ITB Berlin News Review
TUESDAY 17 th MARCH 2015 REVIEW EDITION NEWS TRADE TALK Dr. Martin Buck Vice President CompetenceCenter Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin GmbH “With the World Legacy Awards, we are supporting a program that honours travel industry leadership in socially and ecologically responsible tourism.” Read page 9 Michael C. Sturman Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Academic Director, Center for Hospitality Research at the Statler Hall School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University “The key trend in hospitality education is towards increased sophistication.” Read page 10 Thinley Wangdi Marketing Officer for the Tourism Council of Bhutan “We have had a really good reaction from tour operators and travel agents. The European market is very strong for Bhutan and this trend continues to grow.” Read page 11 Dominique Colliot Product Manager, Les Maisons du Voyage “We need to be able to offer sophisticated content, with other fundamentals such as shopping and the opportunity to take good photos, because the trip abroad also serves as a social marker.” Read page 20 Reaching Out to the World Major hike in international trade visitors at ITB Berlin 2015 As the stands are being dismantled and the exhibitors, tour operators and travel agents debrief and take stock of their activities at ITB Berlin 2015, the organisers, Messe Berlin, are already underlining the key trends in terms of visitors. While overall numbers of trade visitors rose by a little under one percent, from 114,000 to 115,000, the big change was with regard to their origins, as the share of trade visitors from abroad rose sharply, from around 45,600 in 2014 (40%) to around 49,450 (43%) in 2015. That’s a rise of 3,850 – over 8%. This major change in visitor origins reinforces the trend already seen in the “Buyers’ Circle” – the hallowed place where only “super buyers” can tread, and where already more than 50% are from abroad. This internationalisation of ITB Berlin further underlines the show’s vocation as the number one trade event by far… and augurs well for an even more surprising, fascinating and truly international event in 2016. We look forward to seeing you there! Read our exclusive interview with Dr Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin, page 21 Travel Trends at ITB Berlin This year’s show, as every year, key market trends were underlined, debated and clarified, enabling trade professionals from around the globe to hone their planning and do better business. Mobile and internet-based technologies are changing the face of the travel world, and the battle between destination management organisations for market share has been hotter than ever. Read our recap of trends at this year’s show – page 6. ITB Berlin 2015 - Opening Ceremony © Messe Berlin
