

the ITB Chinese Night, the 

ITB Luxury Late Night, the 

ITB Mice Night and the ITB 

Medical Night, for which 

buyers have received 

priority invitations 



12 ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 

Doug Lansky 

International Tourism Thought 

Leader, Travel Journalist and Author 

Dr László Puczkó 

Director of Industry Intelligence, 

Resources for Leisure Assets 

RETHINKING THE DMO 

Category: Future, Marketing 

Date: March 8, 2018 

Time: 5pm – 5.45pm 

Location: Convention Hall 7.1b, 

Auditorium London 

FREE FROM... BUSINESS 

BOOST OR COMPETITOR? 

Category: Destinations, 

Wellness 


Time: 12.25pm – 12.45pm 

Location: Convention Hall 7.1a, 

Auditorium New 

York 3 

The Changing Role 

of the DMO 

“Free from” Phenomenon 

to Become Travel 

Standard? 

At this year’s ITB Berlin Convention, Doug Lansky, 

International Tourism Thought Leader, Travel Journalist and 

Author, takes a closer look at the changing role of the DMO 

(and NTO and CVB) and explores what the future holds. 

We asked him to tell us more about recent changes. 

With more and more people recognising they suffer from 

food allergens and intolerances, operators really need to 

know all about the latest buzzword, ‘free from’. We asked Dr 

László Puczkó, Director of Industry Intelligence, Resources 

for Leisure Assets, to tell us more. 

The DMO has undergone a lot 

of change already. We’ve seen 

DMOs jump into search engine 

optimisation, social media, and 

data analytics. There are some 

things that they are currently 

doing that I believe are outdated 

and other new areas they would 

do well to enter. 

What don’t they need to do any 

more? 

I don’t think they need to spend 

time and money on Tourist 

Information offices. Just to be 

clear, I’m not saying these info 

offices are bad, but there are many 

more cost-effective replacements, 

from staff on bicycles or Segways 

deployed in tourist areas to offsite 

call centres. The fact is, with 

smartphone and helpful hotel 

desks, typically less than 2% of 

people visiting a city even enter 

the tourist office, and about half of 

those are only there for the toilet. 

How do you believe larger 

destinations need to change? 

Larger destinations don’t really 

need to own and maintain a 

website anymore. A city like 

London, New York, or Rome has 

thousands of blogs and hundreds 

of reliable, independent guidebook 

websites with dedicated pages and 

good, updated information, from 

Lonely Planet to The Guardian to 

TimeOut. 

What areas should DMOs be 

focusing on? 

A Smart Tourism Strategy is 

about maximising profit while 

maintaining a high-quality 

experience. This new DMO 

structure would cover everything 

from clean beaches to businessclass 

public toilets to over tourism 

to increasing the average visitor 

spend. 

What about the leakages that 

are not being factored into the 

tourism business model? 

Everything that doesn’t end up in 

the destination (or increases costs) 

needs to be counted. If we start 

looking at yield, destinations can 

start making smarter decisions 

More and more people want to 

know what’s in their food, where 

it comes from and the details 

about how it’s made. The freefrom 

demand does not stop at 

foods and drinks, though. Now 

literally every spectrum of our 

lives is affected by that – the bed 

we sleep in; the clothes we wear; 

the creams, lotions and other 

products we use on our body, etc. 

What does the free-from 

phenomenon have to do with 

wellness? 

We have to consider market 

intelligence from general 

consumer profiles, from hospitality 

and wellness developments 

to conclude how the wellness 

tourism sector can and should 

respond. 

Wellness hotels and centres all 

around the world show signs of 

conversion in terms of what and 

how they offer to their guests. It 

is not a novel idea to suggest that 

what we currently see in hotels 

will soon become the entry level 

standard and not a USP. Wellness 

operators therefore need to think 

outside the box. 

One rather relevant option is to 

turn to natural resources such 

as thermal springs, muds, microclimate 

or cultural traditions, 

lifestyles and rituals. 

What advice do you have for 

operators and developers? 

‘Free from’ guests can be attracted 

by services and treatments 

that have natural properties 

and represent cultural value. 

Evidence is the key and that 

can turn such novel approaches 

such as ‘prancercising’ 

(yoga+crossfit+Japanese 

horseback archery) to 

something more mainstream. 

Old terminologies and concepts 

enjoy revival. Heritage is 

no longer a dusty old term. 

Contemporary is no longer the 

opposite of traditional (consider 

contemporary traditional lifestyle 

as an option). 

Operators and developers need to 

look for new skill sets and funding 

strategies since, as, for example, 

a thermal resource based hotel 

needs to be run significantly 

differently to a standard ‘wellness 

hotel’ 



ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 

13 

Andriew Lim 

Professor of Technopreneurship and 

Innovation at Hotelschool 

Florian Storp 

Vice President Central Europe, 

American Express Global Business 

Travel 

BLOCKCHAIN: 

OPPORTUNITIES OR 

CHALLENGES FOR 

HOSPITALITY? 

Category: eTravel World 


Time: 2.30pm – 3pm 

Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab 

BUSINESS TRAVEL 

COMPLETELY DIGITAL! 

Category: CSR, Business Travel, 

MICE 


Time: 3pm – 3.45pm 

Location: Convention Hall 7.1a, 

Auditorium New 

York 2 

Blockchain: 

A Game of Two Halves 

Digitalisation is 

Becoming the 

Business Travel Norm 

As Professor of Technopreneurship and Innovation at 

Hotelschool in The Hague, one of Andriew Lim’s roles is to 

see how emerging technology might influence the business 

landscape of the hospitality industry. We asked Mr Lim for 

his thoughts on Blockchain. 

Blockchain, is an emerging 

technology that can be disruptive, 

not only for hospitality industry, but 

for many industries. Blockchain 

has been adapted for online 

electronic transactions. At the ITB 

Berlin Convention, my session 

will present various initiatives in 

which hospitality companies have 

used blockchain. 

Blockchain itself, in general, can 

be described as a distributed ledger 

system based on the value record 

that supports transactions in a 

decentralised and autonomous 

way. It is the backbone of 

cryptocurrencies, that has made 

transactions of cryptocurrencies 

possible. 

Do you have any case examples? 

Currently there are various 

companies having the initiative 

to develop and assess how 

blockchain can be implemented 

in their business. An example in 

the hospitality industry is shown 

by Lockchain, a company that 

has developed an open source 

distributed ledger, which will list 

all available accommodations and 

their prices including previous 

transactions done on blockchain. 

Since this would enable secure 

data transactions, blockchain 

might have great potentials in the 

future, as well as challenges. 

What challenges do you foresee? 

One of the challenges could be 

the economy of scale, just like the 

telephone network and internet 

in their infancy period, the cost 

of transactions is still high. 

But perhaps over a few years, 

blockchain might be adopted 

for other applications in the 

hospitality industry. 

How important is the ITB Berlin 

Convention when it comes to 

educating and informing the 

industry on emerging trends? 

The ITB Berlin Convention is an 

important international stage 

to keep all stakeholders in the 

hospitality and travel industries 

updated with recent trends, as it 

is the biggest event in the world 

the sector. There are many new 

updates that can be gained from 

ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin 

Convention 

At this year’s ITB Berlin Convention, Florian Storp, Vice 

President Central Europe, American Express Global Business 

Travel (GBT), will exploring the effects of digitalisation on 

travel management − together with American Express GBT 

customer Nils Neuenhüsges, who is Head of Sourcing of 

Indirect Materials at Jungheinrich AG. We asked him to tell 

us more… 

At the core of this message is: 

look at what the young people are 

doing now, and you can see how 

digitalisation needs to perform 

on a business trip − completely 

mobile and connected employees 

expect a level of flexibility that 

goes far beyond travel policies 

and company car hierarchies. 

In the forum we’ll show with 

practical examples how TMCs 

and customers can meet these 

challenges together. 

How is digitalisation impacting 

within your business, and the 

wider travel market? 

It’s not an exaggeration to say 

that today’s travel management 

is digital travel management. 

Booking has been digital since the 

1970s, but since the introduction 

of smartphones and mobile apps, 

digitalisation has reached the 

travellers. Travel documents, 

itineraries, room keys all have 

become electronic, and nowadays 

travellers are empowered to do 

their own rebooking and rescheduling 

while on the road – I 

regularly see this happening in 

those few minutes between the 

landing of a plane and the doors 

opening. 

How important is Artificial 

Intelligence in the business 

travel market? 

Artificial intelligence is very 

much on its way into the heart 

of the business travel industry. 

Chatbots, such as already being 

used by airlines’ customer 

service centres, are just a start. 

In future we will see Alexa-like 

intelligences organising complete 

business trips automatically, 

fully compliant to travel policies 

and guidelines, and taking into 

account traveller preferences − 

as soon as an appointment is 

fixed in the electronic calendar. 

This opens up tremendous 

opportunities of efficiency, 

compliance and cost-savings. 

American Express GBT is actively 

working on solutions 


14 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

THE BIGGEST 

CHALLENGE WE’RE FACED 

WITH IS TO CHANGE THE 

GROUP TRAVEL BUSINESS 

FROM A “REQUEST FOR 

PROPOSAL (RFP)” 

APPROACH TO A “DIRECT 

BOOKABLE” APPROACH. 

Bas Lemmens 

CEO, Meetings.com 

Bookings Co-Founder Takes 

On New Role at Meetings.com 

Exclusive Interview – Bas Lemmens – CEO – Meetings.com 

Meetings.com, the premier site for information 

on meeting, hotel rooms and banquet venues 

worldwide, recently announced the appointment 

of Bas Lemmens as the company’s new CEO. 

With Lemmens’ background in a number of 

major OTAs, and his work as cofounder of 

Bookings, we asked him what his thoughts are on 

this next challenge with Meetings.com and how 

this compares to what he’s done in the past. 

I look at my experience 

at Booking.com as the 

perfect segue to what I’m 

now doing at Meetings. 

com. Both companies 

operate on a foundation 

of incredibly robust 

technology that seamlessly 

connects the end user 

to a world of options. At 

Meetings.com, our goal is 

to be the premier site for 

information on meeting 

and banquet venues around 

the world. My personal 

experience will allow 

Meetings.com to further its 

mission to find clients the 

perfect space and the best 

price. Because of this, in 

addition to the wonderful 

relationship our team has 

with its clients and hotel 

partners, we’re well on 

our way to servicing one 

million groups in 2018. 

You are settling into 

Amsterdam as a new 

European base for 

the company. Why 

Amsterdam? 

Our company already has 

an office in London and 

over 15 people spread out 

throughout Europe. I live 

in Amsterdam and see the 

new talent it’s attracting 

every day and want 

Meetings.com to be at the 

forefront of this innovation 

and creativity. Also, some 

of the best online travel 

companies are based right 

here on the Canals. 

What are the biggest 

challenges in the group 

travel sector today? 

The biggest challenge we’re 

faced with is to change the 

group travel business from 

a “Request for Proposal 

(RFP)” approach to a “Direct 

Bookable” approach. Our 

clients want to make and 

confirm direct individual 

bookings quickly and 

easily. Hotelplanner.com 

was a pioneer in this space 

and has continued success 

with this approach.” 

What is your vision for the 

future of meetings and 

events technology? 

It is critical that we 

continue to invest in robust 

booking technology for 

the MICE business. We 

invested more than 15 

years in very good booking 

technology for Groups, 

Events and Meetings and 

now want to make it more 

accessible and easier to 

use for all businesses in the 

market. A good example 

of this is our leading SaaS 

technology for meeting 

and event planners. By 

taking advantage of our 

technology, these planners 

don’t have to invest in their 

own and can focus on 

doing what they do best, 

which is finding the best 

venues at the lowest price 

for their customers. 

How do you add value for 

properties and how is this 

evolving going forward? 

We add value to properties 

by giving them more groups 

business, while at the same 

time, helping OTA’s convert 

their group request into 

hotel bookings. 

And for the end clients? 

End clients have easy 

access to a large portfolio of 

hotels and meeting spaces 

worldwide. And our firstto-market 

AI technology 

will book them in a space 

with ease that fits all of 

their needs. We are the only 

company in the world with 

enough recorded group 

booking conversations 

and transactions for such 

a development. Drawing 

from historical data 

spanning nearly a decade 

and half, as 3,000 groups 

per day interact with 

suppliers around the globe, 

our AI technology will be 

optimised for success. 

How important is ITB 

Berlin for you as a platform 

to promote what you’re 

doing? 

It’s very important to us, 

as all of the companies we 

want to do business with 

are present in one place. 

From hotels, OTA’s, and the 

big event players across 

the world, it is the premier 

travel event of the year 



EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

15 

Gina Bunton 

Chief Operations Officer, 

Tahiti Tourisme 

17 VERSIONS 

OF THE NEW 

WEBSITE HAVE 

BEEN LAUNCHED 

BY TAHITI 

TOURISME 

AROUND THE 

WORLD – THE 

LATEST ONE IN 

CHINA LAST 

MONTH 

The Islands of Tahiti: 

Intimacy Remains a Key Asset 

Statistics for 2017 up until October, show a 

rise of 3.1% in tourism in the Islands of Tahiti 

compared to 2016. We asked Gina Bunton, Chief 

Operations Officer for Tahiti Tourisme how this 

fits with her organisation’s strategy. 

We’re not seeing huge 

growth, but we’re seeing 

sustained growth, and 

we are looking at this 

to continue for 2018, 

especially with the new 

airlines coming in. It must 

be underlined that the 

Islands of Tahiti is not a 

mass tourism destination. 

It’s never been our 

strategy. One of the pillars 

of our communication is 

privacy, and this is also 

the experience we want 

to be able to give visitors: 

that feeling of being alone. 

The maximum number of 

tourists we have targeted 

for the moment is 200,000 

for the year. So, we get 

as many tourists in a 

year as Hawaii would get 

in a week. We want to 

continue growing, but in 

a sustainable way that’s 

going to be respectful of 

our population and of our 

environment as well, but 

that’s still going to be good 

enough to distribute the 

wealth and the financial 

input for everyone in the 

islands. 

Culture is an important 

part of your message. 

What’s different in The 

Islands of Tahiti in this 

respect? 

There are a number of other 

tropical destinations with 

overwater bungalows. It’s 

not proprietary any more. 

But nobody can copy our 

people; that is something 

that’s unique to us. And 

the mix we are going to be 

able to create with that… 

that’s going to be the 

dream, and that is going to 

be something that can’t be 

replicated anywhere else. 

And that’s where the idea 

of including culture and 

including the people in 

our communication and in 

our campaigns came from. 

And it has paid off, because 

the local population, the 

stakeholders, engage a lot 

more with this campaign 

than ever before. They 

said ‘It’s the first time we 

recognise ourselves in 

one of the campaigns the 

tourism board is putting out 

there’, which is amazing. 

But also, it’s showing that 

unique side - a different 

side of the islands 

compared to what we were 

showing before, which 

was basically couples, 

romance, overwater 

bungalows in the lagoon. 

We are still showing that, 

as it’s a strength and 

part of the beauty of the 

destination. We have just 

added different layers and 

we are trying to show the 

diversity. There are more 

islands than the ones you 

already know about. We 

have 118 islands and there 

are many different kinds of 

accommodation. It’s not 

just overwater bungalows 

or expensive resorts. 

There’s a whole mix out 

there of guesthouses, 

where, if you want to 

engage with the locals, if 

you want to be closer to the 

culture, it’s a more private 

way and more affordable 

way to visit the islands. 

Then there’s cruising and 

yacht charter – either with 

or without crew – that are 

interesting alternatives. 

