Forward-looking
events on Adventure & Responsible Tourism in Halls 4.1 to 8.
Adventure Tours celebrates its tenth anniversary at ITB Berlin with a
pow-wow for trade visitors under the slogan of ”Earth‘s Wetlands
& Geoparks – Celebrating Earth Heritage, Sustaining Local
Communities“.
Ever
since 2004 International companies representing adventure tours and
sustainable tourism have been exhibiting their products and services
in Hall 4.1 at ITB Berlin. “What was once a niche product and the
domain of a few specialists has now become one of the travel
industry’s growth markets“, said Dr. Martin Buck, Vice President
of the Competence Center Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin,
commenting on how the world’s largest travel trade show promotes
forward-looking travel industry trends. Under the slogan of
“Celebrate Big Green 10“, the weekend of 9 and 10 March 2013 will
be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Adventure Tours at ITB
Berlin. During the Open Days for the public a large stage wíll be
hosting a variety of music and folk events. Celebrities will be
giving autograph sessions and numerous events such as competitions,
games and activities on the climbing wall and high ropes course will
also be taking place. Visitors can also find out first-hand about the
latest products and services the adventure tour and sustainable
tourism market has to offer. This is also the first year that the
Study Group for Tourism and Development will be represented with a
stand in Hall 4.1.
Focus
on responsible and sustainable tourism
”Earth’s
Wetlands and Geoparks – Celebrating Earth Heritage, Sustaining
Local Communities“ will be the key theme of the eighth Pow-Wow,
which takes place from 6 to 8 March 2013. Numerous sessions featuring
high-profile speakers, panel discussions and workshops will provide
trade visitors with an opportunity to exchange views with
international travel experts, discuss the latest trends and meet
people from all over the world. The three-day event will feature
topics such as “Understanding the Environment“, ”Understanding
China“ and ”Understanding Ireland“.
Key
events in Hall 4.1 will include a project under the heading of
”Building Partnerships among Tourism Professionals to Foster
Sustainable Tourism“ and a special workshop entitled ”How to
penetrate the German-speaking market”. Organised and moderated by
WWF Germany and the Federal Nature Conservation Bureau (BfN), a
session entitled “Experiencing diversity – winning over customers
with bio-diversity “ will take place on Thursday, 7 March 2013.
Leading tour operators such as Accor Hospitality Deutschland, REWE
Touristik, ReNatour, Spreescouts, Aventerra and Europarc Deutschland
will be taking a look behind the scenes, at how to conserve
bio-diversity in tourism, at the obstacles involved, and examining
how long-term commitment eventually pays off.
In
addition to the events celebrating this tenth anniversary, further
highlights on the stage in Hall 4.1a will include the presentation
ceremonies of the international TO DO! and TOURA D’OR Awards. 17
projects from 14 countries will be competing for the TO DO! 2012
Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, 6 March 2013. With one
exception, these are all from developing and emerging countries. The
results will be eagerly awaited, with experts from the jury of
high-profile members currently inspecting two projects in the
countries in question. The panel selecting the winners of the TOURA
D’OR 2012 has nominated its film choice in the Documentary
category. The presentation will take place on Saturday, 9 March 2013.
