Hello!
At approximately one month after the ending of the biggest tourism fair in the world, I will try a cold analysis of the events that happened there on the first day. Enjoy the read!
At approximately one month after the ending of the biggest tourism fair in the world, I will try a cold analysis of the events that happened there on the first day. Enjoy the read!
ITB Berlin was launched in 1966 as a minor event. It took place on a surface of 580 m2, there were 9 exhibitors from 5 countries ( Egypt, Brazil, West Germany, Guinea and Irak) and had 250 visitors. 50 years later, in 2016, over 180 countries were present at the fair with over 10.000 exhibitors on a surface of 160.000 m2. What happened in the meantime, that is worth mentioning? In 1973 all European countries (with the exception of Albania) took part in the fair; 1978 the Tourism Experts Forum presents for the first time the industry's global trends; in 1982 the MICE industry was introduced at the ITB; 1988 the new GDS platforms of Sabre, Amadeus and Galileo were presented to the world; 1995 a day for the specialist visitors is planned; in 2000 the central topic is E-commerce; in 2004 the ITB Berlin Convention is launched, being the largest event of this type; since 2006 the Wednesday-Friday program for specialists is introduced, while the weekend is reserved for the general public; culminating in 2016 with the main topic of Travel 4.0.
How was my journey on the first day of the fair?
I arrived at the trade center late in the morning at about 9:30 using the S-bahn alongside a river o people dressed to impress. After scanning my ticket, I received a participant batch and then I turned right. Among the first stands that I've visited, was also the Austrian one. A few years ago I spent 6 months in the famous Carinthia, so I headed directly there. Mr. Werner presented the area in a very professional way, including the "return to childhood" theme that they are promoting for this summer. After that I told him my story about my adventure in the south-west of Austria and the conversation got more personal. I found out that his father was actually born in Banat, in Romania, but immediately after the war he took refuge in Carinthia. And so, his son is representing Austria now. A few stands further I met Ms. Tuti, the representative of the Italian part of the Alpe-Adria region. She presented me a wonderful 5-day-bike-tour through the Austrian and Italian Alps. Item added to my bucket list!
The next stop was at my German university's stand. which came to the fair to present its educational offer. After a short talk with one of the coolest teachers that they have, I managed to park my bag and my coat there. Freed from stress and baggage I sprung into the unknown. My next station was the Romanian team. Huge, occupying half of the room, certainly attracted a lot of attention. At the mini-stands incoming agencies, hotels, flights companies were present, proudly presenting their packages. A man dressed in the national costume was painting Easter eggs, while people gather around him. A very interesting conversation I had with Mr. Tiberiu Tioc, which organizes specialized tours in the Danube Delta for international tourists, including Germans.
After a long walk through the stands I stopped by a Dutch incoming agency. With Mr. Ruben I talked about the attractions of the Netherlands, about my visit from last year at Keukenhof, but also about the touristic novelties for this year: Amsterdam, the Hague and even Groningen. The next room was dedicated to Nord Rhein-Westphalia. Here, the big cities such as Cologne, Düsseldonf, Aachen and Münster, were presenting their attractions alongside the national and natural parks. In this room I met my former work colleagues from last summer from the Eifel National Park. We exchanged a few impressions and then we went on our ways. In the rooms where the German lands were present you could eat authentic food including sausages, sauerkraut, more sausages and many types of bread. Bavaria took the new trends seriously and brought along a few sets of VR (Virtual Reality) glasses to show what do they have best.
My journey followed the Asian paths. A huge room dedicated only to the Turkish agencies bustled with exhibitors, partners and artists. The stands were competing between themselves regarding their grandeur and the exhibitors lured you to discussions. When you go to the Turks, you really feel like a guest, for the fair price, of course. In the next room I discovered the Far East. Here Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia were headliners. A cool discussion about the Kampot Pepper I had with Mr. Lidgey, which owns a specialized incoming agency. A gastronomical journey sounds wonderful.
After 10 km on foot I got a bit tired, therefore I took a break into the conference hall, where I had the chance to listen to two extremely interesting talks. One of them, which is important for the future of the travel industry as we know it today was held by Dr. Oliver Heckmann, the Vice-president Travel and Shopping at Google. After they created Google Flight Search and Google Hotel Search, the company launched during the fair Google Destinations. The App works as an offer aggregator, offers coming from hotels, flight companies or partner OTAs. It allows you to compare the prices according to a calendar, with immediate access to reviews, photos, videos, weather forecast, blog articles, etc. There is of course a filter tool to select different themes and tourist needs. This app can become a serious competitor for the others stakeholders in the industry, although Google says that we wants to keep its advertising business model and not to become an Online Travel Agency. The app is available in four main languages (English, German, French, Spanish), but it will be extended to others for sure. If it will catch the public eye, the future will tell. You can watch the presentation below.
