26 SPECIAL FEATURE
26 SPECIAL FEATURE TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT NOVILITY DEBUTS HOSPITALITY TRAINING APPLICATIONS First-time ITB Berlin exhibitor Novility said its mission is to redefine hospitality training and the company is set to demonstrate two of its integrated products Novility L.I.V.E. and H.E.L.P. The company said its solution is an ideal example of technology augmenting – not replacing – the human touch. Incorporating motioncapture and voice-recognition technologies, it said it makes training easier, faster and more engaging, ultimately increasing onboarding efficiency. Each lesson is created into sessions of five to 15 minutes. Trainees also have the option to pause the training anytime and pick up where they left off. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) have relaunched the MicroMasters in International Hospitality Management programme. Led by Professor Hanqin Qiu, the programme has attracted close to 35,000 learners – 364 of whom chose edX verification for an official course certificate – from almost 175 countries. First launched in January 2017, the SHTM’s MicroMasters in International Hospitality ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 1 st March 2018 Novility H.E.L.P. is a one-stop, cloud-based management platform to control and track training activities and results Hall 6.1 / Stand 127 POLYU RELAUNCHES ONLINE MICROMASTERS IN INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT Management programme was a fresh approach to bridging the knowledge gap between higher education and the workplace. Upon successfully earning the MicroMasters credential, students will be eligible to apply for the SHTM’s Master of Science in International Hospitality Management programme Hall 11.1 / Stand 307 ITB Career Centre: The ideal marketplace for tomorrow’s tourism professionals ITB Career Centre features wide-ranging information on university courses, starting a career and advanced training. The German Federal Employment Agency is the exclusive partner and the – ITB Berlin Convention features the Young Professionals Day and a new event: the Company Slam. The ITB Career Centre is offering students, graduates and those in search of a new career all kinds of opportunities to find out about their job chances in the tourism industry. The place to head is hall 11.1, where more than 50 national and international exhibitors will be represented, including universities, colleges and professional academies presenting tourism and advanced training courses, as well as employers in search of industry newcomers. This year, international participation in the hall will be even higher than in past years. Universities from Hong Kong and Latvia will be represented As in 2017 the German Federal Employment Agency is the exclusive partner of the ITB Career Centre. Occupying an area of 300 square metres it will provide a platform for jobseekers looking for a career in the industry. Among the services on offer will be free career advice on the agency’s stand. During the fair visitors can obtain make-up and styling for the perfect job application photo. At neighbouring counters numerous potential employers will be on hand to answer jobseekers’ questions. Visitors can also find out about their chances of an industry career from the ITB Job Wall, which will have more than 100 job vacancies. THE GERMAN FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AGENCY for the first time. On Thursday, March 8 and Saturday, March 10, an elevator pitch presenting bachelor’s and master’s degree courses, will give visitors a first impression of the universities and their academic studies. On Friday, March 9, from 5pm to 5.45pm, ITB Berlin will be celebrating a debut with the Company Slam, a new format at the show which gives company representatives 90 seconds to introduce themselves. At the networking event afterwards visitors will be able to meet and talk to speakers and find out more about their companies. The German Federal Employment Agency said its strong involvement at the ITB Career Centre is a reflection of how important the tourism industry is for the German economy. A study by the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) showed that a total of three million people work in the tourism industry, while its turnover is €290 billion. The German Federal Employment Agency said it regards the ITB Career Centre as an ideal platform where those seeking a career or a change in their lives can make direct personal contact with employers. This lets companies and potential applicants get a first-hand impression of each other, something a written or online application cannot provide www.itb-berlin-news.com
