The Diary of Miss
The Diary of Miss IFA Behind the Scenes at the 6 th Annual IFA Global Press Conference hosted at Dubrovnik Sun Gardens ‘‘ More than 300 technology professionals gathered at Dubrovnik Sun Gardens for the sixth IFA Global Press Conference, held from 12 th to 15 th April. The event attracted specialist journalists and industry executives, and featured a number of product introductions, presentations, power briefings, press panels, market research as well as networking events. Hello again readers, it’s great to be back! Spring time for me means it’s time for the IFA Global Press Conference, which this year was held in the beautiful Croatian port city of Dubrovnik. My work started at the Welcome Desk in the airport, handing out accreditation passes as journalists and industry executive arrived. I passed by the Kärcher booth where they were demonstrating some of their steam cleaners. One of Panasonic’s new Lumix cameras. The company will be demonstrating the G5, the FZ200, LX7k as well as the 12-35mm, 45-150mm lenses at IFA 2012. The entrance to the lovely Sun Gardens Hotel which was decorated in IFA’s colour scheme especially for the Press Conference. A Loewe television on a very different kind of stand, in this case the color is really nice! This Philips Smart TV features a remote control with a keyboard on the back, in order to make surfing the Internet easier. On the Samsung booth, the company’s new washing machine was one of the stars of the show. Anyway… I’d better run! I have to get to the hairdresser and order some more red spray for the coming weeks! See you in the next edition… ” 44
HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS Where to goin berlin www.wheretogoinberlin.com CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE Berlin is in some sense like an everyday IFA: it sets trends and impresses with new releases at every corner. This ensures its popularity not only for creatives and artists; the IT industry, too, has discovered Berlin. The capital is considered an affordable location with valuable networking opportunities — the perfect venue for IFA. Tourism also benefits from Berlin’s image, as explained by Berlin’s chief tourism officer Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin. Last year, almost ten million guests were attracted to Berlin, and we recorded more than 22 million room nights — a new record. Berlin’s success operates on two fronts: a cosmopolitan attitude and creativity. The capital is the perfect venue for meetings and conventions. In 2011, 115,700 events took place in Berlin, and the numbers are growing. The special locations on offer — from the television tower to the hangar of former Tempelhof Airport — means Berlin is a truly unique destination, while the mix of futureproof trends and historic atmosphere, of avant-garde and underground, attracts convention participants and visitors from all over the world. To put it in a nutshell: Berlin electrifies. What is visitBerlin doing to attract new visitors? Berlin is a vibrant metropolis, constantly changing. As absolute Berlin insiders, we guide our guests, partners, the travel industry and media representatives through the new and established Berlin, with its relaxed and edgy ambience. Berlin is not only a city to look at, but to experience. It offers unbeatable cost effectiveness. Whether you’re after a hotel room, theatre tickets or homebrew beer, visitors are offered more experiences for their money. My colleagues and I endeavour to increase an awareness of the capital as an international destination. We are globally networked to promote the city. What new sights and attractions does Berlin offer? If you cannot get enough of technology and future trends, I recommend the Max Berlin Electrifies! A mix of avant-garde and underground turns the German capital into an attractive convention destination Burkhard Kieker CEO of visitBerlin Burkhard Kieker has been Chief Executive Officer of visitBerlin (Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH) since 2009. He previously headed the Marketing and Corporate Communications department of Berlin Airports for many years. Kieker is a trained journalist (Die Zeit, Deutsche Welle TV). “Whether you’re after a hotel room, theatre tickets or homebrew beer, visitors are offered more experiences for their money.” Planck Science Gallery in Berlin-Mitte, or a look back into the history of technology is great fun at the Computer Games Museum, where visitors can fight a duel or revisit games from their youth. More attractions can be found on our website at visitBerlin.de. The opening of Berlin's new airport has been pushed back to next year. What are the reasons behind this, and what has been the reaction of visitBerlin? Technical problems (in fire protection engineering) have made a postponement necessary. We think this is a responsible decision. The delayed opening will not have a foreseeable impact on the existing tourism and convention business. However, visitBerlin looks forward to the opening of BER as it will greatly improve the accessibility of our city. For more information on the sights of Berlin, see visitBerlin.de. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 27 th August 2012 45
