Looking Back at
Looking Back at ITB 6 NEWS © Messe Berlin GmbH © Messe Berlin GmbH Partner Country Mongolia South entrance Halls fully booked, an increase in trade visitors an With 175,000 visitors during the five-day show, the convention attracting more visitors, an increase in trade visitors from abroad and trade visitors remaining longer at the show, it’s no surprise that exhibitors at ITB Berlin this year reported higher turnover. The 2015 holiday season begins the economic prospects for the global travel industry could not be better for the months to come, despite international crises and the risk of political conflict around the world. Looking back at this year’s edition of ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade show, the conclusion is that the travel industry has high expectations as the …AN OCCASION TO FOSTER BUSINESSES CONNECTIONS BUT MORE AND MORE TO LEARN ABOUT THE CHANGES SHAPING OUR SECTOR AND EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES ON HOW TO ADAPT TO SUCH CHANGES… 2015 travel season beckons. With falling energy prices, reduced interest rates, low inflation and positive economic forecasts for the Eurozone and North America, consumers are keen to travel. Wage increases in Germany and a consistently stable employment market coupled with the falling cost of living have significantly increased spending. More than ever, this is why people are willing to spend their money on holidays. The luxury travel segment in particular stands to benefit. TRENDS: TRAVEL IS “MOBILE” IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE! Trends at ITB Berlin 2015 included the massive rise in the use of mobile devices to book trips, a phenomenon that has now become the norm. Improved software means that travel websites are becoming more attractive and easier to use. Hotels are also witnessing the impact of digital trends. Smartphone functions are increasingly taking over from room keys. Travel apps are developing rapidly and becoming evermore widespread with the use of latest-generation smartphones. At the eTravel World numerous experts debated the latest developments in digital marketing, social media and mobile travel services. The 40 per cent increase in visitors at the papers and discussions held on the eTravel Stage and at the eTravel Lab showed how important these topics have become for the travel industry. Despite the internet having brought about lasting change to the travel world with new travel apps and meta search engines, tourists continue to entrust the task of booking the time of the year they enjoy most with their local travel agency. With their ability to offer personal assistance travel agencies are quite capable of positioning themselves as important sales channels in the face of online travel portals and social media and their relentless rise. TRENDS IN DESTINATIONS According to Messe Berlin, all the main travel destinations will benefit from the prevailing positive mood: big European cities, Mediterranean countries and faraway destinations. A fact particularly worth noting is that Germany as a travel destination continues to break all records. The tourism market in Germany has grown for the fifth year in succession in every single federal State, and this positive trend is set to continue in 2015. For North Americans, the cost of travelling to Germany has fallen to unprecedented low levels due to the strength of the dollar. Other popular destinations include Egypt and Greece. Whereas Egypt’s economic revival has been slow, Greece reported double-digit growth for the third year running and despite the controversy surrounding its national debt continues on the path to recovery. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL 23,000 visitors (2014: 22,000) attended the ITB Berlin Convention, another new record. Decisionmakers and opinionformers debated the key topics concerning the travel industry at a total of 200 events, which took place in eight auditoriums. This year, the focus was on the sharing economy, which was the subject of numerous panel discussions and exclusive surveys. PARTNER COUNTRY MONGOLIA PLEASED WITH RESULTS Oyunkhorol Dulamsuren, Minister of the Environment, Green Development and Tourism of Mongolia, was smiling at the end of the show: “I would like to congratulate and thank you for a great ITB Berlin. I am very happy that ITB Berlin 2015 is wrapping up with full success. As the official partner country of ITB Berlin this year, we succeeded in showcasing Mongolia’s unique tourism products, destinations and nomadic lifestyle to the world. Also we showed you that Mongolia is an enigmatic, dynamic country with many natural and cultural resources. I am very positive that the results of ITB Berlin will bring Mongolian tourism a new boost. Mongolia will greet you with open arms when you come to explore its culture and nomadic way of living. As Mongolians say: ’Seeing once is worth more than hearing about it a thousand times’. Welcome ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015 www.itb-berlin-news.com
