“Never before in its
“Never before in its 50 years has ITB Berlin welcomed so many trade visitors to the exhibition halls.” Read page 6 “Yaana will empower its entrepreneurs with the freedom innovate, while providing background leadership and resources for them to thrive.” Read page 16 “Mobile trip planning is on the rise. In 2013, 38% of respondents on average used their mobile device for this purpose, while in 2014, this had risen to 49%.” Read page 19 “There are entire regions of Argentina which would not exist, they would have literally nothing at all, if it weren’t for their tourism industry.” Read page 21 Environment, Wildlife and Tourism Minister, Botswana NEWS 3 50 Years – What a Celebration! ITB Berlin reaches half century in style – with 7-billion euros in business signed on show floor SPECIAL FEATURE ROBOTS IN HOSPITALITY If one particular trend stood out at ITB Berlin 2016, it was no doubt the arrival of robots in the hospitality sector. At this year’s show, we were treated to closeup looks at robots from several different manufacturers, and with different use-cases. In the future, we may see robot maids that can make-up rooms in record time, robot security guards that never tire… but for now, they are already proving their usefulness in the service sector. From page 22. MONDAY 21 th MARCH 2016 REVIEW EDITION NEWS TRADE TALK ITB BERLIN CONVENTION EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Dr Christian Göke Willem Niemeijer Florence Kaci Gustavo Santos Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Yaana Ventures Director, Sales, EMEA and European Minister of Tourism, Messe Berlin Market Specialist, Phocuswright Argentine Republic The 50 th edition of ITB Berlin was more than ever a reliable indicator of the state of the industry, an indispensable networking platform and invaluable for providing an impetus for one of the world’s most important industries. As usual, the mood of the industry was retuned thanks to the world’s most “international” travel and tourism event, boasting 10,000 exhibitors, and 120,000 trade visitors. Business conducted during the trade show rose from last year’s figure of 6.7 billion euros to around seven billion this year. ITB Berlin has again provided evidence that this trade show, a global market place and a platform for personal encounters, provides a “firm foundation for the industry during turbulent times”, and in the digital age too it has lost none of its importance for the travel industry all over the world. Indeed, ITB is a harbinger of trends, and it looks like the next one will be travel to the African continent, as Botswana will take the place of honour as official Partner Country in 2017 (see our special spotlight - page 20). Tshekedi Khama II Mario, the world’s first humanoid hotel robot Richard Barnes Editor-in-Chief, ITB Berlin News EDITORIAL ITB Berlin 2016: A Very Good Year in Terms of Business REVIEW EDITION Monday 21 th March 2016 CONTENTS News.............................................. page 6 Trade Talk.....................................page 16 ITB Berlin Convention................. page 19 Exclusive Interviews....................page 20 SPECIAL FEATURES Technology.................................. page 22 Transport..................................... page 24 REGIONS Asia ............................................. page 26 Middle East ................................. page 27 Europe ......................................... page 27 Americas ..................................... page 28 WHERE TO GO IN BERLIN..... page 32 With organisers of ITB Berlin 2016 gathering information that suggests 7-billion euros worth of business was decided on the show floor this year, it goes to show that the event is more than ever a powerful business place. Indeed, according to Messe Berlin CEO Dr Christian Göke, the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show for the international travel industry attracted the largest number of trade visitors since it was launched in 1966. On the purchasing side there was also a further increase in the number of decisionmakers: two thirds of the trade visitors stated that they held direct authority for all purchasing decisions. Business conducted during the trade show rose from last year’s figure of 6.7 billion euros to around seven billion this year. Due to the evident willingness of many travellers to live unique high end experiences, the subject of luxury travel also attracted a great deal of interest, as the luxury sector is growing twice as fast as the rest of the industry. In the past five years, luxury travel has grown globally by 48%. Dr. Martin Buck, Messe Berlin’s Director of Travel & Logistics, explained this trend, saying, “Many travellers define luxury differently today to previously. Instead of magnificent hotel furnishings or so-called ‘bling-bling’, an experience that is priceless in its own way can be enormously valuable. Luxury today means unique experiences combined with the highest levels of comfort and individual services. An increasing number of people are ready to spend a lot of money for quality. The international travel industry has responded to this trend and is profiting from the growing number of travellers who want to enjoy luxury again after financially turbulent years. The real luxury, as the results of our Luxury Lab at this year’s ITB Berlin showed, is having time.” In another sense, the “ultra high end” drives trends in service, architecture, and corporate, social and environmental responsibility. This will be a key trend to watch at next year’s show! ITB BERLIN NEWS is a CLEVERDIS Publication. 65 av. Jules Cantini - Tour Méditerranée, 13006 Marseille, France • Tel: + 33 442 77 46 00 • Fax: + 33 442 77 46 01 • SARL capitalised at e155,750 • VAT FR 95413604471 • RCS Marseille 413 604 471 • info@cleverdis.com • www.cleverdis.com. • 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: Gabriele Dyburyte • Editorial team: Stuart Braun, Luc Citrinot, Neil Cole, Bob Snyder • Marketing Manager: Monia Tazamoucht • Art Director: Hélène Beunat • Design & Page Setting: Guillaume Kaercher, Guillaume Vinrich • With the participation of: Marie-Elia Cheravola, Lucie Lavina, Mélanie Lopez, Lixiang Wei >To contact them : first name.last name@itb-berlin-news.com • Cover: © Cleverdis Registration of Copyright March 2016 Information presented in this publication is purely indicative in order to illustrate subjects contained therein. 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The publishers and editorial staff decline all responsibility as to opinions formulated in this publication by those interviewed or cited therein. 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. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Monday 21 st March 2016
