Increase in buyers from the USA, Middle East and Africa – huge growth in delegates at mobile and social media events at the ITB Berlin Convention and eTravel World showed that ITB is more important than ever for the industry.
BERLIN – ITB 2013 – REPORT: ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel fair, closed its doors on Sunday and official accounting is now starting before to report officially about the outcome of the 2013 edition. Definitive numbers are not available yet but a few indications showed that ITB remains –despite crisis and changes in the industry- a major event in the industry.
During the three days reserved for trade visitors at ITB Berlin there was a slight increase in buyer numbers from the USA, Middle East and Africa. That is the result of an initial analysis of the world’s leading travel trade show, which is currently taking place from 6 to 10 March 2013. The number of trade visitors and buyers from Spain, Italy and Greece was 1.7 per cent below last year’s figures. This trend also reflects the economic situation in these countries, where citizens currently plan to take less trips abroad. By contrast, there were more visitors to the show who declared they would be back. ITB Berlin reported an increase in trade visitors authorised to make purchasing decisions, a trend which the ITB Buyers’ Circle confirmed.
At the ITB Berlin Convention, mobile and social media events were in sensationally high demand and reported a 50 per cent rise in participants compared with 2012. The ITB Hospitality Day and ITB Business Travel Days also registered increased attendance. In 2013 visitor numbers on the first two days of the convention were 25 per cent higher than in 2012. Over the first three days, participation in the social media and mobile travel services workshops and lectures at the eTravel World was twice last year’s figure.
The ITB match-making event for bloggers, which took place for the first time, was also very well received. Around 100 bloggers from Germany and abroad were able to meet with exhibitors over a period of two days. A total of 250 bloggers from around the world visited ITB Berlin.
Dr. Martin Buck, Director of the Competence Center Travel & Logistics Messe Berlin, declared: “ITB Berlin has once again confirmed its role as the industry meeting place where growing emphasis is being put on content, informal searches for management positions in the hotel trade, for example, and examining the future prospects of tourism.”
The most amazing fact about ITB was certainly the incredible resilience of the travel sector even in Europe, a fact that was many times emphasized by all the industry but also politicians present on the show. ITB Berlin 2013 took place from Wednesday to Sunday, 6 to 10 March.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