NEWS 7 © Messe Berlin GmbH COMMENTS BY EXHIBITORS AT ITB BERLIN 2015 Uwe Müller, Head of Sales, Deutschland & Verbundmärkte Deutsche Lufthansa AG: “For Lufthansa, this year’s ITB Berlin was an all-round success. We had more talks and meetings with our business partners on our stand than in any other year.” Berlin 2015 d business – show sets new records to Mongolia to see and discover your roots as global nomads.” Taleb Rifai, Secretary- General of UNWTO, stated that ITB Berlin is an “increasingly important meeting point for the tourism sector.” He added that it is “an occasion to foster businesses connections but more and more to learn about the changes shaping our sector and exchange knowledge and experiences on how to adapt to such changes. We, at UNWTO, are very happy to have ITB Berlin as a strong partner and trust our cooperation will go from strength to strength.” INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES ECHO PRAISE FOR ITB BERLIN Dr. Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) echoed that once again, ITB Berlin was an allround success, filling all attendees with optimism for the coming months: “For German citizens, travel is and remains a favourite pastime and, if the surveys are to be believed, many will have already packed their bags and be waiting to go. We are therefore confident that the 2014 record of 1.6 billion days of private holidays undertaken by Germans will be surpassed this year. We are also certain that Germany will be even more popular as a travel destination, as it is extremely diverse, offers good value for money and great hospitality. As regards the aviation tax, minimum wage, the toll charge for foreign vehicles and other burdens, we appeal once again to political decisionmakers: do not hamper the positive developments and destroy the positive image that Germany enjoys as a travel destination by imposing massive financial burdens and bureaucracy. Create conditions that do not leave a sour taste with holidaymakers and that make it possible for our industry to remain a strong economic factor and a driving force for employment.” Meanwhile, Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association (DRV), said, “The tourism industry got off to a good start in 2015. Accordingly, this year’s ITB Berlin went very well and once again proved itself to be an indispensable THIS YEAR’S ITB BERLIN WENT VERY WELL AND ONCE AGAIN PROVED ITSELF TO BE AN INDISPENSABLE PLATFORM FOR TOURISM PROFESSIONALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD platform for tourism professionals from around the world. From the tourism industry’s point of view ITB 2015 went according to plan. Everything was perfect: the exhibitors present at the show, the quality of trade visitors, and the exceptionally high attendance by exhibitors and visitors from abroad. The stage is set for the travel industry to do good business in 2015 and for it to expand even further. The high number of early bookings taken by travel agencies in recent weeks for this year’s summer holidays are proof that Germans remain keen to travel. Sales are five ITB Berlin Convention 2015, April Rinne Keynote per cent higher than they were this time last year. Destinations will benefit that are traditionally favourites with German citizens, including Greece, the Balearics and Egypt, which has risen in popularity again.” HIGH LEVEL OF MEDIA ATTENTION AND POLITICAL INTEREST Around 5,180 accredited journalists from 75 countries and some 350 bloggers from 29 countries reported on events at ITB Berlin. Politicians and diplomats from Germany and abroad were present at the show. In addition to 127 foreign delegations three royal highnesses and 95 ambassadors travelled to the event. 47 ministers from foreign countries, 11 deputy ministers from abroad and a number of foreign state secretaries were also present. Federal Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier, Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Heiko Maas, and Governing Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller came to find out what the travel industry had to offer. Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates: “Over the last two decades ITB Berlin has been a must for Emirates. ITB Berlin 2015 was an allround success as well and we are very satisfied with the results.“ Otto Aufleger, Marketing Head, Regensburg Tourismus GmbH: “We were very much in demand with tour operators on the days open to trade visitors. We were practically overrun. That is a completely new quality to ITB Berlin.” Axel Biermann, Managing Director, Ruhr Tourismus GmbH: “For us, ITB Berlin was an all-round success. Numerous new operators have now included us in their programmes.” Gordana Plamenac, CEO National Tourism Organisation of Serbia (NTOS): “Once again, ITB Berlin 2015 gave Serbia the opportunity to make progress, to spread the word about new products, to build on the success of new communication channels and to promote our products.” Andreas M. Gross, Chairman of the South America Working Group: ”An outstanding show, for us as exhibitors, but also as organisers of the South America Forum at the ITB Convention. Many of our members said the response was good, as were the contacts and business.” Klaus Ennen, Marketing Head of Amadeus Deutschland: ”The feedback from all of our four companies was good. Our stand was always packed. The number of appointments and spontaneous visits were about the same.’ ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015
