FRIDAY 8 TH MARCH 2019 DAY 3 EDITION TRADE TALK EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT Susanne Donner Product Manager Purchasing Department, Tour Vital Touristik GmbH “Networking with established key suppliers and possible business partners is the most important reason to join ITBBerlin.” Read page 15 Ali Hassan Al Shaiba Acting Executive Director, Marketing and Communications, Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi “Abu Dhabi is a true melting pot, and you can find cuisines here from all over the world” Read page 18 H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa Chairman, Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority “Many spas and resorts and other key tourism projects are now in the pipeline in Sharjah.” Read page 19 Winile Mntungwa Deputy Head of Durban Tourism “Durban is still a value-for-money destination (…)” Read page 34 Hall 2.1 Stands 111,112 Hall 5.2b / Stands 205, 205a Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change ITBBerlin celebrates International Women’s Day – aiming for a gender-equal industry… and world Hall 17 Stand 109 Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary- General and Executive Director of UN Women put it very eloquently when she stated, “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, as the key message for this year’s International Women’s Day. The theme puts innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality. ITBBerlin this week is a global forum on these issues, with a number of seminars, and today’s Women’s Day Special Event in the Palais am Funkturm. And who better to be the “face” of our front page for this edition than World Travel and Tourism Council President and CEO, Gloria Guevara Manzo, who personifies the excellence of women in “high positions” in the tourism industry. In our exclusive interview (page 16), she brings us some good news through the fact that around 50% of those employed in jobs in travel and tourism are women. But great inequalities still exist, depending on region, when it comes to women in management positions. Gloria Guevara Manzo President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA With international tourist arrivals up by 10% and 7% respectively, the Middle East and Africa led growth in the world last year according to UNWTO data. This trend is due to continue in 2019 as many countries have introduced measures to simplify entry formalities. Egypt is the “star of the show”, with prospects strong for 2020, and North African hotspots Tunisia and Morocco are also bouncing back strongly. Read more, from page 30. Oman
