I NEWS ITOUR
I NEWS ITOUR PARTNERGROUPPRESENTSIDEAS...VIRTUALLYThe cancellation of ITB is notstopping Tour Partner Groupfrom promoting new ideas.The group is presenting its latest travelideas for the United Kingdom, Irelandand the Nordics in virtual form during awebinar, fielding questions concerningtheir new brand presence.ITB.com – a newwindow to the worldNetworking, industry news and the ITBVirtual Convention available on an innovativeplatformWith 300 employees in 6 offices, TourPartner Group, previously known as Hotels& More, Irish Welcome Tours and TransNordic Tours – claims to still providethe same kind of personalised service asbefore.The B2B experts will be contacting theirclients shortly to arrange meetings andbring travel trends into client’s offices.Head of Sales Hinrika Busemann's webinaron March 12 presented the new TourPartner Group brand and brochure tours,as well as answer questions in connectionwith the re-branding.Despite its cancellation this year, ITB is offeringdigital services 365 days a year by launching itb.com.The show has thus established a completely newnetworking platform for the world’s travel industryon a website spanning a bridge between real-lifemeetings and digital networking.“In these very difficult times thetourism industry needs ITB morethan ever”, said Dr Martin Buck,Senior Vice President, Travel &Logistics, Messe Berlin GmbH.The ITB Virtual Conventionfeatures leading speakers fromITB looking at how the world’stravel industry can harnessintelligent strategies to make sureit remains future-proof even in achallenging environment. In thewake of the latest developments,discussions on how the industrycan deal with the coronavirusare playing a key role. Between 5and 11 March 2020 viewers wereable to follow more than 20 livestreams and videos on itb.com.Since, they have been madeavailable as videos on demand.Recordings were done in aspecially equipped studio on theBerlin Exhibition Grounds, fromwhich numerous sessions havebeen streamed. Some speakersalso joined-in from remotelocations via Skype.“By launching this new website,we are establishing a key platformand travel network which has noparallel and which can be madeuse of in every market aroundthe world. The aim is to ensurebusiness, content and networkingavailability 365 days a year. Thisunderscores our year-roundleading international standing interms of the market and opinionsand consolidates the position ofour USPs, contacts and content”,Dr Buck said.NETWORKINGMADE EASYThe AI-based Travel Networkis a self-teaching systemwhich continually offers usersrelevant travel industry contactinformation. All registeredattendees at ITB Berlin 2020 areable to access the Travel Network.Even if you had not previouslyplanned to visit the show in Berlin,it is possible to register. TravelNetwork users can set up a profile,match interests, be contactedand can network. They can alsofollow other users, exchangecontact details, chat and set upappointments. “Virtual rooms”are being made available onlinewhere users can hold meetingswhich they had scheduled priorto ITB Berlin 2020. A video linkenables face-to-face meetings –it is also possible to communicatevia an audio link only“Our brand new 2021 idea-giver forgroup and individual travel to the UnitedKingdom, Ireland and the Nordics willarrive in our customers' mailboxes nextweek. If you would like to take an early lookat our new catalogue, check out our newTour Partner Group website or registerfor our webinar,” commented HinrikaBusemannHinrikaBusemannITB BERLIN NEWS • THURSDAY 19 TH MARCH 2020 • 5
