ITB Berlin News 2018 - Day 3
FRIDAY 9 th MARCH 2018 DAY 3 EDITION ITB BERLIN CONVENTION EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST Nathan Blecharczyk Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Airbnb “Last year, across 11 countries in rural areas, we drove billion in visitor stays.” Read page 11 Mauricio Ventura Minister for Tourism, Costa Rica “Our development model in terms of sustainable tourism is also social and cultural” Read page 14 Mubarak Al Nuaimi Director Promotions and Overseas Offices, DCT Abu Dhabi “The Emirate benefited throughout the year from a packed calendar of events, with the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi on November 11 being the highlight” Read page 15 Najib Balala Tourism Minister, Kenya “Kenya is ready for business, with improved infrastructure, investment opportunities, incentives and support programmes” Read page 27 Hall 5.2b / Stands 205, 205a Hall 6.2a Stand 106, 106a-b Hall 4.1 Stand 110 Hall 17 Stand 109 Hospitality Berlin Style @ ITB Top hotel groups increasingly count on the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show as a global communication hub As luxury travel becomes a growing element of ITB Berlin year after year, the world’s top hotel operators are more and more using the show as a platform for communication with their partners. With the Loop Lounge @ ITB, along with last night’s ITB Luxury Late Night event at Orania. Berlin, exhibitors have more chances than ever to meet leading buyers from the global luxury travel market. At the same time, major groups such as AccorHotels, Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt or Marriott, just to name a few, are boosting their image in the luxury market on a global scale, as the concept of luxury evolves among the travelling public. Hotel marketing teams benefit from ITB Berlin as a forum on the latest technological advances, as the digital revolution drives business forward. Learn more about AccorHotels’ digital strategy in our exclusive interview with their Chief Digital Officer, Maud Bailly, page 13. Maud Bailly, Chief Digital Officer, AccorHotels Read our exclusive interview – page 13 DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST © Bjørn Christian Tørrissen After a period of stagnation due to instability in the region, North Africa and the Middle East tourism posted strong growth in 2017. While African tourism has recorded overall growth over the last three years, the Middle East finally was back on track with total arrivals to the region up by 5% in 2017. Discover all the latest news from the region at ITB Berlin from page 25. Naukluft Park, Namibia
