Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Day 1 at ITB Berlin unveils a new tourism era, with industry leaders showcasing future trends. A global powerhouse event in travel innovation.
Kickoff begins now! Under the banner of #ITBTOGETHER, this premier global travel marketplace, boasting participation from over 5,500 exhibitors from 170 nations, welcomed industry professionals and international buyers. Oman, this year’s honored host nation at ITB Berlin, captured the audience’s attention with an extraordinary display during the opening ceremony. For those covering the event, including journalists and bloggers, all the latest information regarding ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Congress is readily available.
News Highlights
ITB Berlin – Travel market set for growth again
As ITB Berlin opens, experts are upbeat about the industry’s future – 2023 surpassed the highs of 2019.
In 2023, the travel market not only recovered from its slump during the crisis of the Covid pandemic, it even surpassed 2019 levels. “Now we can really say the pandemic is over“, said Charuta Fadnis, vice president of the tourism market research company Phocuswright, on Monday at the opening of ITB Berlin, the World’s Largest Travel Trade Show. Norbert Fiebig, president of the German Travel Association (DRV), called for policymakers to financially support the industry’s eco-friendly transformation.
Fadnis cautioned that growth rates would level out. “Pent-up demand has been satisfied.“ What was more, a large part of the turnover was due to price rises rather than an increase in travellers. In total, 2024 and 2025 exceeded two trillion dollars. Regions were recovering at different speeds. In 2019 North America, Europe/the Middle East and Asia were more or less equal, each accounting for one-third of bookings. In 2022 North America surged ahead with 40 per cent, while Asia trailed significantly, even lagging behind Europe. Fadnis expected the percentages in 2025 to mirror those prior to the pandemic.
There remained many challenges, said Fadnis. Inflation was weaker, but global flashpoints bore new risks. To that could be added the biggest challenge: climate change. It was the industry’s responsibility to take action here. Individual travellers did not see it as their task to actively participate in every sustainability initiative.
Fiebig also described climate action and sustainability as tomorrow’s most important tasks. The biggest challenge for the tourism industry was the fact that mobility without adequate means, i.e. air travel, was unthinkable. He called upon the federal government to rethink its recent decision to stop funding research on sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).
Regarding turnover trends, the president of the DRV focused on the German travel market. Here too, bookings for 2024 had already surpassed 2019 levels. The figures for the winter holiday season, which had just ended, were 11 per cent higher than for the same period in 2019. He anticipated 13 per cent growth for this summer. Sun & beach vacations continued to top the list of German holidaymakers. Turkey had overtaken Spain as the number one destination, and Greece had also become more popular. Egypt was in fourth place.
Fiebig concluded by appealing to holidaymakers and stakeholders at ITB Berlin: “Let us travel in order to make the world a better place.“
Tourism as a bridge to peace
ITB Berlin’s 360-degree approach includes mastering the challenges of digitalisation, sustainability and global crises
ITB Berlin opened in Berlin on Monday with fascinating answers to global challenges. At the opening press conference Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH, was optimistic that in the wake of the pandemic and following the release of the latest figures, the industry was on course for stable growth. H.E. Azzan bin Qassim al Busaidi, Undersecretary of Tourism of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman, this year’s host country, said tourism was “a bridge to peace“ for the world.
Dr. Tobias said ITB Berlin, the World’s Largest Travel Trade Show, maintained a “360-degree approach“. That also included the other ITB brand family members in Shanghai, Singapore and India, which showcased both new trends and the use of AI while also maintaining the tradition of face-to-face meetings for example, which had become almost impossible during the Covid pandemic.
Thus major countries including China were back at ITB Berlin. Among the newcomers was Air India. Dr. Tobias remarked that for the first time the German-speaking countries Austria, Switzerland and Germany were represented under one roof in hub27. Other countries, such as Greece and Turkey as well as the Arab states were represented with larger stands, reflecting the growth of their tourism industries. The Travel Technology segment had significantly expanded too, he added.
H.E. Azzan bin Qassim al Busaidi emphasised the success of his country in building a tourism infrastructure and praised the cultural heritage and natural attractions of the Sultanate. In 2023 Oman registered four million visitors, a 22 per cent increase over 2022. 231,000 came from Germany, an increase of 182 per cent. Great care was being taken to ensure sustainability and diversity accompanied the expansion of the tourism infrastructure, he said. Asked about overtourism, the undersecretary replied: “We are not overdoing it“.
ITB Berlin opens with a positive outlook
At ITB Berlin the host country set new standards with its multimedia presentation – Politicians urged action – Emphasis on the bridge-building aspect of tourism
ITB Berlin opened with a highly positive outlook for the future. At the official opening ceremony on Monday evening in Berlin, all the speakers presented optimistic figures for the period immediately after the Covid pandemic. Framed by a spectacular multimedia show, they also appealed for tourism to exploit its bridge-building potential in a world that was becoming increasingly unstable.
“We are back“, said Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH, in front of 2,500 international representatives of politics and business. Hosting over 5,500 exhibitors from 170 countries, ITB Berlin stood for face-to-face dialogue between tourism stakeholders, which was indispensable despite all the progress made by digitalisation and AI.
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, added that in 2023 global tourist numbers had reached 1.3 billion, 34 per cent more than in 2022, and equal to 88 per cent of the volume in 2019. According to the tourism market research company Phocuswright, at close to two trillion dollars, turnover last year had returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor quoted the slogan of the 2006 World Cup – ’A time to make friends’ – noting that it applied to ITB Berlin. “We believe in tourism and ITB“, he said. Julia Simpson, CEO and president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), remarked that without a significant increase in the use of sustainable fuels, tourism could not achieve its net zero goals.
