ITB China News 2018 - Review Edition

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
11
Curiosity at the Heart
of Demand
Dr Martin Buck, Vice President of Competence Centre Travel
& Logistics Messe Berlin GmbH, on ITB China 2018
Looking back at the 2018 edition of ITB China,
what have emerged as being the key elements of
motivation for travellers from this part of the world?
We put the question to Dr Martin Buck.
The curiosity of the Chinese
traveller is very important,
and it is a great trigger for
travel. This was already
activated in a way here at the
show by another innovation
that David Axiotis (eds.
General Manager, ITB China)
introduced this year, which
is our co-operation with a
company called Qyer. Qyer,
together with ITB China,
invented the “It’s My World
Travel Awards”. This is about
incentivising people and
products that are important
when it comes to usergenerated
content. Qyer is
basically a user generated
content platform with more
than 88-million registered
users. They distributed
50 awards for the most
innovative traveller, the best
travel product, and so on,
and the room was packed. It
was also really a partnership;
not only about having Qyer
as an exhibitor and us being
the venue provider, but it’s
a partnership, because they
know perfectly well that we
are the access to the products
and they are the access to the
demand so everything comes
together very well, and we
obviously are a very good
platform to reflect it which is
the reason for happiness.
Anything particularly
interesting that stood out for
you this year?
Event wise, what I found
very spectacular was the big
screen – the big backdrop –
that we had at the opening
ceremony, because this for
me epitomises our capability
to do a very impressive
marketing activity embracing
the local specifics, creating
a “wow” effect, and I have
to admit I’ve never seen
something like this since I’ve
been working for ITB. Another
thing that impressed me
was the presentation by the
Chairman of Ctrip, James Liang.
I asked the question how
come China has a negative
trade balance when it comes
to incoming tourists to China
versus outgoing tourists from
China, comparing this balance
with the US, UK or Turkey
or even India. I asked what
might be the reasons for this
and what we might be able
to do to change the situation.
It was impressive how he
represented the problem
and how he explained the
possible solutions, which
shows the competence and
expertise and the power a
company like Ctrip has. So,
having seen the presentation,
you do not wonder why the
company that was founded
only in 1999 now has more
than 10,000 employees and a
market cap that is five times
higher than the market cap of
TUI in Germany. It shows that
it’s not only about the size,
it’s also about intelligence,
and this guy walking around
in sneakers and blue jeans
shows you within five
minutes what’s going on.
This is a brilliant guy, and I
have the feeling he’s not the
only brilliant guy here at
the show. You could say it’s
our privilege coming from a
country like Germany, just
seeing how things are being
developed in a new market
like China.
So, it’s the cultural and
business exchange… It’s an
exchange not just one way?
No, exactly, it’s an exchange.
It’s going in both directions,
and I find it emotionally really
very touching being a part of
that process. I don’t want to
compare it with the launch
of the Saturn 5 rocket flying
to the moon, but it goes in
that direction. It also shows
how humble we have to be
compared to such a company.
It seems evident that the
Chinese are always eager to
learn, and perhaps it would
be good for us also to be more
eager to learn in general.
That’s also one of the secrets
of why this show is going so
well so far; because we are
eager to learn. Both sides
have to contribute something.
We are very excited, and we
are very happy, and we are
looking very optimistically
into the future here in China
and indeed around the world
Dr Martin Buck
Senior Vice President,
Competence Centre Travel
& Logistics, Messe Berlin GmbH
WE ARE THE ACCESS TO THE
PRODUCTS AND THEY ARE THE
ACCESS TO THE DEMAND…
SO EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER
VERY WELL
ITB CHINA NEWS • Monday 28 th May 2018