6 Reasons Why ITB Berlin Is the Lifeline of the Travel Industry
COVID-19 has dramatically affected daily life and has completely transformed the travel and tourism industry in ways that are still unknown. We’ve never been in a similar position before where travel and demands for travel are so high as we’ve never been interconnected to this degree in the past. The only way for the industry as a whole to move forward is to coordinate and navigate the changing landscape with every new wave and variant.
ITB Berlin is one of the vital meeting grounds for such coordination. It allows for agencies, big associations and the HoReCa sector to establish valuable conversations and define the new normal. The annual trade show has been instrumental for over sixty years. It even has satellite events in other countries, which continue its work. Now ITB Berlin is leading the charge to overhaul how we travel and do it as safely as possible.
To say that ITB Berlin represents the whole world of tourism is not an overstatement. The trade show is where travel professionals can research what’s new along the entire value chain: medical tourism, LGTB tourism, cruises, cultural tourism, wellness tourism, youth tourism, business tourism, luxury travel, adventure travel and responsible tourism. That’s not to say about the sheer volume of technologies and hospitality services available to explore.
ITB Berlin has stellar attendance overall. The Berlin ExpoCenter City successfully hosts 10,000 exhibitors from all over the world. Visitor numbers are astronomically higher, reaching 160,000 people and above. ITB Berlin is perhaps one of the most international events as it registers visitors from 180 countries.
You have your European market leaders like the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Then the list grows to include the MENASA region, the American and the East Asian markets like China, Japan and South Korea. In terms of professional backgrounds, the halls spill over with tour operators, hotel enterprises, traffic carriers, tourist organizations, travel agencies and advertising agencies.
Aside from the purely business aspects, ITB Berlin is even more valuable for its convention. The information program features three tracks, which are instrumental for the survival and growth of the travel industry.
The ITB Future & Resilience Track is the rebranded future track, which captures the megatrends in the economy and society. With the conversations happening around COVID-19, the big topics revolve around safe travel – digitalization, sustainability, and resilience. Top speakers are going to dig deep into the future of travel tech, international mobility, how possible going back to normal is and whether policymakers are helping tourism build resilience.
The second track is the ITB eTravel Track, which has a much more hands-on feel to it. There will be a lot of know-how and practical advice on all sorts of subjects like distribution, marketing, and travel technology. Digitalization is the overarching theme as contactless technologies and fewer face-to-face interactions with passengers are top priorities. You will be able to hear about the positive and negative results of digitalization and automation, future opportunities, personalization and augmented reality. During this track, you will also be able to watch innovator presentations as part of the Hotel Tech Startup Pitch.
The final track is the Responsible Tourism Track. Responsibility extends beyond keeping travelers safe during their flights. It’s also about taking action towards a greener industry. ITB Berlin is continuing the work of decarbonization by presenting new solutions and best practices, which aim to not only stop harmful effects over ecosystems but also achieve restoration. Science shares the stage with business. This is the track where organizations, governmental, industry leaders, change-makers and strategists deliver hands-on advice on what measures are essential.