EUROPE REGION 27 © D Bosnic Danube National Park, Serbia Robust Growth for European Inbound Tourism Remarkable growth in Europe has been led by Southern and Mediterranean destinations. Europe recorded 671 million international tourist arrivals in 2017, just over half the world’s total and 52 million more than in 2016. This represents an increase of 8%, a remarkable result for the world’s most visited region, comprising many large and mature destinations. Growth was driven by a strong rebound in destinations that faced security incidents in 2016, such as Turkey, France and Belgium, as well as the sustained strength of many destinations. Southern and Mediterranean Europe, the world’s most visited sub-region, led this notable increase, welcoming 30 million additional arrivals (+13%) and reaching a total of 267 million. Western Europe (+7%) also recorded robust growth, while arrivals in both Northern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe grew by 5%. Virtually all major source markets showed strong demand for European destinations in 2017, both inside and outside the region. The recovery of the Russian outbound market also benefitted many European destinations. Growth in 2017 was led by Southern and Mediterranean Europe with an extraordinary 13% increase in arrivals and all destinations reporting growth rates at least above 6%. Results were driven by the recovery of Turkey (+29%) and the continued strong growth of other major and emerging destinations. The sub-region’s largest destination Spain (+9%) reported 82 million arrivals in the full year 2017, about 7 million more than in 2016, an outstanding result for such a large base volume and following already sustained growth in previous years. Virtually all other destinations posted double-digit growth last year, including Israel (+25%), Portugal (+11%), Italy and Greece (both +10%), Balkan destinations FYR Macedonia (+23%), Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro (both +19%), Serbia (+18%), Slovenia (+17%) and Croatia (+14%) and island destinations Malta (+16%) and Cyprus (+15%). Western Europe (+7%) also recorded robust growth, following flat results the previous year, led by Belgium (+12%) and top destination France (+8%) recovering from security threats in previous years. The Netherlands (+13%) enjoyed the fastest relative increase in arrivals, particularly thanks to increasing demand from China and other emerging markets. Switzerland (+7%), Germany (+5%) and Austria (+4%) also reported solid growth. UNWTO Panel Experts from Europe evaluated 2017 results very positively, rating tourism performance with an impressive score of 152, thus exceeding by 21 points their own expectations at the beginning of the year (131). This is Europe’s highest evaluation since the start of the series in 2003 and the highest across UNWTO regions for 2017. Prospects for 2018 remain very positive, though at a comparatively more modest but still high level of 137 EUROPE MAIN TRAVEL DESTINATIONS ALBANIA Hall 1.1 / 205 AUSTRIA Hall 17 / 103 BELGIUM Hall 10.2 / 103 BULGARIA Hall 15.1 / 101 CROATIA Hall 1.2 / 214 CYPRUS Hall 1.1 / 110, 110a CZECH REPUBLIC Hall 7.2b / 102a-b DENMARK Hall 18 / 132a ESTONIA Hall 18 / 127 FINLAND Hall 18 / 132b FRANCE Hall 1.1 / 201, 201a GERMANY Hall 6.2 GREECE Hall 1.1 / 101, 101a GUERNSEY Hall 18 / 124 ICELAND Hall 18 / 132c IRELAND Hall 18 / 122 ITALY Hall 1.2 / 106a-e JERSEY Hall 18 / 124 LATVIA Hall 18 / 130 LIECHTENSTEIN Hall 17 / 102 LITHUANIA Hall 18 / 131 LUXEMBOURG Hall 10.2 / 101 MACEDONIA Hall 1.2 / 201 MALTA Hall 1.2 / 220 - Hall 16 / 100b MOLDOVA Hall 3.1 / 627 MONTENEGRO Hall 1.2 / 219 NETHERLANDS Hall 10.2 / 102 NORWAY Hall 18 / 132d POLAND Hall 15.1 / 100 PORTUGAL Hall 1.1 / 202, 202a-c ROMANIA Hall 7.2b / 101a-b RUSSIAN FEDERATION Hall 3.1 / 618 SERBIA Hall 1.1 / 203 SLOVENIA Hall 17 / 109 SPAIN Hall 2.1 / 101, 101a SWEDEN Hall 18 / 132e SWITZERLAND Hall 17 / 101,101a-c UKRAINE Hall 3.1 / 629 UNITED KINGDOM Hall 18 / 120, 121, 123, 125 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 1 st March 2018