I arrived at the trade center late in the morning at about 9:30 using the S-bahn alongside a river o people dressed to impress. After scanning my ticket, I received a participant batch and then I turned right. Among the first stands that I've visited, was also the Austrian one. A few years ago I spent 6 months in the famous Carinthia, so I headed directly there. Mr. Werner presented the area in a very professional way, including the "return to childhood" theme that they are promoting for this summer. After that I told him my story about my adventure in the south-west of Austria and the conversation got more personal. I found out that his father was actually born in Banat, in Romania, but immediately after the war he took refuge in Carinthia. And so, his son is representing Austria now. A few stands further I met Ms. Tuti, the representative of the Italian part of the Alpe-Adria region. She presented me a wonderful 5-day-bike-tour through the Austrian and Italian Alps. Item added to my bucket list!
The next stop was at my German university's stand. which came to the fair to present its educational offer. After a short talk with one of the coolest teachers that they have, I managed to park my bag and my coat there. Freed from stress and baggage I sprung into the unknown. My next station was the Romanian team. Huge, occupying half of the room, certainly attracted a lot of attention. At the mini-stands incoming agencies, hotels, flights companies were present, proudly presenting their packages. A man dressed in the national costume was painting Easter eggs, while people gather around him. A very interesting conversation I had with Mr. Tiberiu Tioc, which organizes specialized tours in the Danube Delta for international tourists, including Germans.
After a long walk through the stands I stopped by a Dutch incoming agency. With Mr. Ruben I talked about the attractions of the Netherlands, about my visit from last year at Keukenhof, but also about the touristic novelties for this year: Amsterdam, the Hague and even Groningen. The next room was dedicated to Nord Rhein-Westphalia. Here, the big cities such as Cologne, Düsseldonf, Aachen and Münster, were presenting their attractions alongside the national and natural parks. In this room I met my former work colleagues from last summer from the Eifel National Park. We exchanged a few impressions and then we went on our ways. In the rooms where the German lands were present you could eat authentic food including sausages, sauerkraut, more sausages and many types of bread. Bavaria took the new trends seriously and brought along a few sets of VR (Virtual Reality) glasses to show what do they have best.
My journey followed the Asian paths. A huge room dedicated only to the Turkish agencies bustled with exhibitors, partners and artists. The stands were competing between themselves regarding their grandeur and the exhibitors lured you to discussions. When you go to the Turks, you really feel like a guest, for the fair price, of course. In the next room I discovered the Far East. Here Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia were headliners. A cool discussion about the Kampot Pepper I had with Mr. Lidgey, which owns a specialized incoming agency. A gastronomical journey sounds wonderful.
After 10 km on foot I got a bit tired, therefore I took a break into the conference hall, where I had the chance to listen to two extremely interesting talks. One of them, which is important for the future of the travel industry as we know it today was held by Dr. Oliver Heckmann, the Vice-president Travel and Shopping at Google. After they created Google Flight Search and Google Hotel Search, the company launched during the fair Google Destinations. The App works as an offer aggregator, offers coming from hotels, flight companies or partner OTAs. It allows you to compare the prices according to a calendar, with immediate access to reviews, photos, videos, weather forecast, blog articles, etc. There is of course a filter tool to select different themes and tourist needs. This app can become a serious competitor for the others stakeholders in the industry, although Google says that we wants to keep its advertising business model and not to become an Online Travel Agency. The app is available in four main languages (English, German, French, Spanish), but it will be extended to others for sure. If it will catch the public eye, the future will tell. You can watch the presentation below.
I've spent the last hours in the IT area of the fair, where small, medium and large enterprises compete in offering the best software for the hotels and agencies regarding the B2B side and directly to the end consumer on the B2C side. A polish company, Profitroom caught my attention. They create integrated informational systems for the accommodation management offering solutions for 5 main areas of interest: book engine, channel manager, website design, marketing and analysis.
At the end of the day, after 16 km in 10 hours and many talks with professionals, I left the building accompanies by the same river of people dressed to impress. It was a successful visit for me and next year I will be there for the first three days.
Which was the last tourism fair that you visited and which destinations have you discovered?
R.C.
At the end of the day, after 16 km in 10 hours and many talks with professionals, I left the building accompanies by the same river of people dressed to impress. It was a successful visit for me and next year I will be there for the first three days.
Which was the last tourism fair that you visited and which destinations have you discovered?
R.C.
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