10 NEWS ADVERTORIAL
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 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 8 th March 2018 www.itb-berlin-news.com
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 © Messe Berlin GmbH ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 8 th March 2018
