BROUGHT TO YOU BY NEWS 9 1. L-R: Emanuel Höger, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communication, Messe Berlin Group; Dr Christian Göke, CEO, Messe Berlin; HE Datuk Mohamaddin bin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia; Dr Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry; Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association. 2. Dr Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry; HE Datuk Mohamaddin bin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia; Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association; Dr Christian Göke, CEO, Messe Berlin; with Malaysian entertainers. 1 2 Opening press conference ITBBerlin2019: The global travel industry’s platform and partner The ITB brand is continuing to prosper, with growth at ITBBerlin and the launch of ITB India. Innovations at ITBBerlin include the launch of a new Technology, Tours & Activities segment, a Virtual Reality Lab and the expansion of the agenda-defining ITBBerlin Convention. With 10,000 exhibiting companies from 181 countries and regions, ITBBerlin will once again be the travel industry’s meeting place and must-attend event in 2019. In addition to its status as the sector’s pre-eminent commercial market, the five-day event will also address major trends impacting on the sector during the course of the ITBBerlin Convention. Close to 400 leading speakers will discuss how the industry should respond to overtourism, shifts in customer demand, the threat of climate change, and new forms of transportation. ITB INDIA LAUNCH SET FOR 2020 Underlining the global strength of the ITB brand, it has been announced that ITB India will be launched from 15 to 17 April 2020, joining ITBBerlin, ITB China and ITB Asia. The three-day trade show at the Bombay Exhibition Centre is to be held annually and aims to bring together leading representatives of the travel industry with buyers from cities throughout India and international exhibitors from the MICE, leisure and corporate markets. The show will also feature a Hosted Buyers’ programme which targets buyers from major cities of varying size. Commenting, Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin said: “ITBBerlin shows that traditional trade show formats can be more ITB BERLIN SHOWS THAT TRADITIONAL TRADE SHOW FORMATS CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN EVER IN THE DIGITAL AGE successful than ever in the digital age. We are quick to recognise trends while also developing existing formats further. At the same time, ITB India will further strengthen ITB’s standing as the international market for the travel industry.” MALAYSIA – OFFICIAL PARTNER COUNTRY In Malaysia, ITBBerlin was able to secure a destination that boasts great diversity as the Official Partner Country in 2019. The Southeast Asian country is organising the opening ceremony and Grand Finale of ITBBerlin with artistic performances typical for this region. Still on Asia, India and the Arab countries are noticeably expanding their presence at the market. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority is represented at ITB for the first time, while Oman, the partner country of ITBBerlin 2020, is occupying a larger display area. Australia, Africa and South America are expanding their presence at ITBBerlin, and there are first-time exhibitors from the Caribbean, including from Curacao, Barbados, Belize and El Salvador. As for Europe, ITBBerlin will see new arrivals, many regular exhibitors and a number of anniversaries. This year a remarkable number of leading tour operators and travel agencies are also exhibiting for the first time, and Booking.com is occupying a much larger area. NEW TECHNOLOGY, TOURS & ACTIVITIES SEGMENT Among key innovations at ITBBerlin, Dr. Göke singled out the new Technology, Tours & Activities segment. Both major players and small start-ups will present their products at the first event of its kind in the new exhibition and meeting area in the Adventure Travel Hall (4.1). Also new is the Virtual Reality Lab in Hall 10.2, while the Travel Technology will also be larger than ever before. To satisfy the space requirements of this fast-growing segment, the eTravel World has grown by 20% and will take place in three halls (6.1, 7.1b and 7.1c.). Alongside, Technology, Tours & Activities, Medical Tourism is also booming. This is reflected at ITBBerlin, where the sector has its own platform for the third time at the Medical Tourism Pavilion in Hall 21b. EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH FROM TRAVELZOO Reflecting its role as an industry thought-leader, ITBBerlin has also conducted a market survey in collaboration with Travelzoo. The international portal for exclusive travel deals discovered that 69% of international tourists regard environmental protection as a very important topic. Sharry Sun, Global head of Brand, Travelzoo, will present more insights from the exclusive report today (6 March 2019) at 1 pm at the City Cube Club (Deep Dive Session 1) ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019