Villas are becoming very 

strong, and that’s a great 

solution for families or 

people who just want more 

privacy and want to feel ‘at 

home’. It’s up to you how 

you want to discover the 

islands of Tahiti! 

You recently launched 

a new website strategy. 

What’s different with the 

new version? 

The website has been 

built to be more consumer 

friendly, around the 

consumer experience. 17 

versions of the new website 

have been launched by 

Tahiti Tourisme around 

the world – the latest one 

in China last month. New 

articles are being posted 

every month based on what 

trends are being indicated 

to us by Google. We also 

have a “Tahiti Specialist” 

section where people can 

be put in direct contact 

with agents who can 

create custom itineraries 

for travellers. 

So the message is 

“diversity”? 

It’s been the message 

for some time now. The 

Islands of Tahiti, it’s not 

what you’d expect. It’s not 

what you think you know. 

There are more sides to 

the destination than most 

people could imagine… 

until they come and 

discover the islands for 

themselves 


16 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

ADVERTORIAL 

Saluting France’s Largest 

Tourist Destination 

Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the second most popular destination for the French and is third on 

the list for foreign visitors. We spoke to Michel Durrieu, the region’s Director General of 

Tourism and started by asking him about how Nouvelle-Aquitaine performed in 2017. 

Nearly 28 million tourists 

visited the region in 2017. Our 

destinations and sites have 

achieved exceptional results: air 

arrivals of foreigners were up 

8% and there were attendance 

records for Lascaux and the 

Cité du Vin. The well known 

destinations of Bordeaux, the 

Dordogne Valley, Biarritz-Basque 

Country, the Pyrenees, etc. in 

the region promote gastronomy, 

culture, breathtaking natural 

landscapes and innovative and 

unique experiences. 

What are your short and mediumterm 

goals? 

Nouvelle-Aquitaine has the 

assets to become the first 

destination of the French. The 

goal is also to position the region 

for international tourists, just 

behind Paris and the Côte-d’Azur. 

While 28 million French and 

foreign tourists visited Nouvelle- 

Aquitaine in 2017, the 30 million 

tourists mark will be quickly 

exceeded. But it is also very 

important to look at the income 

and jobs created. Exceeding €16 

billion in revenue and creating 

more than 40,000 jobs by 2020 

seems realistic. 

Why should travel agents from 

all over the world recommend 

your region to their customers in 

priority? 

Several international rankings 

already recognise the tourist 

attractions of the regional 

destinations. The city of Bordeaux, 

a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 

has been recognised as “European 

Best Destination”, number two of 

the must-see cities according to 

the New York Times and ranked 

highly as a city by Lonely Planet. 

On the Atlantic coast, Conde 

NastTraveller has selected the 

Ile de Ré, Cap-Ferret and Biarritz 

as “Best seaside destination in 

France and Europe”. The region 

has no less than nine UNESCO 

World Heritage sites. Visitors to 

Nouvelle-Aquitaine appreciate 

the range of 100% authentic 

experiences available to them. 

You can take a cooking class with 

a local chef, go to the market with 

him and taste your creation; take 

the harvest at the winemaker or 

introduce yourself to the truffle 

harvest in the Dordogne. 

You can also explore the region 

in a different way by surveying 

4200 kilometres of cycle routes, 

take surf lessons along the 

720 kilometres of coastline, or 

improve your swing on one of our 

81 golf courses. The destinations 

of Nouvelle-Aquitaine are easily 

accessible by plane thanks to the 

airports of Bordeaux, Biarritz, La 

Rochelle-Ile de Ré, Pau, Limoges, 

etc. which are experiencing 

strong growth. By the high-speed 

train from Paris, Bordeaux can be 

reached in two hours. 

To what extent is the international 

stature you acquired in the 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs an 

asset for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine 

CRT and for travel agents? 

My knowledge of the world of 

international tourism, I owe it first 

of all to my experience of more 

than 20 years in the biggest global 

groups of the tourism sector as 

Executive Director Spain, Latin 

America and Mediterranean 

area of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, 

Director Marketing & e-business 

at TUI Spain and Managing 

Director Spain and International 

Director of the Internet subsidiary 

of Nouvelles Frontières. When I 

arrived at the French Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs in 2014 – a ministry 

that also deals with tourism policy 

– it was to develop the new strategy 

of the “Destination France”. That 

experience has given me a lot in 

my understanding of the global 

issues related to the development 

of this sector of activity both 

in terms of value creation and 

jobs. My seat as Permanent 

Representative of France to the 

World Tourism Organisation also 

allowed me to weave a great 

deal of links with our partner 

countries and to affirm France’s 

place as the world’s leading 

tourist destination. With all this 

experience, I am now focused 

on making Nouvelle-Aquitaine 

better known for its destinations 

of exceptional wealth. The 

challenge is big! Larger than 

Austria and more populous than 

Denmark, the region has the 

means of its ambitions: to become 

the unavoidable destination when 

it comes to French art de vivre, 

a destination of authenticity and 

unprecedented experiences, and 

THE destination for innovative, 

sustainable and resolutely 

forward-looking tourism 

Michel Durrieu 

General Director, regional Tourist Board, 

Nouvelle-Aquitaine 

LARGER 

THAN AUSTRIA 

AND MORE 

POPULOUS 

THAN 

DENMARK, THE 

REGION HAS 

THE MEANS OF 

ITS AMBITIONS 

(…) 

CLEVER TRAVEL 

IDEAS IN 

NOUVELLE- 

AQUITAINE 

The French region has commissioned a comprehensive 

SMARTguide by Cleverdis (publishers, amongst others, 

of ITB Berlin News), launched yesterday at ITB Berlin. 

Underlining the emergence of France’s biggest region as an 

international tourist destination, the SMARTguide reveals 

a land of great experiences in an exceptional variety of 

locations 

Pick up your copy at the ITB Berlin booth Hall 1.1 / Stand 201,201a 



EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

17 

OUR TARGET IS TO PUSH TOURISM 

TO BE SRI LANKA’S HIGHEST FOREIGN 

EXCHANGE EARNER 

Hon. John Amaratunga 

Minister, Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development, 

Christian Religious Affairs 

In an exclusive 

interview with ITB 

Berlin News, Hon. 

John Amaratunga, Sri 

Lanka’s Minister of 

Tourism Development 

and Christian Religious 

Affairs, explains how 

tourism is evolving in 

the country as arrival 

figures have increased 

dramatically over the 

last eight years. 

To be more specific arrivals 

which stood at 500,000 in 

2010 shot up to 2.2 million 

last year and our estimate 

is that 2.5 million foreign 

tourists will visit the 

country this year. I believe 

this success is a result 

of the positive publicity 

the country has received 

globally in the recent past 

and also word of mouth by 

those who have visited. 

Tourism is now the third 

highest foreign exchange 

earner for the country and 

our target is to push it to 

number one in the not too 

distant future. We have a 

three-year strategic plan in 

place to achieve this goal. 

Which source markets are 

evolving the fastest, and 

who are you targeting in 

particular at ITB Berlin 

this year? 

Our leading source market 

is our neighbour India 

followed by our Asian 

counterpart, China. The 

UK comes in third followed 

by Germany and France. 

This is why Europe is very 

important for us in general 

and Germany in particular. 

Our marketing efforts at 

ITB Berlin will primarily 

revolve around these key 

markets. 

While we are encouraged 

by the response from nontraditional, 

new markets 

in the Americas and 

Australasia, our presence 

at ITB Berlin is to primarily 

target the German market, 

which has had very good 

relations with Sri Lanka 

even when things were 

not that great for tourism 

during the civil unrest 

which thankfully ended in 

2009. 

Last year arrivals from 

Europe grew by 6% 

outpacing overall industry 

growth which was at 4%. 

According to our records 

681,000 tourists arrived in 

Sri Lanka from Western 

Europe last year making 

the region one of the fastest 

evolving source markets 

for us. What is of concern, 

however, is a slight 2% drop 

in German arrivals, which 

we hope to reverse with 

our participation at ITB 

Berlin this year. Altogether, 

130,000 Germans visited 

Sri Lanka in 2017. 

How is infrastructure 

being developed to cater 

for tourism growth? 

Tourism in Sri Lanka 

is evolving at a steady 

pace with continuous 

infrastructure development 

and the addition of 

thousands of new star 

class rooms across the 

country, especially in 

the commercial capital 

Colombo in order to keep 

up with the demand. 

I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 

development is an ongoing 

process. Some of the 

current projects include 

the creation of a brand new 

city from land reclaimed 

from the seas adjacent to 

the Colombo harbour. This 

new city will feature stateof-the-art 

hotels, shopping 

malls, theme parks, 

marinas and the very latest 

infrastructure for multisensory 

entertainment. 

In addition to the 

already completed 

highways connecting 

the international airport 

to Colombo and the 

south, development of 

other major highways 

connecting Colombo, 

Kandy and Jaffna with 

every corner of the island 

has already started and 

will be completed before 

2020.. 

What new products are 

being presented at ITB? 

Today Sri Lanka is a safe 

haven for tourists. We have 

a rich heritage depicted 

through eight UNESCO 

World Heritage Sites, a food 

culture based on exotic 

spices, one of world’s 

oldest healing methods, 

Ayurveda, diverse wildlife, 

golden beaches and many 

adventure activities. 

Sri Lanka is world famous 

for its sun, sea and sand. 

This is a well-established 

product especially in the 

European market. In the 

last few years we have 

seen world class hotel 

chains build luxury hotels 

and resorts on the beaches 

catering to the upper 

segment of travellers who 

seek the sun, sea and sand. 

We have so many other 

products which offer 

a wide choice for the 

tourists. To name a few we 

have adventure tourism, 

sports tourism, health and 

wellness tourism based 

on the ancient indigenous 

Ayurveda system, wildlife 

Sri Lanka Unveils Strategic 

Plan to Boost Tourism 

With a four-fold increase in arrivals since 2010, tourism is 

set to bcome Sri Lanka’s largest foreign exchange earner 

and event based tourism. 

ITB is a good platform to 

take this message to the 

world 

TODAY 

SRI LANKA 

IS A SAFE 

HAVEN FOR 

TOURISTS. 


SPECIAL FEATURE 

CRUISES 

19 

Cruise Business Up 4.5% in 2017 

Cruise tourism boomed in 2017 

and will continue to grow in 2018 

according to a new report from 

the Cruise Lines International 

Association (CLIA). Created in 

1975, the association represents 

over 50 cruise lines companies in 

all market segments, sea or river 

cruises. Altogether, CLIA members 

transported over 25.8 million 

passengers on 449 cruise ships last 

year. This represented a growth of 

4.5% over 2016. Between 2010 and 

2017, the number of passengers 

grew by 35%. 

The US market is still the largest 

source of the cruise industry, 

representing 11.5 million in 2016 

(last available data). However, 

this number barely changed since 

2014 (11.21 million passengers). 

The second largest market is now 

China. Although it only represented 

2.1 million travellers in 2016, cruise 

ships have seen the total number 

of Chinese treble since 2014 (0.7 

million). China overtook Germany, 

which generated 2 million cruise 

travellers in 2016. Among the five 

top markets are also British and 

Australian travellers, respectively 

generating 1.9 million and 1.3 

million cruise trips. 

According to CLIA forecasts, the 

cruise industry will further grow 

in 2018 with 27 ships entering 

in service, helping to generate a 

new record of 27.2 million cruise 

travellers. 

Looking at the most popular 

regions for the cruise industry, the 

Caribbean and the Mediterranean 

Sea remain cruise liners’ most 

visited destinations. In available 

lower berth day (ALBD), Caribbean 

Islands alone generated 35.4% 

of all cruises in 2017 while the 

Mediterranean Sea represented 

15.8% of all cruise liners’ 

capacities. The rest of Europe, 

particularly cruises on rivers 

such as the Danube, the Rhine 

or the Elbe, generate 11.3% of all 

travellers’ movements. But Asia is 

gaining in importance. Between 

2016 and 2017, Asian destinations 

market share grew from 9.2% to 

10.4% of all cruise ships - 6% being 

generated by China alone 

Mein Shiff in Langkawi 

SCYLLA CRUISING 

IN THE FAST LANE 

Robert Reitsma 

CTO, Scylla 

Hall 10.2 / Stand 114 

Swiss luxury ship maker 

Scylla is back at ITB 

to communicate with 

tour operators about its 

superior long-haul river 

cruise liners - and to 

promote some sustainable 

cruising innovations. 

Since 1974, Scylla has 

been launching high end 

cruise liners that sail 

the rivers and canals of 

Europe. From the first route 

down the Rhine, Scylla’s 

fleet of near 30 ships 

today navigate almost 

every major waterway in 

the Continent. We talk 

to company CTO Robert 

Reitsma about Scylla’s 

bespoke river cruising 

solutions. 

We build custom-made ships. 

This means that our clients, 

the tour operators, have a say 

about the design and the look 

of the ship that they charter. 

They can decide on the image 

of their ship by affixing their 

logo on the exterior side, and 

by determining the interior 

style and luxury level. That’s 

our secret to success. 

How and why is sustainability 

important in today’s industry? 

Sustainable enterprising is 

a key concept for us. For 

example, we shifted to a much 

greener diesel fuel. The ships 

are powered with GTL, a fuel 

produced by Shell that’s 25% 

cleaner than the cleanest diesel 

fuel. This means that our ships 

comply with nearly every legal 

norm for emissions for 2020. 

On our newest ship, the MS 

Robert Burns, we placed an 

adaptive autopilot that has the 

ability to refine the steering 

throughout the voyage. It means 

that less steering motions or 

rudder actions are required for 

operation, resulting in lower 

levels of speed reduction, 

minimal fuel consumption and 

therefore emission reduction. 

Please tell us a little more 

about your latest projects. 

In December the MS Robert 

Burns was finished and made 

its first Christmas cruise. The 

ship is the fourth in a line of 

multiple sister ships for one 

tour operator. 

At the end of 2018 we will have 

30 ships in our fleet, which 

makes us the fastest- growing 

fleet in the river cruise business. 

How important is ITB as a 

platform for you to reach your 

potential clients and why? 

ITB Berlin is one of the most 

important fairs for us. Because 

we see the group and charter 

business increasing, 2018 will 

bring some new challenges, 

new designs and innovations. 

As we are operating in a big 

European market, ITB is an 

ideal spot to meet everyone. 

We want to share our story, our 

history, our plans for the future 


20 SPECIAL FEATURE 

CRUISES 

Silversea to Lengthen 

Silver Spirit Ship 

Vodohod Project 

Vodohod Orders 

New Cruise Ship 

Russian company Vodohod has 

signed a contract with United 

Shipbuilding Corporation for 

the construction of a four-deck 

passenger cruise vessel, the 

PV300LMPP-110. 

Completion of building and 

testing of the passenger vessel is 

scheduled for 2019 and finishing 

and handover to the customer 

by the beginning of 2020. 

Vodohod said that funding 

of the construction is carried 

out as part of governmental 

programme “Development of 

shipbuilding for 2013 – 2030” 

of the Ministry of Industry and 

Trade of the Russian Federation. 

The PV300LMPP-110 will be 141 

metres long and 16.8 metres 

wide. Passenger capacity will be 

342 with crew and service staff 

of 144 people. 

Cabins will be provided with 

French-style balconies and the 

size of the standard cabin will 

be 19 square metres; a suite 

cabin will measure 30 square 

metres. 

A spokesman for Vodohod said 

the cruise vessel will in fact be 

a modern floating hotel created 

with the use of the most recent 

technological developments 


Silversea has unveiled plans for 

its first-ever ship lengthening. The 

transformation of Silver Spirit will 

start this month at the Palermo 

shipyard of Fincantieri, one of the 

world’s largest shipbuilding groups. 

