I TRADE TALK I Health
I TRADE TALK I Health travel @ ITB Berlin NOW A leading international consultant gives feedback on this year’s event Irena Rapoport I.R.Agency (I.R.A.) - Health Travel International Consulting Medical and wellness tourism are sectors that still have huge potential, and keeping up with current trends is essential to success in the industry. To do so, Irena Rapoport I. R. Agency (I.R.A.) - Health Travel International Consulting has been attending ITB Berlin for several years, and has thus had time to form an opinion about the show… It was a great moment in my professional life to participate in the ITB Berlin Medical Pavilion (2018, 2019). The experience and the ideas I have had as a speaker, moderator and just as an attendee at other Medical Travel events, enable me to understand how crucial it is to find the proper business partners, this what I learnt, for example, at the European HTI Conference and got another proof at ITB as it is just the perfect event to discover new destinations and partners. Networking during such gigantic event contributes considerably to business development. The booths of so many exhibitors (destinations, hotels, clinics etc.) enable the access to new horizons, inspire and awaken our creativity. I think we can define ITB BERLIN with 3 words: DISCOVERY, INSPIRATION, JOY. With no doubt, 2020 will be remembered as the most challenging year in our lives due to the pandemic. It is obvious that tourism is one of the industries that has been hurt the most. This is why the fact that ITB Berlin have not given up, and have created a virtual event in spite of the worldwide situation, is greatly appreciated. This will bring hope and optimism for the future of tourism and is a big step towards recovery until will meet in 2022. Talking about my vision for the coming year, I am convinced that the needs for Wellness Travel will increase as the stress and burn out for all sectors (however especially for the medical staff) will greatly influence their decisions for this type of holidays as soon as borders will reopen. It seems that big hotels will have more difficulty in succeeding in the coming year. The demand for small boutique hotels will rise as the sanitation measures will be crucial as well as the country-wide Covid-19 protocols. The demand for Rejuvenation, stress release, immunity enhancing programs will increase. How are your key choice criteria changing when selecting new “star” destinations or hotel partners now? As an expert in Wellness Travel, understanding the modularity of eventual personalised programmes, I was always looking for destinations with clean environment, beautiful and diverse nature and the culture of service. The New era, “post- pandemic” is also influencing my new priorities and choices. Outdoor activities help to strengthen the immune system. The nature is therapeutic: forests, mountains, rivers, lakes. This is why I consider Croatia as one of “the healing countries” with amazing nature, perfect service and high-level medicine I THINK WE CAN DEFINE ITB BERLIN WITH 3 WORDS: DISCOVERY, INSPIRATION, JOY. IRENA RAPOPORT THE “TAKE- AWAY” FROM THE COVID CRISIS Over tourism should be banned. Sustainability should be in focus. International standards and protocols for epidemiological situations should be worked out, accepted worldwide and applied globally. Projects for the nature preservation should be developed, and the young generation should be educated accordingly from very young age including special programmes in schools. We all saw the “nature rejuvenation” during lockdowns. We all, as humans, are responsible for that 8 ITB BERLIN NEWS • FRIDAY 12 TH MARCH 2021 www.itb-berlin-news.com
I TRADE TALK I Muhammad Asghar Shaheen CEO, Urdam Tours Michael Nachbaur CEO of High Life Reisen and Nachbaur Reisen, Austria © Udo Mittelberger Pakistan's Urdam Tours: a positive outlook for the future Muhammad Asghar Shaheen is Founder, Director & CEO of Urdam Tours & Travel (Pvt) Ltd, in Lahore, Pakistan. We asked him what he is hoping to achieve at this year’s ITB Berlin NOW. I want to learn how the industry is evolving, and what will be done to help in its recovery. Moreover, I intend to have virtual meetings with various exhibitors, associations, technology providers and tourist bureaus for possible future business cooperation after the end of the Covid-19 situation. What is your outlook for the coming year? For me, the outlook for the tourism sector will remain uncertain because the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit hard. Domestic tourism is nevertheless helping to some extent, and governments have taken impressive immediate actions to restore and re-activate the sector, while protecting jobs and businesses. Despite this, I still remain positive and determined that there will be a speedy recovery of the trade. What would you say is the most important lesson that has been learnt (or should be learnt) from the Covid-19 crisis? The epidemic is not just a big test for our industry, but also for the whole world. However, I believe that the economy will recover because this is not a regular economic recession, but an epidemic situation. Therefore, I think the recovery should be very fast - and I am still optimistic. On the other hand, I think it will take some time, so one will need to have alternative resources to survive. What are your thoughts about the way ITB has organised this event? In the current scenario, Virtual and Hybrid events are the perfect one to keep events moving on and I appreciate the efforts being made by ITB in this respect Back in the high life again… Michael Nachbaur, CEO of High Life Reisen and Nachbaur Reisen, Austria, is participating in ITB Berlin NOW, saying despite the fact the show is “virtual”, it’s more important than ever to be there, as changes are bigger than ever. We asked him how he sees business evolving. In my opinion, the business will start later in summer. It's difficult to expect our guests to book with much confidence when at the same time, restaurants and hotels are still closed due to lockdowns. We may have to prepare for a booking window two to four weeks before departure, which will be an enormous challenge for us to plan the charters and hotel capacities. How are your key choice criteria changing when selecting new “star” destinations or hotel partners now? Honestly, in the current situation, our first mission is to revive our "old" destinations and key partners. Here, we are very carefully considering our cooperation, handling of cancellations and rebooking during the first months of the crisis. The positive side of this situation for us as a tour operator is that we are now more appreciated among usually demanding hotels, as we are improving their occupancy and looking to optimise their yields by pushing direct distribution. What are you hoping to achieve in participating in this year’s ITB Berlin NOW? To revive our contacts in the market, using ITB Berlin NOW as a virtual market place and meeting point; to gain impressions of the different situations across various destinations and to learn about their expectations for the upcoming season. What are your thoughts about the way ITB has organised the event? The first impressions are very promising. I trust the ITB team makes maximum efforts to ensure this project is successful even if none of us can wait to meet our partners again in person ITB BERLIN NEWS • FRIDAY 12 TH MARCH 2021 9
