EDITO 5 CONTENTS
EDITO 5 CONTENTS News........................................................... page 6 ITB Berlin Convention.............................. page 14 Exclusive Interview...................................page 16 Trade Talk..................................................page 18 SPECIAL FEATURES Cruises...................................................... page 19 Golf Tourism............................................. page 22 Luxury Travel ........................................... page 25 EDITORIAL Richard Barnes Editor-in-Chief, ITB Berlin News REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT Americas................................................... page 31 The opening ceremony of ITB Berlin 2015 Where to Go in Berlin.............................. page 37 FREE WI-FI AT ITB BERLIN Network: FreeWifi Password: itb2015 ITB BERLIN NEWS is a CLEVERDIS Publication. 65 av. 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During ITB Berlin: Press Center – Hall 6.3 – Room 403 • Tel: +49 (0)30 3038 81 209 • info@itb-berlin-news.com • www.itb-berlin-news.com • Publisher: Gérard Lefebvre • Managing Director: Jean-François Pieri • Publishing Director: Jean-Guy Bienfait • Project Manager: Bettina Badon • Editor-in-Chief: Richard Barnes • Editorial Coordination: Andréa Hubac • Editorial team: Stuart Braun, Luc Citrinot, Neil Cole, Bob Snyder, Monia Tazamoucht • Photos: David Nivière • Art Director: Hélène Beunat • Design & Page Setting: Guillaume Kaercher, Guillaume Vinrich • Webmaster: Benjamin Ras. >>>>To contact them : first name.last name@ itb-berlin-news.com • Cover: © Priceline © CLEVERDIS 2015 - Registration of Copyright March 2015 - Information presented in this publication is purely indicative in order to illustrate subjects contained therein. No guarantee can be given as to the accuracy of data or content at time of printing and thus the latter should not be used for professional or commercial ends. 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Their opinions are entirely their own, and are included with the understanding that they contain, to our knowledge, no malicious intent. The inclusion of all texts, photographs and other documents supplied by those included in this publication imply the acceptance by their authors of their free publication therein. Documents and photographs will not be returned. It should be understood that this publication contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include assumptions relating to the timing of the recorded date. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialises or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the expectations outlined in these statements. Cleverdis assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements during the period of publication. Photo Credits and Copyright: All Rights Reserved. The Value of a Brand Since early 2012, when President Obama announced new initiatives to grow tourism in the United States, with his administration enabling the establishment of Brand USA, the success of this project has been such that congress in December 2014 unanimously voted to continue funding Brand USA for another five years. Following the decision, US Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said, “It’s not every day that Congress makes a policy move that makes abundant sense and has demonstrable value for every region and demographic of this country. Renewing Brand USA is one such thing.” As Dow so rightly pointed out, the tens of thousands of jobs Brand USA creates, the zero cost to federal taxpayers, the fact that it helps the US trade balance by bringing huge amounts of foreign currency to the country, and the contribution it makes to reducing the deficit by millions – “Brand USA is simply a policy that works”. There is a kind of ripple effect stemming from this new dynamic – with among other activities, a summit by key European tourism players (led by the ETC) held at ITB Berlin looking at ways to better streamline and centralise promotion of tourism for the “old continent” – still the world’s number one destination. You’ll be sure to read more about that in our following editions. In the meantime, enjoy day two of the world’s greatest (and most eclectic) travel and tourism show (with its amazing partner nation Mongolia putting on an incredible show for the “opening party”! ). ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 5 th March 2015