Silver Spirit will be lengthened 

by inserting a prebuilt 49-footlong 

midsection housing six Silver 

Suites, 26 Veranda Suites and 

two Panorama Suites. Technical 

upgrades will also be implemented. 

Christian Sauleau, Executive Vice 

President of Fleet Operations at 

Silversea Cruises, said: “Based on 

the wonderful feedback from guests 

sailing aboard our beautiful Silver 

Muse, we believe the comprehensive 

makeover we have planned for 

Silver Spirit will enrich the onboard 

experience and be equally 

appreciated by guests.” 

Giorgio Rizzo, Senior Vice President 

Services of Fincantieri, added: 

“The lengthening of a ship always 

entails a rare level of complexity. 

Today our group and the Palermo 

shipyard boast an established and 

recognised experience in this kind of 

operations, confirmed by the project 

that Silversea has assigned us” 


Silver Spirit 

© 2013 Ralph Grizzle 

Rostock Cruise Festival 

to Debut this September 

The first Rostock Cruise Festival 

will take place in Rostock- 

Warnemünde from September 

14-16 September, 2018. 

Matthias Fromm, Managing 

Director of Rostock Marketing 

and Tourist Board, said this 

new cruise event is evidence 

of the successful development 

of the Hanseatic and university 

city in the cruise sector: “In 

2018, Rostock will be fully 

focused on the 800th birthday 

of the city. With Rostock Cruise 

Festival, Rostock-Warnemünde 

commends itself yet again as 

an attractive cruise port. We 

are delighted to be breaking a 

record as we expect 43 ships to 

make over 200 calls this year.” 

In consultation with the 

Hamburg Convention Bureau, 

Fromm said that Rostock Cruise 

Festival will alternate every 

two years with Hamburg Cruise 

Days. “With this wonderful 

event, Warnemünde will be a 

hotspot for cruise fans from 

September 14-16. We invite our 

holidaymakers and guests to 

experience the ocean giants first 

hand on the beach against one 

of the most beautiful backdrops 

in the Baltic Sea region” 

Hall 6.2a / Stand 106 

Explore West Africa 

with Variety Cruises 

Variety Cruises has launched its 

new programme, the Rivers of West 

Africa, with two sailing locations 

in Dakar and Banjul. It features an 

eight-day cruise in the waterways 

of Senegal and Gambia which will 

start in early April. 

The company’s third generation 

owner, Constantine Venetopoulos, 

will join this journey that depart 

from Banjul on April 8. The one 

sailing from Dakar, the capital of 

Senegal, will start on April 14. 

Variety Cruises will offer passengers 

specifically selected tours including 

visiting natural reserves and 

experiencing cultural customs. 

Venetopoulos said he looks forward 

to welcoming passengers with 

luxury experiences on board and 

exciting explorations in West Africa. 

He said: “With what Variety Cruises 

offers, Gambia turns out to be a top 

Harmony G 

exotic destination to relax, a place to 

learn, a place to reflect, and a place 

to enjoy. The sense of luxury doesn’t 

just lie in luxury goods purchase, 

but also means rare experiences in 

exploring diversified cultures” 




ADVERTORIAL 


CRUISES 

21 

Norwegian Cruise Line Prepares 

To Set Sail With Latest Ship 

Norwegian Bliss will start its inaugural cruise in April 

Kevin Bubolz 

Managing Director, 

Norwegian Cruise Line Europe 

This June will see the arrival 

of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 

16 th ship, Norwegian Bliss. 

Kevin Bubolz, new Managing 

Director of Norwegian Cruise 

Line Europe, tells ITB Berlin 

News about the new ship 

and plans to promote its 

inaugural cruise. 

We launched the Race to Bliss 

campaign in order to promote the 

upcoming new ship Norwegian 

Bliss in Germany, Austria and 

Switzerland to travel agents, media 

and industry partners. The most 

spectacular highlight on board is 

the longest racing track at sea, so 

we held seven roadshow events 

for travel agents on various race 

tracks in December 2017, allowing 

our travel partners to feel the speed 

themselves and to qualify for the 

final race on board Norwegian Bliss 

during her inaugural cruise from 

April 19-21. 

This ship will have a couple of real 

“firsts” – making it different from 

any other. Please tell us more. 

Norwegian Bliss will be our 

sixteenth ship and will sail to 

Alaska and the Caribbean with 

select voyages to the Mexican 

Riviera beginning in June 2018. 

Norwegian Bliss will boast many 

firsts at sea for the European market 

including the largest competitive 

two level electric-car race track 

at sea and an open-air laser tag 

course. Other amenities are, for 

example, The Waterfront, two 

180-degree observations lounges 

and an expansive pool and sundeck 

featuring two spacious pools and 

six hot tubs. 

What makes your cruises different 

from any others? 

Norwegian Cruise Line is the 

innovator in cruise travel with a 

51-year history of breaking the 

boundaries of traditional cruising. 

Most notably, Norwegian Cruise 

Line revolutionised the cruise 

industry by offering guests the 

freedom and flexibility to design 

their ideal cruise vacation on their 

schedule with no set dining times, 

a variety of entertainment options 

and no formal dress codes. 

In 2016, Norwegian Cruise Line 

introduced Premium All Inclusive. 

From February, our guests benefit 

from 60 minutes of free Wi-Fi per 

person as part of their Premium All 

Inclusive offering. 



22 ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 




LUXURY ACCOMODATION & TRAVEL 

23 

Hilton Hits Key 

Milestones 

Tanya Clifford, Vice President, Hilton 

Worldwide Sales, Europe, tells ITB Berlin 

News that in 2017, the chain achieved 

several regional milestones, including the 

opening of its 5000th property globally with 

the opening of Tru by Hilton at Oklahoma 

City Airport. 

In 2017, we also opened 

our 100th Greater China 

hotel with the Hilton 

Quanzhou; our 200th 

Asia Pacific hotel with 

Waldorf Astoria Chengdu; 

the 100th Latin America 

hotel with the Hilton Rio 

de Janeiro Copacabana 

and 100,000th room in 

EMEA. 

We also continue to have 

the highest share of rooms 

under construction in the 

industry, with 21% being 

under the Hilton brand. 

How is Hilton’s EMEA 

offering evolving? What’s 

new at ITB? 

We currently have 465 

hotels in EMEA, and look 

forward to welcoming 

more than 50 hotels to the 

region this year including 

Konsulat Hotel Reykjavik, 

Curio Collection by 

Hilton, Hilton Garden 

Inn Bordeaux Centre 

Gare and Hilton Al Houra 

Resort & Spa. 

At Hilton, innovation 

is in our DNA. From 

capabilities like Digital 

Key to our award-winning 

Hilton Honors app with 

Google Maps integration, 

Hilton leads the way 

in developing gamechanging 

technologies 

that enhance travel 

experiences for our 

guests. 

Are there any new 

brands arriving in new 

territories? If so, what 

are the most interesting 

examples? 

In 2018, we will open 

Hilton Belgrade, 

DoubleTree by Hilton 

Skopje and Hilton Garden 

Inn Tirana, bringing 

renowned Hilton 

hospitality to Serbia, 

Macedonia and Albania 

for the first time. 

We are also excited 

to be opening our first 

Hampton by Hilton in 

the Middle East with the 

opening of Hampton by 

Hilton Dubai Airport. 

With over 420 rooms, 

this will be the largest 

Tanya Clifford 

Vice President, 

Hilton Worldwide Sales 

INNOVATION 

IS IN OUR 

DNA 

Hampton property in the 

world when it opens 

Admiralty Arch Waldorf 

Astoria, meanwhile, 

brings the iconic brand 

to one of London’s most 

prestigious addresses 

– overlooking Trafalgar 

Square and The Mall 


STAY IN THE LOOP AT ITB 

BERLIN’S NEW LUXURY HOTSPOT 

For the first time at ITB 

Berlin, a new “Luxury 

Hotspot” called loop @ ITB 

will bring together luxury 

travel stakeholders. Located 

in Hall 09 | 310, the loop is 

an exciting new meeting 

place for key players in 

luxury tourism. On March 7 

and 8, a get-together with 

drinks, snacks and exciting 

discussions will take place 

at 4-6pm at the loop stand. 

According to the ITB World 

Travel Trends Report 

2017/2018, high-end travel 

is experiencing double-digit 

growth. But as luxury travel 

booms, affluence is no longer 

defined by material wealth, 

with values such as selfdiscovery 

and authenticity 

becoming more important. 

These are key topics at ITB 

Berlin 2018, especially at 

the new Loop Lounge @ ITB 

organised in collaboration 

with Loop, the trade show 

for luxury products. Here, 

Meanwhile, luxury travel 

expert Astrid Oberhummer 

invites buyers to join her ITB 

tour on March 7, which starts 

in front of the Auditorium 

London (Convention Hall 

7.1b) following the ‘Hidden 

Luxury’ panel discussion 

(1 - 1.45 pm). Anyone 

interested can register at 

loop@lobster-event.com 


“ITB LUXURY LATE NIGHT” 

EVENT FOCUSES ON HIGH- 

END TRAVEL 

ITB Berlin has created 

an exclusive networking 

platform. 

From 10pm till 1am tonight 

the first ITB Luxury Late 

Night will take place at Hotel 

Orania Berlin. Exhibitors 

and leading luxury buyers 

will exchange expertise and 

ideas 



GOLF TOURISM 

25 

New Radisson Blu Bali 

Uluwatu Promotes 

Island Golfing 

Just a 40-minute drive from Bali Ngurah Rai International 

Airport lies Uluwatu – a rural jewel in Bali’s Bukit peninsula’s 

crown. On this southwestern tip of the Island, Indonesia’s first 

Radisson Blu resort, Radisson Blu Bali Uluwatu reinterprets 

Balinese style for modern travellers. 

Golf in Bayern 

Golfing in 

Beautiful Bavaria 

Having welcomed the first guests 

in January 2018, the resort is 

pushing its sporting credentials: 

not only is Bali’s best surfing beach 

on the resort’s doorstep; nearby 

is New Kuta Golf, a state-of- theart 

18-hole golf course designed 

by Ronald Fream, David Dale and 

Kevin Ramsey. 

The spectacular seaside course 

hugs sparkling white limestone 

cliffs and azure Indian Ocean 

waters. Also boasting a finely 

curated 18 holes that is challenging 

for golfers at every level, New 

Kuta Golf’s stunning location 

helped it win several awards after 

it opened in 2007, including Best 

New International Course by Links 

Magazine. 

And the brand new Radisson Blu 

Bali Uluwatu will be the perfect 

place to rest and relax for golf 

tourists looking to enjoy one of 

Asia’s best courses 

Hall 26.a / Stand 115 

With more than 200 golf 

clubs and some of the 

world’s most stunning 

landscapes, the German 

region of Bavaria offers the 

ultimate golfing getaway. 

While Bavaria is one of 

Europe’s most popular holiday 

destinations, a round of golf 

allows visitors to connect with 

the region’s sights, culture, events 

and nature. 

The ‘Golf in Bavaria’ tourism 

initiative, created in collaboration 

with the Bavarian Golf 

Association, invites visitors to 

enjoy a round of gold while 

experiencing the regions 

inimitable cultural and regional 

sights, from Germany’s highest 

mountain, the towering 3000 

metre Zugspitze, to the storied 

Wagner Opera in Bayreuth, the 

marionette theatre in Augsburg 

and the birdie putt on the 18th 

hole. 

Other complementary activities 

for golf tourists to Bayern include 

a Champions League match at 

Munich’s Allianz arena, a relaxing 

wine tasting along the river Main, 

a cellar tour of Kulmbach’s beer 

storage facilities, ‘Brezn und 

Haxn’ (pretzels and haunch) at 

the Oktoberfest, unwinding at 

one of the spas, cycling through 

Chiemgau or unwinding at the 

19th hole. 

Bavaria has seven regions, each 

with its own unique character. An 

equal diversity of golfing options 

are available from exclusive 

members courses for experienced 

players to short courses that are 

open to the public. It’s also worth 

noting that German golfing legend 

Bernhard Langer has designed a 

number of courses in the region. 

For insights into golf in Bavaria 

as well as inspiration, the best 

starting point is the website 

www.golf-in-bayern.de. Next to 

all the diverse golf courses, sights 

and events, www.golf-in-bayern. 

de offers a section called ‘Stories’ 

that offer unique human stories 

that make everyday life in Bavaria 

so special. In addition, there is a 

map of all the golf courses in the 

region with search functionality. 

This makes it possible to narrow 

down golf clubs by region, price, 

topography, access to hotels 

and local places of interest 

Hall 6.2b / Stand 301 

InterContinental Mar Menor 

Golf Resort and Spa 

Just 15 minutes from Murcia Airport in the south of Spain, 

the InterContinental Mar Menor Golf Resort and Spa offers 

maximum style, service and relaxation - and the perfect 

base for the ultimate golfing break. 

This high design hotel has a 

contemporary and luxurious feel 

with all rooms enjoying either 

views of the pool or of the Mar 

Menor golf course which it adjoins. 

The Mar Menor course is one 

of six Jack Nicklaus designed 

courses, including the signature 

Alhama Course, that make up the 

Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail in Murcia 

in southeastern Spain. 

The first of these golf trail courses 

opened in 2005, the par 72 Mar 

Menor is marked by abundant 

native grasses, flowering shrubs, 

palm trees, and the addition of 

the new lake with sand leading 

to the water’s edge which comes 

into play. 

The final hole is backdropped by 

the Intercontinental Hotel, and the 

club bar where players can stop 

for a drink before returning to the 

hotel for a spa 


New Kuta Golf 




27 

GASTRONOMY 

TOURISM UNITES 

THE WORLD 

Getachew Engida, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, and Alexis Tam, Secretary for Social Affairs 

and Culture of Macau, visiting the stalls at Macao Gastronomy Carnival 

Gastronomy is turning into a strategic element 

of promotion for a rising number of tourism 

authorities, as travellers look for authenticity, 

sustainability and cultural interaction. This 

phenomenon has been recognised by UNWTO, 

which has named 2018 the Year of Gastronomy 

Tourism. 

Learning to prepare papaya 

salad in Bangkok or paella 

in Valencia, discovering 

centennial traditions of Inca 

cuisine in Peru, appreciating 

an authentic Sacher Torte 

in Vienna or learning 

to distinguish various 

grapes of Bordeaux wines; 

gastronomy experiences 

are invading the world of 

tourism and there is no 

country today which would 

not propose an opportunity 

to learn about its local 

cuisine. 

Ca Cha Fish Stew Hanoi 

Gastronomy used to be the 

mantra of a dozen countries 

a few decades ago - from 

Italy or France in Europe 

to a few ‘exotic’ countries 

such as Morocco, Mexico, 

Japan or Thailand. They 

embraced a long time ago 

the idea of turning culinary 

into a tourism activity. They 

since have been joined by 

the rest of the world. In 

a 2017 UNWTO study on 

gastronomy tourism , a 

survey indicated that 87% 

of tourism organisations 

believe that gastronomy is 

a distinctive and strategic 

element in defining the 

image and brand of their 

destination and is seen as 

a driving force for tourism 

development. Indeed, 

gastronomy came in third 

position as a motivation for 

travel. 

Food tourism follows a 

general trend of traveller’s 

search for authenticity and 

ethical values in tourism. 

Gastronomy helps to protect 

landscapes, rural activities, 

farming, local products and 

traditions. Through products 

(olive oil, honey, pepper, 

vanilla etc…), food tourism 

also gives a strong identity 

to less known territories. 

