Thursday, March 7, 2024
Final hours at the world’s top travel fair ITB Berlin: 5,500+ exhibitors from 170+ countries. Key updates for media on ITB Berlin & Convention here.
With just a short time left before the conclusion of the globe’s premier travel trade fair, international trade attendees will make their final visits to connect with more than 5,500 exhibitors hailing from 170 nations and territories. Journalists and bloggers will find comprehensive news about ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention to enrich their event reporting right here.
Albania is the Host Country of ITB 2025
At ITB Berlin the Albanian Tourism Minister Mirela Kumbaro and Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin, signed a partnership agreement for next year.
Albania has been announced as the Official Host Country of ITB Berlin 2025. On Wednesday, 6 March 2024, Albania’s Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro and Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin, signed a partnership agreement on the Albanian stand in Hall 1.1. Afterwards, the minister introduced the CEO to various regions and local specialities.
Whenever Mirela Kumbaro talks about her home country Albania, she finds it hard not to enthuse about it. “Albania is a hidden gem in the Mediterranean with a good tourism infrastructure“, she commented during the signing ceremony. “People are in search of new destinations and experiences. Albania doesn’t fit any of the usual stereotypes, but instead is a small and sort of mystical country where travellers can gain new experiences.“
According to Mirela Kumbaro, there is more to visit than just the sea and mountains, which together with the rivers and forests cover three-quarters of the country. It is the “Albanian spirit“ and the hospitality of the locals that make Albania so attractive. That has always been firmly part of Albanian culture, and not something just invented for the modern tourism age. “In Albania the house belongs to the guest and God“, said Mirela Kumbaro, quoting a common saying in her country. In Albania, visitors could expect to be treated like royalty, she added.
Furthermore, distances between tourist attractions in Albania are short. It takes only a few hours to reach the mountains from the coast. The Vjosa is part of Europe’s recently declared Wild River National Park. In the north, the Albanian Alps await with many hiking trails and pristine mountain villages, where visitors can find accommodation.
The latest statistics are proof that tourism in Albania is taking off. Last year, 10.1 million people visited Albania from abroad. According to UN Tourism (UNWTO), during the first six months of 2023 tourism in Albania experienced the third-highest growth worldwide and the highest in Europe. One million tourists have already visited Albania from abroad this year, 50 per cent more than over the same period last year.
Ensuring Oman remains an authentic destination
Oman conforms to the idea of an authentic destination – on that the discussion panel at ITB Berlin 2024 all agreed.
At the Destination Track at ITB Berlin 2024, Oman was presented as conforming to the idea of an authentic destination. The panel all agreed that the country had succeeded in developing tourism consciously and at such a slow pace, ensuring that it remained authentic and original. As a travel destination the host country of ITB showcased its authentic nature, maintaining unchanged traditions and culture.
“Authenticity also stands for a destination’s ability to give visitors a place where they can find peace and discover themselves“, said Haitham Al Ghassani, Director General of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
Dr. Hashil Obaid Al Mahrouqi, CEO of the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group), appealed for developing the “hardware“ in tourism without losing sight of “what we already have“. In his opinion, for those marketing tourism to focus on the authentic nature of his home country was the best way to offer visitors the experience of Oman’s hospitality, culture and history, while preserving those qualities at the same time.
“When we promote Oman we focus on three elements. First of all, it is a very safe and protected destination. Secondly, it is authentic. We are promoting Oman’s culture and heritage. And thirdly, we are promoting the many facets of Oman’s natural attractions“, Al Ghassani added. Focusing on sustainability, which helped protect this authenticity in all its diversity, was indispensable: “Tourism is made by the community and for the community. Only then does everyone benefit from it.“
Israel’s tourism minister promotes travel to and in Israel
Minister Katz encourages people to visit and tour Israel – The West’s travel warnings should be cancelled – 40 Israeli companies at ITB Berlin.
Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz has appealed for travellers to visit Israel again. Travellers were safe in the country, he said in front of the press on Tuesday at ITB Berlin. He would be urging the German government to drop the travel warnings for Israel issued by the German Foreign Office.
