ITB
ITB BERLIN CONVENTION 15 Welcome to the Global Travel Industry Think Tank The world’s largest tourism convention addresses the industry’s most pressing questions Since 2004, the ITB Berlin Convention, with its 21,000 participants, 400 high-ranking speakers and panel guests from the industry and politics, boasts more than 200 sessions in 15 tourism theme days. It is the world’s largest tourism convention. We asked the man “at the helm” of this massive venture, Professor Dr Roland Conrady, what is new this year… One of the key topics for discussion will be the luxury tourism sector. The use of new technologies in the travel industry is another issue that will be widely discussed at the ITB Berlin Convention, especially during the first day when PhoCusWright@ ITB takes place. Following the eTravel World’s successful debut on the Saturday of the show the programme will once again extend into the weekend, to 8 March 2014. Another innovation is the “invitation only” pre-convention - ITB Summit on 4 th March on omni-channel strategies. At the ITB Future Day, the opening event of the ITB MALAYSIA: CONVENTION AND CULTURE PARTNER OF ITB BERLIN Malaysia is launching its global promotion campaign entitled ’Visit Malaysia Year 2014’ at ITB Berlin with cultural events and information on Malaysia as a nature and beach holiday attraction as well as a MICE destination. As co-host of the ITB Berlin Convention this year, Malaysia will be organising a wideranging programme of events inviting visitors to delve into its fascinating world. …THE CONVENTION ADDRESSES THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE GLOBAL TOURISM INDUSTRY AND PRESENTS SOLUTIONS AND BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES AND LATEST RESEARCH DATA… Berlin Convention, Lee McCabe, Head of Travel - Facebook, will deliver a keynote on the prospects for social media securing new customers; Nils Müller, CEO of TrendONE, will deliver a keynote on “The world in 2025 – a journey into the future”, and Sabre Travel Network’s SVP Harald Eisenächer looks at “Big Data”. At the ITB Future Days, IPK CEO Rolf Freitag will present the ITB World Travel Trends Report with the latest forecast data on global and European tourism. The Airline CEO panel will feature senior CEOs from leading European low cost airlines discussing how low-cost carriers are impacting on the tour operator industry. Best practices in the field of luxury will a topic addressed by the Hublot chairman, Jean-Claude Biver. What will be the highlights of the ITB Destination Days? Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, the world’s largest cruise association, will deliver a keynote speech and economic outlook. Loveleen Tandan, best known for her film Slumdog Millionaire, will discuss “Dark Tourism”; and the Arab world comes under the spotlight with a keynote by H.E. Bahrain’s Minister of Culture, Sheikha Mai Al Khalifa, and Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris among those looking more broadly at “destination Arabia”. Destination Brand management is also a hot topic. Delegates attending the Africa Forum will be looking at the prospects for luxury tourism there. The highly awarded travel journalist Doug Lansky will explain how innovative technology can offer solutions for managing overcrowded destinations. Gay and lesbian tourism will also again be a key topic at the convention. What about the CSR Day and the ITB Marketing and Distribution Day? A keynote session will look at the customer needs in the luxury travel market, and GfK will be presenting a detailed survey on the topic of the “customer journey”. Former CNN “iReporter” Percy von Lipinski will deliver a keynote on how to organise a successful press Professor Dr Roland Conrady trip. The ITB Media Summit will focus on new business models and niches in the media market. The Open Innovations session will examine how “open innovation” can be applied in the tourism sector. Sustainability and CSR continue to be major issues. 25.000 20.000 15.000 10.000 5.000 0 3.500 6.000 Human rights are at the core of the CSR Day and experts and decision-makers will also be discussing the Green Leaders Program of TripAdvisor. The Studiosus Scientific Director of the ITB Berlin Convention discussion round, a popular event, will again be devoting time to a topical CSR theme, and Dr. Henning Brauer, Head of Project Management, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will speak on the topic of cruise ship sustainability. Visitor Numbers ITB Berlin Convention 7.000 9.000 11.000 12.000 12.500 14.000 17.000 21.000 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 28 th February 2014