From the discovery of a 

cuisine with an expert - chef, 

farmer or food producer 

- to a gastronomy based 

trip to the best tables of a 

destination, the exploration 

of street food or learning 

specific cooking, creativity 

around food has no limits. 

The 4th UNWTO World 

Forum on Gastronomy 

Tourism will look at its 

evolution in Bangkok from 

May 30 to June 1, 2018 

Macao Kicks Off 

Year Of Gastronomy 

The territory aims to promote sustainable 

development and international collaboration 

2018 Macao Year of Gastronomy kicked off on January 17 with a 

ceremony that took place at the Sai Van Lake Square, officiated by 

guests from home and abroad including Alexis Tam, the Secretary 

for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative 

Region Government and Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, 

Getachew Engida. We asked to find out more about how Macao is 

going to promote this special project. 

Mr Tam said: “In the 

core part of our work 

as a Creative City of 

Gastronomy, we aim to 

provide more training 

opportunities for the 

next generations of 

culinary arts talent and 

to ensure the inheritance 

of local cuisines, such 

as our unique Macanese 

cooking. 

We will also work more 

closely with local food 

and beverage operators 

to improve the sector’s 

competitiveness, while 

encourage more cooperation 

between 

gastronomy and creative 

industries. 

At the same time, 

we will enhance our 

collaboration with other 

cities within the network, 

and also accelerate local 

participation towards 

the goals of the network 

by capitalising on the 

opportunities it opens to 

our city.” 

Mr Engida added: 

“Gastronomy is not only 

an integral part of the 

city’s cultural identity; it 

is also a strong driver of 

its sustainable economic 

development and social 

cohesion. 

The Gastronomy Year 

will also provide an 

opportunity for Macao 

to develop regional 

and international 

cooperation with 

partners both within the 

network and beyond, 

strengthening its 

reputation as a hub of 

gastronomy.” 

Following the ceremony, 

the Macao Gastronomy 

Carnival was held, with 

guests visiting the stalls 

and tasting an array of 

local cuisines. 

Macao was designated 

as a new member city 

of UCCN in the field of 

Gastronomy on October 

31, 2017, having become 

the third city in China to 

join UCCN in the field of 

gastronomy. 

Mr Tam added: 

“As pledged on the 

application, Macao 

has implemented a 

four-year action plan 

as a UNESCO Creative 

City of Gastronomy, 

which includes various 

initiatives.” 

Mr Tam said that the 

Macao SAR Government 

will continue to 

provide its support for 

activities to be held in 

the region such as the 

Macau Food Festival, 

the internationallyrenowned 

Michelin 

Guide, and Asia’s 50 

Best Restaurants 





29 

Adding Taste (and Flavour) 

to the Hotel Trade 

French “art de vivre” moves to another level with AccorHotels’ 

partnership with Potel & Chabot 

Franck Jeantet 

Chairman & CEO, Potel & Chabot 

Amir Nahai 

CEO, F&B Group, AccorHotels 

Potel et Chabot, an iconic luxury event gastronomy 

brand, is now part of the AccorHotels portfolio, adding 

a great deal of value to the group’s F&B and events 

segments. To find out more about this “new adventure”, 

we spoke to both the Chairman & CEO of Potel & 

Chabot, Franck Jeantet, and Amir Nahai, CEO, F&B 

Group, AccorHotels. Firstly, we asked Mr Jeantet to tell 

us a little more about his company. 

FJ: Founded in 1820, leader in 

high-end event organisation 

and delivering global 

experiences to its clients 

around excellence and “French 

art de vivre “, Potel & Chabot 

manage a unique portfolio 

of exclusives venues in Paris 

and also manage major events 

(sports, cultural and industrial) 

in France and internationally 

(Roland Garros, air shows 

around the world, Saut Hermes, 

24 h du Mans, FIFA World Cup 

in Moscow, etc.) 

What will the partnership 

with AccorHotels and Edmond 

de Rothschild bring to your 

business? 

FJ: This new partnership will 

leverage several opportunities 

for Potel & Chabot especially 

with AccorHotels. Potel & 

Chabot will take advantage of 

the international coverage of 

AccorHotels to accelerate its 

international expansion and 

growth. The recent acquisition 

of FRHI, John Paul, One Fine 

Stay offers to Potel et Chabot 

and AccorHotels majors 

opportunities to bring synergies 

WE’RE CREATING THE “MARIE- 

ANTOINETTE” EXPERIENCE FOR A 

MARKET THAT APPRECIATES AND 

VALUES ALL THINGS FRENCH 

in the luxury experience for 

our guests. In addition, the 

MICE segment is offering our 

companies an occasion to 

create specific offers to these 

clients, combining rooms, 

event organisation and F&B 

offers. 

How will the association 

with AccorHotel’s digital 

concierge services allow you 

to strengthen your leadership 

in the luxury sector? 

FJ: The AccorHotels digital 

concierge service will allow us 

to propose to those clients a 

new and exclusive experience 

in the F&B and luxury event 

segment. Our clients are now 

not only looking for a premium 

F&B offer, they are looking for 

premium and exclusives global 

experiences. AccorHotels 

digital concierge should help 

us to bring those experiences 

to life, combining, for example, 

premium F&B offer as well 

as premium transportation or 

premium concierge demands. 

By combining our expertise, 

we will be able to bring a new 

dimension to the event and 

hospitality segment, offering a 

one stop shop to those clients. 

Amir Nahai, what does the new 

partnership with P&C bring to 

the offering of AccorHotels? 

AN: AccorHotels CEO Sebastien 

Bazin talks a lot about the 

importance of reinforcing 

our market leadership in key 

markets. Paris is one of the most 

important markets in the world 

and Potel helps us reinforce our 

position as the most important 

player in Hospitality “with a 

capital H”. Together with our 

hotel brands such as Noctis and 

Accor Hotel Arena, our goal 

is to be the reference player 

in one of the most important 

destinations in the world 

especially with the Olympic 

Games around the corner. In 

addition, there are clear go-tomarket 

benefits for us where 

we can cross-sell especially 

for high end gatherings and 

meetings. Beyond Paris, this is 

about learning from each other 

and in select cases collaborating 

globally on unique experiences 

for our guests (weddings in 

China examples) 

Why bring P&C into the 

equation rather than 

developing your own offering? 

This partnership does not 

replace our existing knowhow, 

but rather complements 

it. Potel has 200 years of knowhow, 

unique locations in Paris 

and deep relationships with 

key customers 

What kind of new services will 

be on offer? 

This is not necessarily about 

new services per se. A lot of 

the benefits will come from 

joint go-to-market of existing 

services. Having said that, we 

are working on many exciting 

new services. One that I can 

talk about and that I am really 

excited about is a branded 

French-style wedding for our 

most luxurious hotels in China. 

We joke that we’re creating the 

“Marie-Antoinette” experience 

for a market that appreciates 

and values all things 

French. We hope to have our 

first married couple in the next 

twelve months 


30 SPECIAL FEATURE 


Taj Cape Town Hotel’s New Star Chef 

Promises Full Immersion 

David Tilly 

Taj Executive Chef 

Having bolstered its hospitality 

team with the appointment of 

renowned French chef David 

Tilly, Taj Cape Town has further 

cemented its reputation as one of 

South Africa’s most refined inner 

city hotels. 

French chef and food visionary 

David Tilly has near 20 years 

experience, having worked as sous 

chef at L’Auberge David Martin in 

Boulogne Billancourt before joining 

Le Meurice in Rue de Rivoli to work 

under Yannick Alléno. During his 

time there, the restaurant won its 

second and third Michelin stars. 

From there, Tilly began cultivating 

his love for Asian cuisine, which 

took him to Taj Palace Hotel New 

Deli, the Orient Express. From 

New Delhi, he moved to Taj Palace 

Marrakech, before joining Taj 51 

Buckingham Gate as executive head 

chef. Tilly is the perfect embodiment 

of the east-meets-west philosophy 

that Taj Cape Town exudes, with a 

unique cooking style that combines 

his French flair with cross-cultural 

artistry. 

The new executive chef at Taj 

Cape Town is in a unique position 

to understand what makes 

gastronomy stand out in a travel 

market where foodie experiences 

abound. He is especially cognisant 

of the penchant for healthy, and 

ecological, eating among younger 

millennial travellers. 

“[This] has given rise to a focus 

on ethically-sourced, seasonal 

ingredients that are appropriate 

for a plant-based or low-carb 

diet,” says Tilly, who believes 

Asian cuisine best serves the latest 

culinary preferences. 

“South Indian cuisine lends itself 

to this style of eating, with subtle, 

flavours including fresh coconut 

and seafood,” Tilly confirms. 

“London’s Quilon (run by friend 

Chef Sriram Aylur) put South West 

Indian cuisine on the map in the 

UK, winning its first Michelin star in 

2008 and retaining it ever since. For 

me, this is the best Indian restaurant 

in London.” 

But beyond the actual food and 

flavour, Tilly emphasises that dining 

out must be a “whole experience.” 

“People expect top restaurants 

to entertain and take them on a 

journey,” he says. “Eating out is 

increasingly becoming synonymous 

with theatrical immersion. Diners 

expect to be delighted, surprised 

and ‘tricked’ – in a way that 

immerses all the senses” 





MEDICAL TOURISM 

31 

ITB BERLIN 

EXPANDS MEDICAL 

TOURISM SEGMENT 

Amatara brain health 

Following last year’s successful launch of 

the important and fast-growing Medical 

Tourism segment at ITB Berlin, growing 

demand means it has had to relocate to 

a larger hall (21b) this year. 

Lectures and presentations are taking place 

there, and visitors are able to get detailed 

information on clinics, destinations and medical 

health insurances. The Health Tourism Industry 

Conference (HTI) is this year’s official partner of 

the Medical Tourism Pavilion. HTI, which this 

year is organising conferences in Zagreb and 

Brussels, specialises in medical congresses all 

over Europe. 

Medical tourism offers huge prospects for the 

global tourism industry. According to the latest 

report by VISA and Oxford Economics, current 

turnover in the world’s medical tourism industry 

is around 50 billion dollars. Over the next ten 

years growth is forecast to reach up to 25% per 

annum. 

As in every travel market, digitalisation is a hot 

topic in the Medical Tourism segment. Tomorrow, 

Friday, 9 March, Dr Andreas Keck will talk 

about ‘The Digital Challenges in Global Medical 

Tourism’. Topics addressed by other lectures will 

include the changes and developments taking 

place in medical tourism, and the resultant 

challenges facing hotels and destinations. 

Over the course of 30-minute sessions Toscana 

Promozione Turistica will provide information 

on Tuscany’s many spas. Every day from 4 p.m. 

onwards, exhibitors and visitors can get together 

at a Networking Reception, where they exchange 

in-depth knowledge and establish new contacts. 

On Friday, 9 March, taking place at the Capital 

Club on Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin, the 

exclusive ITB Medical Night will also provide an 

opportunity to network. The event is sponsored by 

Toscana Promozione Turistica and participation 

is by special invitation only. To register please 

email ITB@diversitytourism.com 

Hall 21.b 

Medical Tourism Pavilion 


Amatara Wellness 

Resort Launches 

Brain Health Initiative 

In cooperation with Bangkok Hospital’s Brain Health Institute (BDMS) in 

Phuket, Amatara Wellness Resort has developed a worldwide innovative 

healthcare plan focussing on the brain. The programme aims to prevent 

diseases like Alzheimer and dementia. 

The brain health enhancement programme 

begins within an evidence-based approach 

to understanding a participant’s health 

status, with a particular focus on the brain. 

Over two nights and three days, a team of 

medical professionals guide guests through 

a series of tests and medical treatments. 

Between tests they can enjoy delicious, 

healthy and nutritionally personalised 

meals, one-on-one exercise, meditation 

and stress management, as well as 

accommodation specifically designed for 

quality sleep and relaxation. 

The stay at the Brain Health Institute is 

followed by five nights at Amatara Wellness 

Resort. This ensures that the interventions, 

dietary plan and exercise that have been 

Amatara Spa - Yoga Pavilion 

personally recommended to guests are 

integrated into their stay. 

The brain health enhancement programme 

is focussed on Alzheimer’s prevention, and 

is highly recommended for those with a 

family history of the disease to help with 

early intervention. It is of great interest for 

anyone wishing to improve or maintain 

their brain health and cognition, and to 

take conscious steps against age-related 

cognitive decline. 

Individuals with stressful daily lives or who 

work long hours will also highly benefit 

from a programme that suggests ways to 

enhance and preserve brain health and 

prevent the decline of function over time. 

Amatara Brain Health Enhancement falls 

in the category of individualised medicine 

and is a truly holistic, personalised and 

integrative programme focussing on the 

bio-physical-social uniqueness of every 

patient. 

Secluded in a tranquil Cape Panwa bay, 

Amatara Wellness Resort features allinclusive 

healthy retreat programmes as 

well as leisure holiday for guests. The 

retreats focus on detox, yoga, weight 

management, fitness, relaxing spas, as well 

as offering a tailor-made programme 



Brought to you by 

ASIA 

REGION 

33 

China The Major 

Contributor to “Asian 

Tourism Miracle” 

The continuous growth of Chinese outbound travel is an 

asset for all of Asia, the continent being well-placed to 

reap the benefits of China’s continuous travel boom. In 

addition, increased air travel competition, good value 

for money in services, easier visa entry facilities to 

an increasing number of Asian countries and quickly 

expanding transportation infrastructures are also 

stimulating travel demand in the region. 

Overall, there is an Asian 

tourism miracle. Last year, 

according to preliminary data 

from the UNWTO, Asia and 

the Pacific welcomed together 

323.7 million foreign travellers, 

representing a growth of 

5.8% over 2016. Growth 

was particularly strong in 

South Asia, up by 10.4%, and 

Southeast Asia, up by 8.3%. 

Asia represented consequently 

24.5% of all international 

arrivals. This is a market share 

jump of eight points in less than 

a decade. Back in 2000, the Asia 

Pacific region was registering 

110.4 million international 

arrivals, a share of 16.23%; in 

2010, ASPAC market share in 

world tourism had already 

grown to 21.87%, equivalent 

to 208.2 million travellers. 

In absolute numbers, in only 

17 years, total arrivals to the 

continent grew threefold. 

Within Asia, Northeast Asia 

(China-Japan-Korea) welcomed 

the largest number of travellers 

(159.3 million), followed by 

Southeast Asia with 120.1 

million and South Asia with 

27.7 million. The Pacific 

area welcomed 16.6 million 

and remains dominated by 

Australia, the sub-region’s 

largest destination. Looking 

specifically at China, last year 

was a new record year for 

Chinese travelling overseas. 

According to a report by 

top Chinese Travel Services 

provider Ctrip in cooperation 

with the China Tourism 

Academy, Chinese travellers 

generated 130.5 million trips 

outside their country, a 7% jump 

over the previous year (122 

million travels in 2016). Looking 

in detail at statistics in many 

Asian countries, China is often 

now the number 1 inbound 

market. This is for example the 

case in Thailand, Japan, South 

Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, the 

Maldives, Indonesia and North 

Korea. Within a year or two, 

Chinese travellers will also be 

the largest inbound market for 

the Philippines and Lao PDR. 

Thailand receives some 10 

million Chinese travellers while 

Japan welcomed last year some 

7.5 million of their neighbours. 

There are more factors which 

explain Asia’s enduring success. 

Air connectivity is one of them. 