As proof of the country’s safety, the minister said that the 150,000 residents of the area bordering the Gaza Strip, which had been evacuated after the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023, had been accommodated in hotels for tourists. “That is not something we would have done if the hotels had not been safe.” In the meantime around 80 per cent of the residents had been able to return home.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland are among the leading countries for tourism to Israel. According to Ksenia Kobiakov, director of Israel’s government office for tourism, 402,000 visited in 2019. In 2022, after the pandemic, the figure was 207,500, and by 7 October 2023 it was 213,302. After that, tourism came to an abrupt halt. All in all, 13,000 tourists arrived in Israel daily before the pandemic. On 8 October 2023 they still numbered 23. In the meantime the numbers fluctuated at around 2,700 to 3,400, she said. “For the time being we are not counting on 13,000, but perhaps nine to ten thousand visitors“, was Kobiakov’s hope.
Two million visitors again to the United States
US ambassador Gutmann aiming for 2.5 million by 2028 – high priority for sustainability – Cities focus on the US lifestyle.
Travel from Germany to the United States of America has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Speaking at ITB Berlin, on Wednesday the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, stated that the two million mark has again been exceeded, and is now within 85 per cent of the 2019 figure.
Initial booking results for this year reveal that it will approach 100 per cent in 2024, Gutmann added. The aim is to achieve a total of 2.59 million tourists from Germany by 2028. In tourism to the United States itself sustainability has been assigned the utmost priority. One example that the ambassador gave was of Springville in Utah, where stargazing has been included in the list of tourism activities. Throughout the country the state of Utah is renowned for its dark skies, which remain largely “unpolluted” by lighting produced by human activities, which is further enhanced by the natural and very dry air.
A Democratic supporter and political scientist, Gutmann emphasizes that the government of the United States actively supports tourism promotion, because this provides an excellent basis for growth and development and can help to reduce the division of the world resulting from different political systems.
The presentations at ITB Berlin have clearly shown that the efforts being made by many US cities, including those far from the major conurbations on the west and east coasts, are using new and unique features in an effort to attract vacationers. As the second largest metropolis on the east coast, Philadelphia describes itself as the “World Capital of Murals”. Attempts to replace illegal graffiti by more artistic paintings, with the active support of the city authorities, has resulted in the creation of over 4,000 examples of such work. House owners with walls suitable for painting can advertise for artists. “There is a long list of such owners”, according to Dayana Gschechowiak from the marketing agency WTS which has been commissioned by the city for this purpose.
St. Louis is not only promoting its Gateway Arch, a world heritage site, but also its location on Route 66 and the authentic American lifestyle, as represented by both the National Blues and National Automobile Museums.
ITB Innovation Radar: strong tailwind for tech and sustainability
ITB Innovation Radar grows stronger in 2024, gaining prominence as the show’s spotlight for the visionaries of the industry. This year’s selection features 16 entries.
ITB Innovation Radar was introduced in 2023 as one of the many novelties for the world’s leading travel trade show on-site comeback. It is a platform for showcasing innovations capable of producing a sustainable impact on the future of the travel industry by fostering social, economic, or technical change. In the months leading up to the show, we invited the exhibitors to submit their innovative solutions for review by the ITB Innovation Radar team free of charge.
The 2024 edition of the ITB Innovation Radar Catalog features 16 items – a strong growth compared to 11 entries in 2023. The presented novelties range from B2B services for hospitality and travel professionals to initiatives promoting sustainable travel. All of the entries are submitted by ITB Berlin exhibitors, meaning you can meet the innovators in person on 5-7 March 2024.
The comeback trio
The recurrent interest in ITB Innovation Radar is the best testimonial to its impact as a valuable outreach platform. We are happy to greet the three innovators coming back this year with new exciting products and features.
GauVendi, the hotel sales system that decouples physical rooms from products offered to customers, presented Inventi-Flow, the new feature that uses AI to further improve hotel capacity allocation, taking into account further factors, such as housekeeping.
