ITB Berlin Celebrates 40th Year

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. October 14, 2008

BERLIN, Germany, March 3, 2006. In 1965 the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper described the idea of a travel exhibition such as the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) as "extremely novel" particularly in view of the limited travel options open to West Berliners at the time. A year later nine exhibitors from five countries, Egypt, Brazil, the Federal Republic of Germany, Guinea and Iraq displayed their travel wares to 250 visitors. The exhibition was a mere 580 square metres. Four decades on and it is now touted as the "greatest tourism show on earth", attracting thousands of exhibitors and visitors from around 180 countries, over an incredible 150,000 square meters of meeting space.

With such global reach ITB is now a microcosm of the international travel industry. Among its aisles you can see which sectors are growing and which destinations are on the rise, as well as observe the business deals that will affect a decade of tourism trade. "On its 40th anniversary the event will have a further increase in the numbers of exhibitors than 2005," says senior ITB manager David Ruetz. Organisers say that for 2006 there is a strong presence from the Arab countries as they evolve in to more mature tourist destinations, Turkey and South America also have larger areas.

For the first time India will occupy an entire hall, ITB have responded by setting up the second India Forum, which is a congress discussion event. Other Asian countries previously affected by the tsunami including Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Maldives are strongly represented. Sri Lanka, who's east coast was significantly ravaged, is now back on track for the travel trade event having restored, and in some cases improved, all its 248-star hotels.

Greece as the partner country at ITB will feature prominently. It has a lot to promote as it hosts this year's Eurovision Song Contest and the one of the most important port cities in the country -- Patras has been elected the European Capital of Culture 2006. As partner country, Greece will be organising part of the event's opening ceremonies.

Looking forwards, Romania will also be promoting its town of Sibiu, which will be the European capital of culture for 2007. The local mayor will attend ITB. There will also be several presentations, leaflets, town guides, and promotional -- virtual visit -- CDs. This year an entire hall is devoted to wellness and the rapidly expanding spa industry and will be accompanied by a one-day convention called "The Wellness Forum." New features for 2006 include the "ITB Hospitality Day" and the "ITB Marketing & Sales Day," both complimenting the existing "ITB Aviation Day" and the "ITB Future & Innovation Forum."

The event's own think tank, the ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations (MTI), will be taking place for the third time and now has its own website. The concept of destinations will dominate four events at the congress. From the buzz about the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, through to shopping and space tourism. Participants will be addressing the most important issues and trends. Initial findings of the study carried out by Tourist Impulse Monitor (TIM) will provide a general overview of these topics. "The speakers and panelists will include some prominent figures from business and politics...we expect many thousands of visitors to attend this attractive programme of events," says Professor Roland Conrady, scientific director of the ITB Convention MTI.

A growing segment is travel technology. ITB has teamed up with U.S. consulting firm PhoCusWright to organise a 2-day travel technology convention at the show under the name of TRAVDEX@ITB. The program targets technology professionals including CTOs, CIOs and software architects. "Everyone knows technology has fueled the global travel revolution," remarks Philip Wolf, CEO of PhoCusWright. "Attendees will gain invaluable insight into the current environment and the next generation of change."

The international film competition Das Goldene Stadttor or the Golden City Gate will be held for the fifth time during ITB. It is a platform for cities, regions, airports, cruise lines and the tourism industry to present their videos. New additions this year include categories for hotel, event and television travel magazine. In addition, an anniversary prize, The Diamond Gate, will also be awarded for the best film of the last five years. Golden City Gate offers six months free streaming video for winners.

ITB FACT BOX:

o Over 10,000 exhibitors from more than 180 countries attend ITB Convention

o Hotels represent 26%, tourism bodies: 22.9%, tour operators: 18.8%, travel agents: 12.3%, airlines: 10%, tourism associations: 10%, technology: 5.4%

o More than 84,000 trade visitors and 58,000 members of the public are expected to attend

o There will be around 8,500 participants in the ITB Convention, which has around 60 events and 180 speakers o There will be up to 7,000 accredited international journalists

o Business worth over five billion euros ($6 billion) is concluded at ITB annually.

Useful websites:

ITB: http://www1.messe-berlin.de

ITB Congress: http://www.itb-kongress.com

TRAVDEX@ITB: http://www.phocuswright.com/events/travdexitb

Golden City Gate: http://www.das-goldene-stadttor.de