The arrival of new more fuelefficient 

aircraft makes new 

air routes possible. Today, 

destinations such as Hangzhou 

or Xian in China, Penang in 

Malaysia, Chiang Mai and 

Phuket in Thailand, Danang in 

Vietnam or Okinawa in Japan 

are served by overseas carriers 

while low cost carriers are 

increasingly linking secondary 

destinations inside the region. 

Simplified formalities for visas 

are also playing a huge role 

by stimulating travel. India, 

Indonesia, Myanmar and 

Vietnam are currently seeing 

tourist arrivals jump due to the 

ease of entering their respective 

countries 

ASIA 

MAIN TRAVEL 

DESTINATIONS 

ARMENIA HALL 4.2 / 608 

AZERBAIJAN HALL 3.1 / 601 

BANGLADESH HALL 5.2A / 100 

BHUTAN HALL 26.C / 318 

CAMBODIA HALL 26B / 225 

CHINA HALL 26C / 314 

GEORGIA HALL 15.1 / 103 

HONG KONG HALL 26A / 119 

INDIA 

HALL 5.2B / 205, 205A 

INDONESIA HALL 26A / 114, 115, 116 

JAPAN HALL 26A / 120 

KOREA (REPUBLIC OF KOREA) HALL 26A / 124 

LAOS HALL 26C / 308 

MACAO HALL 26A / 105 

MALAYSIA HALL 26A / 117 

MALDIVES HALL 5.2A / 107 

MONGOLIA HALL 26C / 316 

MYANMAR HALL 26B / 226 

NEPAL HALL 5.2A / 116 

PHILIPPINES HALL 26A / 101, 123, 126 

SINGAPORE HALL 26A / 122 

SRI LANKA HALL 5.2A / 111, 114 

TAIWAN HALL 26A / 121 

TAJIKISTAN HALL 3.1 / 623 

THAILAND HALL 21B / 217 

AND HALL 26B / 221 

UZBEKISTAN HALL 3.1 / 619 

VIETNAM HALL 26C / 313 


34 REGION 

ASIA 


PATA WILL ALWAYS REMAIN 

A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR THE 

DEVELOPMENT OF A RESPONSIBLE 

AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL AND 

TOURISM INDUSTRY 

Mario Hardy 

Chief Executive, 

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) 

PATA Promotes Development 

of Responsible and Sustainable 

Travel 

In the past three years, the Pacific Asia Travel 

Association (PATA) has focused on building a 

financially strong organisation, increasing the 

number of members globally and improving 

engagement with its members and partners. Dr. 

Mario Hardy, PATA’s Chief Executive, tells us 

what the future holds for the organisation. 

In the years to come, the 

Association will look to be 

thought leaders, by focusing 

on further engagement with 

its members by monitoring 

current trends and issues. 

However, PATA will always 

remain a strong advocate 

for the development of a 

responsible and sustainable 

travel and tourism industry. 

What are the key trends 

you’re seeing in Asian 

travel and tourism 

(inbound and outbound)? 

After having just met 

with ASEAN Tourism 

Ministers, I can safely say 

that an area of focus for 

most destinations is the 

issue of tourism dispersal. 

Many countries suffer 

from overcrowded tourist 

destinations and often 

times the infrastructure 

in place does not support 

these high number of 

tourists. Dispersing tourists 

to secondary and tertiary 

destinations will also 

help local communities 

alleviate poverty by 

generating new sources of 

income and creating new 

job opportunities. This is 

something that PATA has 

been advocating for the 

past three years and we are 

extremely pleased to see 

countries embracing this 

new philosophy. 

After the UNWTO’s Year 

of Sustainable Tourism 

for Development, you are 

launching a new initiative. 

Please tell us more… 

We recently launched the 

Building an Understanding 

for Food Excess in Tourism 

(BUFFET) initiative, 

a campaign aimed at 

reducing food waste in 

our industry. This is an 

issue that everybody in the 

travel and tourism industry 

witnesses. When you go to 

any tradeshow, conference 

or hotel breakfast buffet, we 

can see the amount of food 

waste that usually goes to 

landfill which adversely 

affects our environment. 

On that same day you could 

walk out of your hotel and 

see people in desperate 

need of food. 

At PATA, we want to play 

our part and continue 

to work towards the UN 

Sustainable Development 

Goals for 2030. With this 

campaign, PATA along with 

our partners will be working 

with hotels in Bangkok in 

reducing their food waste 

to landfill. The overall 

outcome of the campaign is 

to produce a research paper 

with case studies and best 

practices on eliminating 

food waste. The final report 

will be shared globally and 

hopefully be the start of a 

global movement. 

For more information 

about the BUFFET Initiative 

and how to get involved, 

visit www.PATA.org/foodwaste. 

What interesting new 

members have you landed 

of late? 

We value every member 

that joins the PATA family, 

however some of the 

more well-known brands 

that have recently joined 

include PayPal, Airbnb and 

Royal Brunei Airlines. In 

2017, we welcomed more 

than 125 members from the 

public and private sectors 

to the Association. 

Much feared in its early 

days, how does Airbnb fit 

into the equation today? 

We can no longer 

ignore players such as 

Airbnb, which has had 

a tremendous impact 

on several destinations 

already. In some 

destinations it has helped 

boost the local economy, 

revived certain districts 

and added much needed 

inventory, while in others 

DISPERSING TOURISTS 

TO SECONDARY AND 

TERTIARY DESTINATIONS 

WILL HELP LOCAL 

COMMUNITIES ALLEVIATE 

POVERTY 

it has created challenges 

which is expected when 

new innovative services 

emerge. However, I believe 

overall it has had a positive 

effect on our sector 




ASIA 

REGION 

35 

India To Promote Itself 

as Year-Round Destination 

In an exclusive with ITB Berlin News, India’s Minister of State for Tourism, 

KJ Alphons, said that the country is experiencing a boom in domestic 

and international tourism, with 10.2 million visitors received in 2017, 

up 15.6% on 2016. We started by asking him more about India’s tourism 

industry in 2017. 

India’s ranking in the World Economic 

Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitive 

Index (TTCI) moved from 65th position 

in 2013 to 52nd position in 2015. In 2017, 

India moved up by another 12 positions 

and is ranked at 40th position. In all, in 

the past four years India has cumulatively 

improved its ranking by 25 places which is 

a significant achievement. 

How is the introduction of e-Visa affecting 

visitor numbers, and what are the next 

steps in easing entry for tourists? 

The introduction of e-visa has been the 

biggest game changer for the Indian 

Tourism Industry. This was first introduced 

in November 2014 for 43 countries. 

We now have a more liberalised e-visa 

regime in place. The window period for 

application under the e-visa scheme has 

been increased from 30 days to 120 days 

to allow tourists to plan their trip better. 

The stay duration has also been increased 

from 30 days to 60 days with double entry 

on e-tourist and e-business visas and 

triple entry on e-medical visas. This will 

bring cheer to citizens from 163 nations 

around the world planning to visit India. 

The e-visa facility now gives entry through 

24 airports as well as five seaports (Cochin, 

Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai and Chennai) to 

tap cruise tourists from different countries. 

The requirement of holding bio-metric 

visas for cruise passengers in the five 

seaports has been deferred till 2020. 

How is the Ministry of Tourism working 

to develop infrastructure? 

The Ministry of Tourism is according 

priority for holistic development of 

tourism destinations into world class 

destinations using a cluster approach 

including development of infrastructure, 

amenities, interpretation centres and 

skill development by achieving synergy 

and convergence with other Central 

Ministries, State Governments and 

industry stakeholders. The Ministry of 

Tourism has recently launched the Adopt 

A Heritage project. Heritage sites are 

being offered for adoption by the public 

sector, private sector and individuals to 

become Monument Mitras for developing 

amenities and facilities at these sites 

under this programme. 

The “National Mission on Pilgrimage and 

Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive” 

(PRASHAD) has been launched by the 

Ministry of Tourism with the objective 

of holistic development of 25 pilgrimage 

and heritage destinations. The Ministry of 

Tourism is also in the process of taking up 

a proposal for the grant of infrastructure 

status to investment in the hotel industry 

of more than 500 million rupees (€6.3 

million) and in towns with less than 

500,000 population. 

Which source markets are growing the 

fastest and which are the most interesting 

for you? 

India is primarily a long haul destination 

for many of its source markets. The USA 

has been consistently growing. The growth 

trends are also evident from Europe. We 

see a lot of potential for growth from the 

ASEAN region considering the proximity 

of the ASEAN countries to India and also 

due the common shared cultures between 

India and ASEAN. Middle East, Eastern 

Europe, Russia and CIS countries and Latin 

American countries are other regions we 

propose to engage with in coming times. 

How important is ITB Berlin as a global 

platform for India? 

We see ITB Berlin as a platform to showcase 

the country’s tourism product to the global 

tourism community. This is evident from 

the fact that India is taking a large space 

for the India Pavilion in which over 50 

co-exhibitors comprising tour operators, 

hoteliers etc. from different parts of India 

will participate. Additionally, over 25 

Indian stakeholders are participating with 

booking space outside the India Pavilion. 

We will position India as a premium 

destination in all the growing segments, 

including religious, wellness tourism, 

adventure tourism, heritage sites and 

yoga 

KJ Alphons 

Minister of State for Tourism, 

India 

THE E-VISA 

FACILITY NOW 

GIVES ENTRY 

THROUGH 24 

AIRPORTS AS 

WELL AS FIVE 

SEAPORTS 



ASIA 

REGION 

37 

Shi Xiang 

Director, 

Chinese National Tourism 

Association 

CHINA SOUTHERN 

AIRLINES 

SOLIDIFIES TOP 

POSITION 

Chinese Tourism 

Primed For Continued 

Growth in 2018 

Relaxed visa requirements, an excellent 

safety record, and a wealth of undiscovered 

new locations are encouraging a growing 

pool of international visitors to sample 

China’s unique culture and cuisine. 

Shi Xiang, Director of 

the Chinese National 

Tourism Association 

(CNTA) in Germany, 

talked to ITB Berlin 

News about the many 

reasons why tourists 

are flocking to the far 

eastern nation. He also 

explained the strategies 

his country is putting 

in place to continue 

China’s successful 

transformation into a 

major travel destination. 

In the first half of 2017, 

inbound tours to China 

reached 69.5 million, 

with the final total for the 

year expected to hit 143 

million (up 3.5%). Popular 

destinations included 

Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, 

Guilin, Chongqing, 

Chengdu, Kunming, 

Shenzhen, Hangzhou 

and Sanya. Industry 

forecasts suggest that 

2018 will be another 

good year for China. 

China has been investing 

heavily in its tourism 

infrastructure, with the 

sector viewed as one of 

the economy’s biggest 

bright spots (it is currently 

11% of the national 

economy). Private direct 

investment in the sector 

rose by around 20% in 

2017. 

What else is driving this 

growth? 

People are fascinated 

with the diverse culture 

of China, the nature 

highlights, ancient cities, 

and fast modernisation. 

The huge investment in 

the tourism infrastructure 

is starting to pay off 

and further improve the 

travel experience for 

international tourists. For 

example, there are more 

high speed railways and 

highways throughout 

the country, and better 

sanitary facilities for 

many of the high profile 

sites in China. 

Can you tell us about any 

recent travel promotions 

that have been especially 

successful at drawing 

attention to China 

within an increasingly 

competitive market? 

Last year we had our 

first ‘influencer and 

blogger’ trip that was a 

huge success. Twelve 

participants joined 

us on the journey to 

South China and were 

given an insider view 

of the country. They 

explored the canals and 

waterways of Suzhou, 

went for boat cruises on 

Hangzhou´s famous West 

Lake with its numerous 

temples, and visited the 

new Shanghai Tower 

– the second highest 

building in the world. 

People can follow the 

participants in this trip 

on Instagram, Facebook 

and Twitter, or on 

our own accounts @ 

reiselandchina. This has 

been a great opportunity 

to share an insider view 

of China with a global 

audience. We are excited 

to announce that we will 

do a second trip this year 

to my home province of 

Sichuan. 

What are the key selling 

points of destination 

China today and into the 

future? 

China has so many 

different sights and 

attractions to offer – 

deserts, mountains, the 

ocean, beautiful bamboo 

forests and huge modern 

cities. You can visit an 

almost never ending 

variety of different and 

fascinating places. More 

and more these days, 

still unknown places 

have become the focus 

of foreign travellers. 

The Great Wall of China, 

the Terracotta Army 

(located in Xi’an) and the 

Yangtze River of course 

also still attract many 

international tourists 

Hall 26.c / Stand 314 

China Southern Airlines Vice President Marketing 

Helen Liu talks about the airline’s plans for 2018 

and why China Southern Airlines is the favourite 

airline in China. 

We currently operate 

2,000 daily flights to 

224 destinations in 40 

countries and regions 

across the world. Through 

close cooperation with its 

SkyTeam member airlines, 

China Southern’s network 

spans 1062 destinations to 

177 countries and regions. 

In 2017, China Southern, 

taking advantage of its 

large fleet for more than 

750 aircraft, launched new 

long-distance international 

flights and added more 

flights for North America, 

London, Southeast Asia 

and South Asia. 

What makes your airline 

“different”? 

We have Asia’s largest 

and the world’s fourth 

largest fleet of 750 aircraft, 

we carried 126 million 

passengers in 2017 and 

have the best safety record 

in China’s civil aviation 

industry. We have formed 

an extensive network 

with Guangzhou, Beijing, 

Urumqi and Chongqing as 

hubs, covering all of China, 

radiating throughout 

Asia and linking Europe, 

America, Oceania & Africa. 

Helen Liu 

Vice President, 

China Southern Airlines 

Tell us more about the 

Canton Route. 

In Guangzhou, our main 

hub, we are committed 

to building the “Canton 

Route” with comprehensive 

transfer services including 

“Through Check-in” and 

“QR code boarding pass”, 

to solidify our number 

one portal hub airline 

position for flights from 

the Chinese mainland to 

Oceania and Southeast 

Asia destinations. 

In 2017, China Southern 

transported 3.9 million 

transfer passengers from 

the Guangzhou hub, up 

15.5% over the previous 

year. 

What new services did you 

launch in 2017? 

New services it launched in 

2017 included a new website 

and new-generation 

onboard entertainment 

and connection system for 

new Airbus A330-300 and 

an upgraded Wi-Fi service 

for 15 aircraft 

Hall 26.a / Stand 110 


38 REGION 

ASIA 


ITB China 

Official partner of the EU-China 

Tourism Year 2018 

ITB China has been 

appointed the official partner 

of EU-China Tourism Year 

(ECTY). Europe is the largest 

exhibitor at the coming ITB 

China in Shanghai underlying 

the rising importance of the 

newly established travel 

event. 

An agreement about cooperation 

between ITB China and the 

European Travel Commission was 

signed in February 2018 by Eduardo 

Santander, Executive Director of 

the European Travel Commission 

and David Axiotis, General 

Manager of ITB China to promote 

the recently launched EU China 

Travel Year 2018 (ECTY). The event 

is designed to help EU and Chinese 

tourism businesses, authorities and 

all other stakeholders participating 

in successful commercial and 

cultural exchanges between the 

European Union and China. 

“To enhance the visibility of the 

European countries as appealing 

travel destinations in Greater 

China and promote mutual 

exchanges between Europe and 

China, I see the EU-China Tourism 

Year as the best initiative one can 

think of and ITB China as the best 

marketplace to be that connecting 

bridge between the prospering 

Chinese travel market, the world 

and specifically Europe”, stressed 

Axiotis, following the signature 

ceremony. 