WorldLine, the multinational payment and transactional services provider, is working on AI-initiated Autonomous Payments, implementing conversational commerce with an AI personal shopper use-case. It allows the end user to engage in a conversation with an AI-based chatbot to discuss their preferences.
Sustainable travel – inspiring tourists, empowering communities
Sustainable travel concepts are the big highlight of ITB Innovation Radar 2024. The two entries on this topic address the hottest sustainability topics.
Mastercard reveals its Tico Treasures platform, connecting tourists and artisans, allowing them to sell their crafts online and ship them to any part of Costa Rica and the rest of the world, seamlessly, via the Correos Postal Service.
Smart solutions for hospitality – touching on every aspect of guest experience
This year’s big focus is the smart solutions that streamline various facets and processes of hospitality businesses.
yoummday tackles the staff shortage challenge, offering travel companies a proprietary technology platform for managing remote workforces, complemented by a diverse global talent pool of 15,000+ sales and customer care freelancers.
Hotel Socialby 80 DAYS, also focusing on staff, is a training initiative created exclusively for the hotel, travel, and hospitality industries. It offers a way to train multiple people simultaneously, and effectively address the business objectives of hoteliers and hospitality professionals worldwide.
Better services for travel providers – with AI and blockchain
Tour operators and agencies leverage cutting-edge technologies to create more cost-efficient and personalized travel proposals. These solutions bring it to the next level.
FastSearchby ISO Travel Solutions is a search technology designed to make the search and price calculation of travel offers more efficient and user-friendly. It offers travel providers new search options across large volumes of data and rapid response rates while optimizing the costs and scalability of the deployed IT.
Chain4Travel presents Camino Messenger, which uses the power of blockchain connectivity, providing a secure and transparent platform, where every company is digitally verified. Whether it’s regarding sharing availability, rates, or specific travel package details, the Camino Messenger protocol ensures that all necessary information is communicated rapidly in a clear, consistent, and reliable format.
Personalised travel experiences by means of AI
Schubert Lou, COO of Trip.com, spoke at the ITB Convention about the new priorities of Asian tourists and the opportunities that artificial intelligence offers to the travel industry.
Experiences instead of shopping: to an increasing extent when Asians travel their activities are more than just shopping expeditions. This was the conclusion drawn by Schubert Lou, COO of Trip.com, during his keynote speech on the eTravel Stage at the ITB Berlin Convention. He advised the tourism sector to adapt to the digital habits of travellers, from planning their trip to making bookings and their experiences at the destination. In this context he examined how AI-assisted technology can enable tourists from China to enjoy a personalised travel experience outside the borders of their own country, taking into account their special preferences and requirements.
Whereas the behaviour of Asian tourists was more restrained following the pandemic, it regained its momentum in 2024, the “Year of the Dragon”. This was confirmed by the figures that Schubert Lou presented. Compared with 2019, travel from China to Southeast Asia increased by 30 per cent, while reservations for tours and organised activities rose by as much as 130 per cent. The contributing factors included the easing of visa requirements, which is increasingly the case with Europe too.
Comparisons with a survey of travellers that was presented by Lou confirmed a change in the priorities of Asian visitors. Experiences are now more important than shopping, and these tend to take the form of day trips rather than organised group travel. Many people are showing an interest in regional musical and sporting events such as concerts or festivals and plan their journeys around such experiences.
Value for money is an important factor for travellers. Among the ways that this is achieved are to visit popular destinations during the off-peak season, or choosing less well-known destinations that offer a similar kind of experience. European tour operators often underestimate the extent to which most Asian travellers embrace digitalisation. This includes using apps to make payments, translation tools and applications enabling a suitable restaurant to be found. The prerequisite for this is the availability of uncomplicated wifi and sim card solutions at the vacation destination.
According to Lou, in order to attract Asian travellers to a destination it is important have an overview of the entire consumer journey, from inspiring images and videos to practical travel information and the booking process. Trip.com relies on its own trained AI technologies in order to be able to provide its users with a personalised travel experience. Not only information from the internet but above all from established travel agencies and tour operators is obtained order to ensure continuous improvements.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