Dieter Janecek, the Federal Government’s Coordinator for Tourism, said it was encouraging to see that net zero had gained top priority in many countries. “Tourism can be part of the solution“ for confronting climate change, he said.
H.E. Salim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism of Oman, the host country of ITB Berlin, noted the many thousands of years in history that Omani explorers and traders had undertaken travelling to unknown regions. He urged a greater effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and the suffering of millions of civilians in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas. The qualities of the Middle East, including tourism there, could only come to the fore once the violence had ended.
The event was framed by a show featuring impressive images of Oman’s landscapes and cultural attractions, to the musical accompaniment of the Sultanate’s Royal Symphony Orchestra, which had flown in for the occasion.
AI is fundamentally changing the travel industry
According to Charuta Fadnis of Phocuswright on Tuesday at ITB Berlin, the use of AI by agents and personalised travel apps is an important future trend.
The tourism industry has made an excellent recovery from the Covid pandemic, but is undergoing fundamental change. At the ITB Berlin Convention Charuta Fadnis, senior vice president of Phocuswright, talked about the growing importance of generative AI, while also looking beyond this trend into the future. According to Fadnis, generative AI affected providers and customers alike. Around 80 per cent of people of all ages were aware of the existence and importance of this technology. There were significant differences between countries and age groups regarding people’s personal use however, she said. In the US, around 50 per cent felt of respondents felt comfortable with Large Language Models, as against 35 per cent in Germany and 30 per cent in France.
Companies who include AI in the online presentation of their services have been able to significantly increase their turnover. Charuta Fadnis mentioned Tripadvisor, who in the first three months after introducing an interactive service achieved an average threefold turnover per customer compared with normal Tripadvisor customers.
Charuta Fadnis also cast here eye into the future, where she envisaged virtual agents taking over bookings for travellers. A comprehensive One Travel app was conceivable too – Google Maps was a promising candidate there. This service was being constantly updated and improved. Google’s advantage was that it had comprehensive data on users’ preferences. “We cannot ignore AI, as its effect will be transformative. Perhaps some people overestimate its short-term impact, but there are probably many who underestimate its long-term effect“, the market researcher said.
AI had the potential to not only make travellers’ lives easier, but in some cases more difficult too – if for instance it was used to generate a large volume of fake reviews and tempt consumers into making bookings they would later regret. One way of avoiding this was to combine generative AI and blockchain technology, ensuring reliable identification of users and making misuse much more difficult.
At the ITB Berlin Convention Charuta Fadnis also presented the latest survey findings on tourism and sustainability. Customers needed to make a greater effort here, she said. While 50 per cent of respondents said environmental standards and climate protection criteria determined their transport and accommodation choices, only 10 per cent actually followed up in practice.
Many travellers expected tour operators, governments and destinations to take responsibility for a sustainable travel experience. According to Charuta Fadnis it was important to get consumers on board too. This could be achieved by clearly defining and communicating standards – and giving “palatable“ and realistic recommendations to travellers .
Travel behaviour in the age of AI and VR
In his keynote speech on the Green Stage at ITB Berlin, Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future, talked about AI’s potential for shaping a more inclusive travel industry.
In his keynote speech on the Green Stage at ITB Berlin, Rohit Talwar, tourism and civil aviation futurist and CEO of Fast Future, talked about AI’s potential for shaping a more inclusive travel industry. At the same time he called upon actors to give more people a chance to experience travel. Technologies such as AI and VR could not only help to make destination choices. They also had the potential to shape a more inclusive travel industry.
Rohit Talwar was convinced of a widespread pent-up demand for travel after the pandemic. Many people were willing to spend more money and above all explore new destinations and places to stay, on their own continent and elsewhere. Less than 50 per cent of travellers wanted to visit places they knew.
86 per cent of tour companies say AI and ML significantly influences their business model, while in the last ten years alone 211 startups have been established focusing on AI-based data analysis. However, not many travellers make use of ChatGPT and similar technologies for choosing a destination, with 38 per cent actually refusing to use them for planning a trip. 35 per cent do so to compare prices.
For 92 per cent of tourists, their choice of destination comes down to a personal wish list as the main source of inspiration, followed by friends’ or relatives’ travel tips Only 12 per cent let marketing activities influence their choice. In the main, people book directly with providers where they can easily look up all the options. Convenient booking and payment methods are important for most tourists.
Aspects such as the environment and sustainability influence 54 per cent of travel choices. Diversity and inclusion are another matter. Those not belonging to a group generally experiencing disadvantages rarely consider whether tourism companies take these aspects into account. For 72 per cent of travellers however, an armed conflict in the region influences their choice of destination and travel provider.
Rohit Talwar invites the industry to engage in transformative thinking. “Learning is the answer to every question“ is his mantra. Women should be given greater support. He recommends taking new experiences on board and giving those people a chance to travel who for financial or other reasons cannot do so. That way, VR goggles can enable a virtual travel experience.
ITB Berlin is heralding a new chapter in the tourism sector, showcasing an assembly of travel influencers, bloggers, and representatives from the hotel, airline, cruise, and travel technology industries, alongside MICE planners, key decision-makers, and B2B travel industry leaders. The event was a powerhouse gathering of global tourism sector, indicating the sector’s momentum to exceed its pre-pandemic levels.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