While estimates of numbers of 

Chinese travellers in Europe 

diverge, recent analysis points 

to a total of six million Chinese 

holidaymakers coming to Europe 

in 2017. 

By teaming up, ITB China and 

the ECTY set the scene to further 

strengthen and expand Europe’s 

relationship with China. A 

dedicated Europe Pavilion will 

be showcasing a multitude of 

European tourism products and 

destinations. 

ITB China’s second edition is due 

to attract 15,000 attendees. From 

that number, 58% are buyers, 

23% delegates and 17% sellers 

representing some 850 exhibitors 

– companies or destinations. ITB 

China invites as well some 850 top 

hand-selected buyers from Greater 

China (China PRC, Hong Kong, 

Macau and Taiwan). 

The first ITB China marked its 

successful premiere in 2017 and 

proved its importance as China’s 

new marketplace for the travel 

industry. “ITB China is turning into 

the top event for the tourism and 

travel trade looking at working 

with China’s travel companies”, 

explained Dr. Christian Göke, CEO 

of Messe Berlin during the ITB 

Berlin Opening Press Conference 

China online travel agency Ctrip observed in a study that 

China outbound travel is already coming of age with the 

emergence of second-tier cities as fast expanding travel 

markets. 

Ctrip is not only the largest 

online travel agency in Asia. 

The company is also ITB China’s 

main partner and is for the first 

time present at ITB Berlin. 

The company recently released 

its “2017 China Outbound 

Tourism Travel Report” in 

cooperation with China 

Tourism Academy (CTA), a 

specialised institute under 

the China National Tourism 

Administration (CNTA), 

highlighting the importance of 

China travel. 

China outbound tourism 

reached a total of 130 million 

trips last year, up 7% over 

2016. Spending on holiday was 

estimated at US$115.29, up by 

5%. 

China is rapidly turning into a 

mature travel market, illustrated 

by the rise in independent travel 

(Free Independent Traveller 

or FIT) and the emergence of 

second-and third-tier cities as 

outbound markets. While the 

first trend highlighted by Ctrip is 

certainly influenced by the fact 

that the agency operates only 

online – attracting more FIT 

travellers than conventional 

sales channels - the emergence 

of secondary cities as outbound 

markets is a long-term trend. 

With air connectivity improving 

to and from secondary cities 

and rising purchasing power 

all across the country, there 

is a new wave of travellers 

emerging from cities outside 

China’s big metropolitan areas 

(Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, 

Shanghai and Shenzhen). 

According to Ctrip data, Xian 

and Changsha saw outbound 

travel growing respectively 

by 323% and 235% last year. 

Sichuan capital Chengdu 

generates now more outbound 

travellers than Guangzhou 

and Shenzhen and is the third 

largest overseas travel source 

after Beijing and Shanghai. 

Chinese favourite destinations 

in 2017 included Thailand, 

Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, 

the Philippines, Vietnam, 

Indonesia, Korea, Maldives and 

the USA. However, Chinese are 

increasingly attracted by new 

destinations such as Mexico, 

Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia and 

the UAE 


Ctrip’s CEO Jane Sun spoke at 

ITB Asia 2017 Opening Keynote 

Ctrip Sees 

China Outbound 

Market 

Maturing 




ASIA 

REGION 

39 

Indonesia Targeting 

17 Million Visitors 

in 2018 

Ubud 

© 2017 Cleverdis 

Indonesia welcomed 14 million visitors in 2017 and has unveiled 

ambitious targets to increase numbers in 2018 and beyond. In an 

exclusive ITB Berlin interview with Arief Yahya, Indonesia’s Minister of 

Tourism, we asked him to tell us about the country’s plan to develop its 

offering. 

2017 was a good year 

for tourism arrivals to 

Indonesia. Despite the 

usual fluctuating visitors 

number each month, 

we obtained 93.6% of 

the target of 15 million 

visitors. In terms of 

growth, Indonesia’s 

performance is three times 

higher compared to the 

regional (Southeast Asia) 

and global growth. 

In 2017, we welcome 14 

million visitors, a doubledigit 

increase of 21.9% 

from the number in 2016. 

This year, we set the target 

of 17 million visitors to 

visit our country. 

How important is tourism 

to the Indonesian 

economy? 

Tourism is the second 

top leading sector of 

Indonesia’s economy. In 

2016, the tourism sector 

contributed 4.5% to 

Indonesian GDP, earned 

around $13.6 billion 

from international visitor 

arrivals, and generated 

11.8 million jobs at all skill 

levels. In 2018, tourism is 

projected to create jobs 

for 12.6 million people 

and contribute 5.3% to 

Indonesian GPD. 

Please tell us about 

some of the tourism 

infrastructure upgrades. 

Indonesia’s National 

M e d i u m - T e r m 

Development Plan 2015- 

2019, the third phase of 

the National Long-Term 

Development Plan 2005- 

2025, states that Indonesia 

requires $360.6 billion 

worth of infrastructure 

investment in the 2015- 

2019 period. 

Arief Yahya 

Minister of Tourism, 

Indonesia 

PRIORITY 

PROJECTS 

FOR 2018 

INCLUDE 

OVER 750KM 

OF NATIONAL 

ROADS 

Priority projects for 2018 

include over 750km of 

national roads, while 

ongoing work at the 

country’s largest airports 

and within its vast port 

network also indicates 

measurable improvements 

to the national transport 

network. 

What is new from 

Indonesia at ITB Berlin 

this year and what do you 

hope to achieve? 

Representatives of 

130 Indonesia tourism 

industries are joining the 

Pavilion of Indonesia. 

They are from travel 

agents/tour operators, 

hotels/resorts, DMOs, and 

also the Tourism Office of 

Regional Governments. 

The National carrier, 

Garuda Indonesia, also 

joins in to promote 

its direct flight routes 

from cities in European 

countries 

Hall 26a / Stand 114-116 

BALI: NO TREMOR 

FOR TOURISM 

ACTIVITIES AFTER 

AGUNG VOLCANO 

ERUPTION 

Bali made headlines 

at the end of last 

year due to the 

eruption of Volcano 

Agung, and although 

international air 

arrivals declined by 

9.6% in November and 

29.7% in December, 

Indonesia’s tourism 

icon still managed to 

grow total arrivals by 

16% last year. 

Each year over the past 

five years has brought new 

records for Bali, and 2017 

was no exception to the 

rule. According to data 

collected by Indonesia’s 

Ministry of Tourism, Bali 

last year welcomed 5.6 

million international 

arrivals, a number up 

by 16.3%, confirming its 

flagship status of Indonesia 

tourism. The island alone 

generates over 40% of 

all international tourist 

arrivals to the country, 

far ahead of Jakarta, 

Indonesia’s second most 

visited destination with 

2.88 million arrivals, or 

20% of market share. 

The tremendous rise of 

Chinese, Russian and 

Indian tourist numbers 

helped mitigate the effects 

of the Agung volcano on 

the island’s tourism. In 

2017, Chinese travellers 

generated 1.37 million 

arrivals followed by 

Australia with 1.06 million 

visitors. India is now the 

third largest market to Bali 

as it generated 265,000 

arrivals last year. Other 

important markets to Bali 

are the UK, USA, France, 

Germany, South Korea and 

Singapore. 

As the volcano issue failed 

to deter the popularity of 

Bali, growth in arrivals 

already resumed in January 

and February. After being 

worried at the end of the 

year by declining occupancy 

rates, Bali’s hotel industry 

looked with optimism 

into the future. According 

to a report of Horwath 

HTL/ C9 Hotelworks’ on 

Bali’s hotels released early 

February, the island will 

continue to witness growth 

in arrivals. The report notes 

that the influx of visitors 

had a positive effect on Bali 

hotel performance. From 

January to October 2017, 

the RevPAR (Revenue 

per available room) was 

up 7% while the average 

occupancy reached 75% - a 

growth of three points over 

2016. 

Bali will add some 13,000 

rooms by 2020, increasing 

its hotel portfolio from 

42,000 to 55,000 rooms. 

2018 will see nearly 6,000 

rooms in 38 hotels being 

added 

Hall 26a / Stand 114-116 



ASIA 

REGION 

41 

Thailand to be seen 

in New Shades 

Sunset in Bagan, Myanmar 

Myanmar Tourism 

Marketing Focusing 

on Cultural Variety 

Myanmar is known as a destination that offers 

many awe-inspiring archaeological heritage 

sites around the country, none more spectacular 

than Bagan. Once the heart of an important 

kingdom, Bagan today consists of around 2000 

Buddhist temples and monuments spread out 

across a beautiful green plain, Southwest of 

Mandalay. Myanmar recently submitted an 

application for the huge, remarkable complex 

to become the next Unesco World Heritage site. 

May Myat Mon Win, 

Chairperson of Myanmar 

Tourism Marketing, said 

that Bagan is an area that 

can easily be compared 

with tourist sites like 

Angkor Wat or the temples 

of Egypt, many of the 

temples over 1000 years 

old. 

At ITB Berlin, Myanmar 

Tourism Marketing is also 

focusing on the cultural 

diversity the country has to 

offer. May said: “Myanmar 

has over 130 different 

tribes; each of them having 

their own culture, food, 

festivals, costumes etc. 

The country also offers a 

lot of cultural festivals for 

tourists like the fun New 

Year water festival in April 

which is one big street 

festival with water and 

music; ideal for families 

and young people.” 

Other festivals include boat 

racing, launching huge 

traditional hot air balloons 

or the dancing elephant 

festival (no real elephants 

are used). May added: 

“Myanmar offers a huge 

cultural variety the whole 

year round and especially 

the green season from 

May to September is an 

excellent period to visit.” 

Myanmar welcomed 3.4 

million visitors in 2017, 

according to the country’s 

tourism ministry, up from 

2.9 million in 2016 – an 

18% rise 

Hall 26b / Stand 226 

Thailand tourism has gone from strength to 

strength over the last decade. The Kingdom 

is today Southeast Asia’s busiest tourist 

destination, crossing the 35-million visitor 

arrivals’ mark in 2017. The Kingdom’s tourism 

earnings from international tourists reached 

US$53 billion last year. 

Over the last decade, 

the Tourism Authority 

of Thailand has been 

increasingly looking at 

diversifying its tourism 

offer. Luxury travel, female 

traveller products, medical 

and well-being tourism, 

sports, gastronomy, 

Thailand has been looking 

increasingly at targeting 

niche markets. Over the 

last two years, TAT also 

moved into promoting 

secondary destinations. 

“We want to spread the 

benefits of tourism to all 

of our communities”, 

explains TAT Governor 

Yuthasak Supasorn. 

At the end of last year, 

TAT launched its new 

marketing campaign 

“Open to the New 

Shades” which is further 

capitalising on providing 

an authentic tailor-made 

experience to any traveller 

coming into the Kingdom. 

“The Open to the New 

Shades concept is about 

asking visitors to “open” 

their minds and hearts to 

deepen and widen their 

experiences into a new 

perception of attractions 

and variety of experiences 

in Thailand. This means 

brand new products to 

visitors but also more 

creativity in promotion”, 

adds Mr. Supasorn. 

In Southeast Asia, Thailand 

has successfully redefined 

marketing boundaries 

in tourism. And opening 

itself up to ‘New Shades’, 

it just became the official 

Presenting partner of 

the LGBT Pavilion at 

ITB Berlin, a first for the 

Kingdom! 

Hall 26b / Stand 221 

Bangkok 


44 REGION 

ASIA 


VIETNAM 

AIRLINES 

GAINING 

ALTITUDE 

IN GLOBAL 

MARKET 

Having exceeded its business 

targets in 2017, Vietnam Airlines 

has recorded strong growth in terms 

of both revenue and profits. Along 

with its member airlines including 

Jetstar Pacific and VASCO, Vietnam 

Airlines flew around 180,000 flights 

in 2017 and transported 26.5 million 

customers. This represented an 

impressive increase of 6.7% compared 

to the previous year. 

Explaining its strong performance, 

Vietnam Airlines said it had been 

led by “its direction for development 

of modern aircraft, extensive flight 

networks, continuous improvement 

of services, strengthening of bilateral 

and multilateral cooperation, and 

trading promotion.” Also of note, 

the carrier exceeded its On-Time 

Performance (OTP) target, bringing 

it into line with the world’s leading 

airlines. 

2017 was also a significant year in 

terms of fleet development, with the 

addition of four Airbus A350-900 XWBs 

and one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In 

addition, 2017 saw Vietnam Airlines 

sign a $1.5bn agreement with US 

aerospace manufacturer Pratt & 

Whitney, with a selection of aircraft 

engines and support services for 20 

Airbus A321NEO aircraft included in 

the deal. 

Duong Tri Thanh, President and CEO 

of Vietnam Airlines, said: “I believe 

the agreement between Vietnam 

Airlines and Pratt & Whitney will 

further reinforce the important 

economic, trade and investment 

partnership between Vietnam and the 

United States” 

Hall 26c / Stand 313 

Halong Bay, Vietnam 

Vietnam, Southeast 

Asia Tourism Star 

With close to 13 million 

international arrivals 

in 2017, Vietnam 

established a new tourism 

record last year and 

was the fastest growing 

tourism destination in 

ASEAN… 

Tourism authorities in 

Vietnam had good reason 

to celebrate at the end of 

last year. 2017 will certainly 

remain in memory as an 

exceptional year in terms of 

tourism performance. In just 

one year, arrivals jumped by 

29.1%, missing by a fraction 

the 13-million travellers mark. 

The country recorded 

12,922,121 international 

travellers, a performance that 

can be attributed to simplified 

entrance conditions for all 

travellers thanks to e-visa 

(40 countries can benefit of 

it), the abolition of visas for a 

few other countries in Europe 

(including France, Germany, 

Italy, Spain and the UK) and 

the multiplication of air links. 

Growth by air was indeed 

strong, jumping by 32.1%. 

This is largely due to the 

increased frequency of 

flights to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh 

City and Danang but also 

increasingly to secondary 

destinations. Nha Trang is 

emerging as an important 

holiday destination with 

regular charter flights from 

China, Russia and Korea. 

In recent months, low cost 

carrier Vietjet also launched 

international flights to Dalat 

and Haiphong, Bangkok 

Airways and AirAsia to Phu 

Quoc Island in the south 

offering alternative gateways 

for travellers. Air arrivals 

represented 84.5% of all 

arrivals last year. 

Last but not least, relations 

with China improved 

considerably last year, giving 

a new impetus to tourist 

arrivals from Vietnam’s giant 

neighbour. Chinese travellers 

are (re)discovering the 

country with total numbers 

jumping by a whopping 48.6% 

in 2017. With four million 

visitors, China is the largest 

inbound market with a share 

of 31% of all total arrivals. 

Other markets recording 

exceptional double-digit 

growth last year were South 

Korea, Russia and Taiwan, 

up respectively by 56.5%, 32% 

and 21%. 

2018 looks ready to bring 

another stellar performance 

for Vietnam tourism. More 

flights are due to be opened; 

for example to the United 

States, with Vietnam Airlines 

due to fly to either Los Angeles 

or San Francisco. 

An important event is the 

opening of a new international 

airport in Halong Bay. Due to 

be opened by the end of the 

year, it will offer a capacity 

for three million passengers. 

With a new convention centre 

and international chains 

moving into Halong Bay City, 

the area will not only be a 

major attraction for leisure 

travellers but also become 

a new destination for MICE 

organisers. 

According to government’s 

projections for tourism, 2018 

should generate 15.5 million 

international arrivals and see 

78 million domestic visitors 

Hall 26c / Stand 313 




ASIA 

REGION 

45 

Japan Takes NatGeo Audiences 

on a Magical Photographic Journey 

The Los Angeles office 

of the Japan National 

Tourism Organisation 

(JNTO), together 

with photographer 

Krista Rossow and 

iconic documentary/ 

e x p e d i t i o n 

organisation National 

Geographic, have 

released a photo series 

highlighting Krista’s 

recent photography 

tour through the 

beautiful natural 

landscape of Japan’s 

Chugoku region. 

At the same time, JNTO 

has launched an online 

consumer campaign to 

entice American travellers 

to follow in Krista’s 

footsteps and discover the 

wonders of the Chugoku 

region. As the rising 

popularity of Japan leads 

more Americans to explore 

the lesser known corners 

of the country, JNTO will 

continue to work to inspire 

and inform travellers of all 

it has to offer them as a 

travel destination. 

The photo series, which 

can be viewed on National 

Geographic’s website, 

appears in three parts 

that take readers on 

a journey through the 

rugged coastlines, mystical 

shrines, and intense 

natural beauty of Shimane 

or Hiroshima prefectures. 

Behind The Lens: A 

Peaceful Moment In Japan 

is Krista’s own account 

of finding a spectacular 

photo opportunity in 

the most unsuspecting 

circumstances. “I was 

already entranced by the 

trees, the ethereal light, and 

the misty air. The rain made 

sense here. And I’d truly 

found Oki’s magic,” said 

Rossow of her experience 

at the majestic Dangyouno-taki 

waterfalls where 

unexpected weather 

created the perfect shot. 

Shimane Prefecture: 

Japan’s Best Kept Secret 

introduces readers to 

Shimane’s very best, from a 

trip to Japan’s most sacred 

shrine to a hike through 

the volcanic Oki Islands, a 

UNESCO Global Geopark. 

Finally, Hiroshima: Ancient 

Works, Stunning Sights, 

and a Passion for Peace 

highlights Hiroshima’s 

quest for world peace 

against a backdrop of 

historical sights and 

unforgettable experiences. 

Japan’s abundant 

natural beauty, cultural 

experiences, and expansive 

history are brought into 

sharp focus through 

Krista’s photographs which 

are sure to inspire and 

excite travellers to recreate 

her journey themselves 

Hall 26a / Stand 120 


46 REGION 

ASIA 


Truly 

Asia 

Malaysia Works on 

Boosting European 

Arrivals 

Langkawi’s SkyBridge enables visitors to obtain a 

view never before possible over the virgin rainforest. 

While Malaysia looks to 

boost its image and tourism 

strategy, the country has 

announced ambitious targets 

to more than double the 

total number of European 

travellers in years to come. 

Despite the termination of many 

non-stop flights between Europe 

and Malaysia, the preparation 

for Malaysia Visit Year 2020 

looks like greatly stimulating 

European market. The Malaysian 

government has begun pouring 

money back into its tourism 

promotion and infrastructure, one 

of the most dynamic economic 

sectors for the country. 

The campaign will be targeting 

total international arrivals of 36 

million travellers by the end of 

2020, of which 2.5 million could 

come from Europe. This is to be 

compared with some 26.5 million 

arrivals last year including 0.99 

million European visitors. 

Recently, some important events 

have been kindling growing 

optimism for Malaysian tourism 

authorities. “We are very pleased 

by the recent launch of four weekly 

non-stop services from Doha to 

Penang by Qatar Airways which 

allows quick connections to some 

50 cities across Europe. And we 

feel thrilled by the announcement 

of Condor launching three 

weekly services from Frankfurt to 

Kuala Lumpur from this coming 

November”, indicated Datuk Seri 

Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director 

General of Tourism Malaysia. 

Tourism Malaysia has signed 

marketing partnerships with 

Emirates and Condor to promote 

the destination in Europe. The 

tourism agency and the Ministry 

of Tourism signed collaborative 

partnerships and alliances with 

European trade partners as a key 

driver to spur growth of visitors to 

Malaysia in the run up to the Visit 

Malaysia Year campaign 2020. 

MALAYSIA 

HAS OFFICIALLY 

BEEN 

CONFIRMED AS 

THE OFFICIAL 

ITB BERLIN 

2019 PARTNER 

COUNTRY 

- A MAJOR 

BOOST FOR 

THE 

DESTINATION 

Among them is a recently 

signed partnership with ECTAA 

(Confederation of European 

Travel Agents and Tour Operators 

Association) for Malaysia as its 

Preferred Destination Partner 2018 

as well as with the Confederation 

of Spanish Travel Agents and the 

Association of Portuguese Travel 

Agencies. In September, Langkawi 

will also welcome PATA Travel 

Mart, attracting 2,000 global trade 

professionals. And, last but not 

least, Malaysia has officially been 

confirmed as the Official ITB Berlin 

2019 Partner Country - a major 

boost for the destination as it will 

be the opportunity to highlight the 

coming Visit Malaysia Year 2020. 

They integrate in the campaign 

UNWTO “Travel-Enjoy-Respect”. 

While both the Ministry of Tourism 

and Tourism Malaysia are now 

working to launch a renewed 

image of the destination, the 

country will be positioned for the 

time being as a family-friendly 

destination as well as a paradise 

for nature lovers. 

“We have for now a clear 

message to position the country 

as a safe family-friendly, familyfun 

destination. We also want 

to emphasize that Malaysia is a 

great nature paradise, especially 

with its pristine rainforests and 

its beautiful coastline. We need 

also to stress back the sense of 

welcome and dedication of our 

people towards foreign travellers. 

This is actually part of our culture”, 

added the Tourism Malaysia 

Director General. 

Other niche themes will look at 

promoting themes such as medical 

tourism, culture, education or 

gastronomy. 

A number of breath-taking 

attractions are being promoted 

at ITB this year, none the least 

of which is the “world’s most 

spectacular pedestrian bridge” 

– also the longest free span and 

curved bridge in the world – the 

SkyBridge in Langkawi, or the 

Habitat on the isle of Penang – a 

structure rising above the forest 

from which one can obtain an 

incredible 360° view over the 

island 

TOP EUROPEAN 

MARKETS TO 

MALAYSIA 

JANUARY-OCTOBER 

2017 

Total Europe 847,121 

United Kingdom 306,331 

France 115,132 

Germany 94,644 

Netherlands 66,641 

Russia 54,521 

Italy 38,768 

Sweden 28,387 

Switzerland 18,062 

(Source: Tourism Malaysia) 

Malaysia targets 2.5 million 

European arrivals during its 

Malaysia Visit Year 2020, 

more than doubling 2017 

numbers. 




ASIA 

REGION 

47 

ADVERTORIAL 

Penang: 

There’s So Much to Do! 

Adventure, Culture, Nature and History… 

In Penang, variety is the spice of life… 

When most people think 

of the Malaysian state and 

island of Penang, nature and 

culture instantly come to 

mind. But this destination, 

resolutely turned to the 

future, will surprise more 

than one sightseer with 

an extraordinary array of 

activities for a very broad 

range of visitors. 

HEART-STOPPING 

ADVENTURE 

AT “THE TOP” 

Where else in Asia (or the world) 

can you step out of the window 

of the 65th floor of a skyscraper? 

The Gravityz is the world’s 

highest ropes course challenge 

– a new attraction at “the Top” – 

the KOMTAR building in George 

Town, a legendary building which 

has recently been completely 

renovated, with the addition of 

three new floors and a number 

of spectacular attractions. The 

Gravityz Ropes Course Challenge 

is adrenaline-filled journey that the 

visitor will never forget, including 

the “Confidence Path”, the “Great 

Bridge” and the “Z Wire”. 

GEORGE TOWN 

AND ITS HERITAGE 

ARCHITECTURE 

George Town, the capital of 

Penang, is a large, bustling city, and 

while it has a futuristic veneer, it’s 

heart still beats to the rhythm of its 

rich historic past. Penang was the 

first British outpost in South-East 

Asia, founded in 1786, and the city 

centre is today a UNESCO World 

Heritage Site measuring 2.5 sq km. 

The city features Malaysia’s best 

restored and readapted traditional 

architecture as well as a multitude 

of heritage trades and arts, and 

is a living testimony to the multicultural 

heritage and traditions of 

Asia. The city is a kind of “fusion” 

of a number of cultural elements 

that create a unique architecture, 

culture and townscape unparalleled 

anywhere else in the region. The 

true value of George Town’s historic 

aura is simply too unique to define. 

There is no other site quite like this 

in the world. 

ASIA’S STREET ART 

CAPITAL 

Soon after George Town was 

designated as a UNESCO World 

Heritage Site in 2008, the state 

government began capitalising 

on global interest, branding itself 

through the arts. To this end, street 

art has become a huge draw card 

since the onset of Instagram and 

other social media, through which 

visitors “put themselves in the 

picture”. The growing popularity 

of these works arguably makes 

George Town the Asian capital of 

street art. 

NEW @ THE HABITAT 

From city to tropical rainforest 

is just a short drive. The Habitat 

is a world-class eco-tourism 

facility located on the fringes 

of a 130-million-year-old virgin 

rainforest on Penang Hill. This 

rainforest is untouched and exists 

side by side with urban Penang and 

its environs. Since the beginning 

of 2018, visitors have been able 

to get a “different” glimpse of the 

rainforest with a 230-metre canopy 

bridge entitled “Langur Way”, 

comprising two new suspension 

bridges 40 meters above the 

rainforest floor. 

SETTING THE TASTE 

BUDS DANCING 

Penang is renowned for its street 

food, where one can uncover local 

treats or classic menu favourites 

served at any time of the day, 

including, for the more daring, 

the local Durian fruit. Meanwhile, 

those wishing to learn more about 

the delicious tropical spices that 

are the basis of delectable local 

cuisine are able to visit the Tropical 

Spice Garden, in a beautiful 

beachside forest location. Cooking 

lessons are also available allowing 

a veritable “hands on” experience 

in a paradise-like setting 

For more information, please visit 

www.mypenang.gov.my 

Hall 26a / Stand 117 

The Gravityz Ropes Course Challenge 

Pinang Peranakan Mansion 

Langur Way Canopy Walk 



ASIA 

REGION 

49 

Ca Cha Fish Stew Hanoi 

Award-winning Maldives 

Islands Smashes 2017 

Tourism Targets 

The Destination plans ambitious expansion 

to create 18,000 new jobs 

Premium tourism destination, The Maldives hit records heights 

in December 2017, welcoming 143,041 tourists – up nearly 20% 

year-on-year. This stellar performance capped an impressive year for the 

island archipelago, which easily surpassed its 2017 tourism targets. 

With almost 1.4 million 

arrivals to the Maldives in 

2017 - an increase of 8% on 

2016 - the former ITB Berlin 

partner country is back at 

the World’s Leading Travel 

Trade Show to consolidate 

its growing market share. 

Europe continues to provide 

the Maldives with its core 

business, contributing a 

46.5% share of the total 

market (up 12.4%). All 

sub-regions within Europe 

recorded positive growth 

in 2017 with Central/ 

Eastern Europe and 

Southern Europe leading 

the charge with a sharp 

23.9% increase and 21.2% 

increase respectively. 

Asia and the Pacific 

followed with a 44.4% 

share, South East Asia 

proving to be the strongest 

sub region. Overall, Asia 

and the Pacific ended the 

year with a healthy increase 

of 3.2% compared to 2016. 

By comparison, the 

Americas provide the 

Maldives with a relatively 

small proportion of its 

business (4.5%). However 

the good news is that this 

is growing fast – up 22.8% 

year on year. This made 

up for a small decline in 

Middle Eastern visitors to 

the Maldives during 2017. 

In terms of individual 

markets, China was the top 

with 22.1% of total visits, 

followed by Germany and 

the UK. Russia was the best 

performer among the top 

ten markets with a solid 

33% increase for the year 

2017 compared with 2016. 

The Maldives also won a 

host of prestigious travel 

industry awards in 2017, 

confirming it as one of 

the most desirable tourist 

destinations in the world. 

Recent awards include 

the coveted Condé Nast 

Traveller “Best Islands for 

places to stay award”, as 

well as Best in Travel’s 

“Best Holiday Destination,” 

where it came second 

in Asia. 

The archipelago was also 

awarded three World Travel 

Awards and scooped the 

Reader’s Choice Dive and 

Travel Awards first prize for 

best “Dreaming Area”. 

Commenting on the 

multiple awards, Moosa 

Zameer, Maldives Minister 

of Tourism, said: “These 

awards are a symbol of 

admiration and acceptance 

of the Maldives by the 

visitors, and a great 

achievement for the joint 

efforts and hard work done 

by the government and 

the tourism industry of 

the Maldives. We will strive 

to further improve and 

expand our destination, 

while maintaining our 

brand positioning.” 

Looking ahead, there 

are plans for another 23 

resorts to open their doors 

in 2018-19. These include 

the luxurious Waldorf 

Astoria Maldives, and the 

Italian-designed Baglioni 

Resort Maldives. These 

projects are in line with 

President Abdulla Yameen 

Abdul Gayoom’s goal to 

develop 50 new resorts 

within his five-year term, 

generating 18,000 new job 

opportunities 



50 REGION 

ADVERTORIAL 

ASIA 


Velana International Airport Velana International Airport 

Adil Moosa, Managing 

Director of Maldives Airports 

Company, stated that Velana 

International airport is all set 

for the future with a number 

of developments already 

underway. 

Velana International Airport 

(VIA) has been serving as the 

main gateway to passengers 

travelling to Maldives for over 51 

years. In order to revolutionise 

and establish the airport we see 

today into a world class airport, 

the Government of Maldives has 

planned an ambitious project 

worth over $1 billion. The new 

development includes a new 

passenger terminal building, new 

runway, new fuel farm, new cargo 

terminal complex and a new 

seaplane terminal. 

NEW INTERNATIONAL 

PASSENGER TERMINAL 

BUILDING 

The new international passenger 

terminal building designed to 

offer IATA level B service will 

have an increased built-up area of 

more than 78,000square metres, 

accommodating up to 7.5 million 

passengers annually. Further 

developments include aero 

boarding bridges and state-ofthe-art 

baggage handling systems. 

The Island Airport 

VIA, Gearing Up 

for the Future 

The new terminal building will 

eliminate the space constraints 

faced by the existing terminal 

and host a range of F&B outlets, 

retail spaces, lounges and other 

services. 

NEW RUNWAY 

The new code-F runway, which 

will measure 3,400 metres in 

length and 60 metres in width, will 

be constructed 190 metres offset 

from the existing runway. With 

this development, VIA will be able 

to accommodate A380 aircraft 

which is the largest in commercial 

operations today. Upon completion, 

Instrument Landing Systems will 

be installed on both sides of the 

runway with ICAO category 1 

Approach Lights leading to shorter 

turnaround time. 

NEW FUEL FARM AND 

NEW FUEL HYDRANT 

SYSTEM 

Located away from the operation 

area at the north west of VIA, 

the new fuel storage will be 

approximately 37,000 square 

metres, which is roughly three times 

the size of the current fuel farm. 

With this development, the fuel 

farm will hold 45 million litres of Jet 

A1 fuel, one million litres of diesel 

and 100,000 litres of petrol. Along 

with new fuel storage expansion, 

there will be fuel hydrant system 

installed at VIA improving safety 

and shortening service time for the 

airlines. 

NEW CARGO TERMINAL 

COMPLEX 

The 12,000 square metre Cargo 

Terminal Complex will come with 

an Export and Import Terminal 

along with a host of office spaces. 

Located at the western side of VIA, 

the new Cargo Terminal Complex 

will come with cranes for loading 

and unloading cargo equipped with 

modern facilities. It is estimated 

that 120,000 tonnes per year will 

be processed which is more than 

50 per cent of the present cargo 

terminal. 

NEW SEAPLANE 

TERMINAL 

VIA houses the largest seaplane 

fleet in the world. The new seaplane 

terminal project, designed to 

international standards with full 

NFPA fire compliances, will include 

a common seaplane terminal 

and a seaplane maintenance 

facility or MRO. This new facility 

will accommodate more than 80 

seaplanes on docks which is 50 per 

cent more than the existing docks. 

The four-storey modern seaplane 

terminal will have new facilities 

such as VVIP areas and dedicated 

arrival lobbies. Additionally, the 

28,000 square metres of floor 

space will accommodate spacious 

lounges, extra boarding gates and 

can provide a host of office spaces 





ASIA 

REGION 

51 

Lily Beach Wows Guests with 

“Unbeatable” Platinum Plan 

The multi-award winning Lily Beach Resort & Spa at 

Huvahendhoo in the Maldives continues to gain plaudits for its 

high-end offering, but also its all-inclusive packages. 

In 2017, Lily Beach Resort & Spa 

in the Maldives was recognised 

at the World Travel Awards, while 

this year its excellence was also 

acknowledged when it was voted 

number two All-Inclusive Resort in 

Asia, and the number All-Inclusive 

Resort in the world at the 2018 Trip 

Advisor Travelers Choice Awards. 

“The Travellers’ Choice is a very 

special honour,” says Michael 

Wieser, CEO of Lily Beach Resort & 

Spa. “The focus is on service, quality 

and customer satisfaction – this 

proves our guests can expect the 

best.” 

For Wieser, a big part of Lily Beach’s 

success is down to its outstanding 

“Platinum Plan”, an all-inclusive 

holiday package that offers guests a 

stress-free holiday with unbeatable 

value for money. 

The plan includes a breakfast, 

lunch and dinner buffet at the Lily 

Maa main restaurant as well as a 

four-course meal at the Over-Water 

Restaurant Tamarind once a week. 

However, there’s much more to the 

Platinum Plan than just a traditional 

food and drink package. During 

the stay there are no hidden costs 

for hotel guests. Amenities such as 

beverages, snacks, fitness classes 

and snorkel equipment all come as 

part of the deal. 

For example, a selection of 80 fine 

wines are available to guests at Lily 

Beach. And as of late 2017, Taittinger 

Champagne has been added to the 

list. “We always look for ways to 

make the stay even more unique,” 

explains Wieser. “The cooperation 

with Champagne Taittinger fits 

exactly into this concept.” 

Huvadhendhoo 

Michael Wieser 

CEO, Lily Hotels and Resorts 

Wieser say the resort is staying 

ahead of the competition by going 

“the extra mile” in a tough market. 

“Our flawless service, the dedication 

of motivated staff, worldwide 

reputation and excellent feedback 

keep up our high ranking position 

in guest satisfaction surveys (98%),” 

he says. 

In terms of the importance of ITB 

Berlin, Wieser says: “ITB Berlin is 

an enormously important part of 

the marketing activities in travel 

industry. It’s a great opportunity 

to get face-to-face with customers 

and potential future clients, hence it 

remains an incredibly valuable tool 

for developing new business” 


Kudadoo Villa Exterior 

Hurawahli and 

Kudadoo Offer 

Stylish Maldives 

Retreats 

As the Maldives continues to expand its tourism 

business at a rapid rate, the team from Hurawahli 

Island Resort is attending ITB Berlin 2018 to 

provide visitors and media with more details of the 

extraordinary travel experiences that Hurawahli can 

provide. 

Opened in December 2016, 

the adult only Hurawahli 

Island Resort has been a 

great success since it was 

unveiled. Accessible via a 

40-minute seaplane flight 

from Velana International 

Airport, Hurawahli is 400 

metres long and 165 metres 

wide. It is surrounded by a 

beautiful lagoon and boasts 

long stretches of white sandy 

beach. 

Accommodation consists of 

90 villas of varying description 

that each offer privacy, 

spaciousness and comfort 

with king-sized beds, a/c 

and stunning contemporary 

design. Hurawahli is also 

home to 5.8, the biggest 

underwater restaurant in the 

world. A Michelin star chef 

from Berlin has created one 

of the world’s most renowned, 

and exclusive, gastronomic 

journeys that promises to wow 

Hurawahli guests. 

success. One of most 

anticipated new openings in 

the Maldives in 2018, the new 

private ultra luxury island 

offers 15 ocean residences that 

ensure ultimate privacy. 

Accessible by seaplane from 

Velana, Kudadoo is designed 

to be a sanctuary of serenity 

for grown-ups seeking luxury 

and an abundance of personal 

space. A butler meets guests’ 

every need, while personalised 

cuisine will satisfy every 

craving. 

Meanwhile, a 24-hour bar is 

located over-the-water, while 

a spa provides a tropical 

experience focused on 

simplicity and purity. 

From swimming with manta 

rays and turtles to barbecues on 

hidden sandbanks, Kudadoo 

ultimately aims to embody 

the unsurpassed beauty of the 

Maldives 

The launch of Kudadoo Private 

Island in late 2018 promises to 

add to Hurawalhi Kudadoo’s 



52 SPOTLIGHT ON GERMAN REGION: BAVARIA Hall 6.2b / Stand 301 

© www.bayern.by Gert Krautbauer 

BAVARIA 

CONTINUES 

TO LURE 

DOMESTIC 

AND 

INTERNATIONAL 

TOURISTS 

Bayern Tourismus Marketing is 

appearing at this year’s ITB Berlin 

under the heading The Myth of Bavaria. 

One highlight is an interactive virtual 

reality experience where reality and 

imagination come together with the 

help of the HTC Vive VR glasses. 

Bavaria is the number one travel 

destination in Germany. In the first 

11 months of 2017, Bavaria played 

host to around 35 million guests. 

This represents an increase of 4.5% 

compared to the period from January 

to November 2016. 

The Free State notched up 88.2 

million overnight stays from January 

to November 2017. Compared to the 

same period in the previous year, the 

number of overnight stays rose by 

3.3%. 

More than 100 exhibitors have 

come to Berlin to showcase the best 

features of Bavaria. Alongside the four 

regions of Bavaria, exhibitors include 

the Dinosaurier-Park in Altmühltal, 

the Apassionata Park in Munich, the 

Oberammergau Passion Plays, the 

KulturLounge Bayern, the House of 

Bavarian History, Center Parcs and 

many more besides 

Southeast German State Pushes 

its Number One Destination Status 

Our aim is to continue to reinforce the positive 

image of Bavaria as a year-round destination 

both at home and abroad. 

For 12 months of the year, visitors to the Free 

State can find exciting products and experiences 

that offer value for money, and that appeal to 

families and outdoor enthusiasts as well as 

those looking for a touch of luxury. Popular 

activities with international guests include trips 

to Bavaria’s cities, organised tours, holidays in 

the countryside and the mountains, sports and 

activity holidays and wellness options. 

An awareness of tradition, regional 

independence, cultural diversity and, last 

but not least, an individual sense of freedom 

and even self-determination are well-known 

characteristics of this state and its people. And 

that quality is precisely what attracts visitors 

to Bavaria, which is why we want to use it to 

inspire people from Germany and overseas to 

travel to our region.” 

ADVERTORIAL 

Tauber Valley 

TAUBER VALLEY: GERMANY’S 

ROMANTIC GATEWAY 

As Franconia once lay at the heart of the Holy 

Roman Empire, so today’s Tauber Franconia 

region lies at the heart of the reunited Germany. 

The southern German tourism board branded 

Liebliches Taubertal (Lovely Tauber Valley), 

is promoting the romantic landscape lying 

between Baden- Württemberg and Bavaria, a 

valley that extends for 120 kilometres and whose 

lush meadows and gently sweeping slopes are 

chequered with pristine medieval towns like 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 

Six tourist routes cover the valley, offering a diverse 

palette of cultural sites and pristine landscapes. 

The Romantic Road, which leads from Würzburg 

through the Tauber Valley to Füssen, the Castle 

Route from Mannheim/Heidelberg to Nuremberg, 

and the Bocksbeutel Strasse through the vineyards 

© TLT Peter Frischmuth 

For Bavaria, as the number one travel 

destination in Germany, the ITB is the most 

important trade fair of all, both for the domestic 

and overseas markets. Here, for a few days, 

we have the opportunity to talk with numerous 

representatives of the international travel 

industry as well as potential guests 

Barbara 

Radomski 

Authorised Signatory 

of Bavaria Tourism 

between Aisch and Tauber, are just some of the 

options that traverse southern Germany’s rolling 

tributary valleys. 

From historically rich sites like the castle ruins 

at Wertheim to the Bronnbach monastery, the 

Teutonic Order castle in Bad Mergentheim, Baroque 

wine merchants’ houses and the Kurmainz castle 

in Tauberbischofsheim, the Tauber Valley also 

offers famed Franconian wines, beer from locallygrown 

barley, and rich local cuisine. Meanwhile, 

a range of comfortable accommodation can be 

found in in the numerous towns and villages, from 

boutique hotels to cosy farm guesthouses and 

campsites with a full range of facilities. 


CENTER PARCS 

TO OPEN THIS AUTUMN 

Center Parcs will open its Park Allgäu development 

this autumn with a stunning view of the Alps, 

near the tranquil town Leutkirch. This will be 

Germany’s sixth Center Parcs development and 

the €350 million project offers cottages in the 

Comfort, Premium and VIP categories. For the first 

time in Germany, the park will feature the luxury 

residential category Exclusive. This attraction is 

sure to appeal to both international and domestic 

visitors to the spectacular Bavaria region. 




© Thomas Keller 

HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS 

WHERE 

TO GO 

IN 

Berlin 

CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE 

Friedrichshain 

On the Border of East and West 

Along the Spree river from Mitte, Friedrichshain is 

another former East Berlin district that has become a 

hub for visitors who want to explore both the city’s 

compelling past and inspiring present. Known for 

its classic Soviet-inspired architecture on Karl-Marx- 

Allee, or its famous Sunday market on Boxhagener 

Platz - part of a vibrant, upcoming neighbourhood 

jammed with bars and restaurants - Friedrichhain’s 

landmark is the turreted Oberbaum Bridge that 

crosses Berlin’s major river. 

The bridge was a major checkpoint that divided East 

and West Berlin in the Wall years, while today it’s 

a popular thoroughfare where amplified rock bands, 

performers and musicians serenade the human ebb 

and flow taking in the view over Berlin. Nearby is 

the storied East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the 

former Berlin Wall that has been a fresco upon which 

artists from around the world came to express ideas 

of freedom as the Iron Curtain fell. The paintings – 

including 1990’s Fraternal Kiss (above) by Russian 

Dmitri Vrubel, a doomed final embrace between 

Russian and GDR leaders – symbolise the ongoing 

struggle for an open and tolerant city. 

Among the plentiful accommodation options in the 

area is the Michelberger Hotel on Warschauer 

Strasse. A century-old industrial building has been 

transformed into stylish accommodation for travellers 

on small or more expansive budgets, while the 

Hotel boasts one of the best lounge bars east of the 

Spree, a homey, high-design hang-out that includes 

a courtyard/beer garden where events and concerts 

happen year-round. 

Karl-Marx-Allee in Friedrichshain was the Champs- 

Élysées of East Germany and its grand apartment 

buildings once called “workers’ palaces” are equally 

impressive today. Stretching for two kilometres from 

Alexanderplatz in the city centre to Frankfurter Tor, 

the Soviet-designed boulevard contains some of 

Berlin’s best modernist architecture, including the 

Kino International cinema and Cafe Moskau. 

This is where a workers’ uprising started in 1953 but 

was soon put down with the help of the Red Army. 

But these days another revolution is happening in the 

back streets to east of Warschauer Strasse, an area 

thick with bars, clubs and restaurants since the Wall 

fell almost 30 years ago. 


54 

Hospitality 

Chaussee36 - Bedroom in the 

late 19 th century apartment 

WHERE 

TO GO 

IN 

Berlin 

CHAUSSEE36 

Offers A Time-Travel Experience 

Built in 1886, Chaussee36 is a former Prussian 

officers’ residence which is being fully restored. 

Chaussee36 offers a unique Berlin and timetravel 

experience, through authentic design, 

sustainable architecture and careful restoration 

of historic artifacts. 

Chaussee36 is a 4,000 square metre historical 

building in the heart of Berlin a multiple 

event space, Salon36; furnished apartments 

for guests, Residenz36; and an art gallery 

specialised in photography, Galerie36. 

The conservation of old elements in 

combination with both new design and 

architecture express the guiding principle of 

Chaussee36. 

Chaussee36 

Chausseestraße 36, 10115 Berlin Mitte 

Tel: +49 30 280 976 48 

www.chaussee36.com 

Metro: U Naturkundemuseum U6 

Restaurants 

RESTAURANT REINHARD’S 

Passing through the massive swing doors of 

Reinhard’s you will find yourself in the world 

of the Golden Twenties. The atmosphere is 

underlined by the flair of Parisian cafés. The 

restaurant is lovingly decorated with pictures 

of celebrated theatre and movie stars and 

famous expressionist and naturalist paintings. 

The international kitchen with French finesse 

presents day and evening menus that change 

Restaurant Reinhard’s 

each week. One of their specialties -- “The secret 

of the Kaiserhof” -- is a dish that the kitchen of 

the Kaiserhof hotel once created for the artist 

Max Liebermann. The recipe of the sauce is still 

a secret. The philosophy of Reinhard’s is that 

one can eat and drink everything from croissant 

and coffee to an exclusive menu with vintage 

champagne. 

Restaurant Reinhard’s 

im Nikolaiviertel – Poststr. 28 - 10178 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 242 52 95 

www.reinhards.de / restaurant@reinhards.de 

Metro: S & U Alexanderplatz: U5, U2, U8, S5, S7, S75 

Clubs 

E4 CLUB 

In the centre of Berlin’s nightlife, with a unique 

Berlin Club scene atmosphere, the E4 Club 

Berlin offers an unforgettable experience for 

every party guest. Every weekend, thousands 

of party people meet at E4 Club and dance until 

the sun rises with a beautiful view over Berlin. 

Characterised with the typical Berlin Club 

Sound, every party guest will enjoy the night! 

E4 Berlin Nightclub 

Eichhornstrasse 4, 10785 Berlin 

Directly at Potsdamer Platz 

Information & Reservation 

Tel: +49 (0)176 6172 2602 

www.e4-club.de 

Chamäleon Theatre 

Cultural Entertainment 

& Shopping 

CHAMÄLEON THEATER 

The pulse of contemporary circus 

The Chamäleon is one of the world’s most 

exciting and distinctive circuses. Those who 

enter the historic ballroom in the Hackesche 

Höfe leave the everyday world behind for a few 

hours. Acrobatics, music, dance, comedy and 

drama form a harmonious unit in one of the 

city’s most beautiful theatres. The Chamäleon is 

all about the tradition of variety from the 1920s. 

To make sure guests enjoy their visit without 

any worries, they can before the show of choose 

from numerous dishes and select beverages 

from the menu – perfect for getting into the 

mood. 

Chamäleon Theatre 

Rosenthaler Straße 40/ 41 

10178 Berlin Mitte 

Tel: +49 30 4000 590 

info@chamaeleonberlin.com 

Metro: S Hackescher Markt: S3, S5, S7, S75 - U 

Weinmeisterstraße: U8 - Tram: M1, M4, M5, M6 

E4 Club

ITB Berlin News 2018 - Day 2 Edition

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