There are only a few days to go for ITB Berlin, the World’s Most Premier Travel Trade Show with an updated fair concept. The ITB along with the rest of the world is watching the Ukrainian conflict unfold with trepidation and concern. They support the international understanding, peace, treating one another with respect, and condemning war and violence. Since their launch in 1966, their mission has been to promote peace and international understanding, one where dialogue and constructive exchange of views are the sole guiding principle from an international platform to negotiate travel with these aforementioned ideals. At the individual session of the Conference and the Minsters Round Table, these topics will be addressed. These issues will be debated by experts and guests regarding what the policymakers can do about this situation.
This convention will be held from from 8 to 10 March 2022 in a virtual format. The Convention will be followed by the Digital Business Day, on 17th March. It is an extremely user-friendly networking platform where buyers and providers can exchange views and conduct successful business deals. A series of B2B networking events which ITB Berlin is planning at European host destinations this year will round off the programme.
Message, and Ideals
’Open for Digital, Responsible & Resilient Solutions’ is the ideal and key theme of the ITB Berlin. Tuesday at 9 a.m. the official opening press conference will inaugurate the event. The convention programme will be live-streamed daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 3 days and the admittance to the event will be free. The virtual convention stream will also be available which companies can use to showcase their products during 30-minute slots at virtual press conferences and company presentations.
1st Day– Panel Discussions in German only
The focus of the event will be on the outlook for tourism and on economic policy in Germany. The panel discussion will be held in German language only.
Claudia Müller, the government’s coordinator for maritime business and tourism, Dr. Markus Heller, managing director of Dr. Fried & Partner, Stefan Baumert, CEO of TUI Deutschland, Daniela Schade, chief commercial and distribution officer of Deutsche Hospitality, and Elisabeth Köstinger, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism of the Republic of Austria are the notable personalities will be taking part in the panel discussion.
Lea Jordan will be taking Jane Sun’s interview. She is CEO of Trip.com Group, regarding global Trends in Travel & Technology: Learnings from Asia – Insights from one of the biggest travel technology brands worldwide’. deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Culture Liu Bin and the Tourism Bureau WTCF conduct a seminar regarding tourism in cities and the impact of Covid-19 on their hospitality industry, as well as Beijing’s crisis management strategy.
Various events like ‘HR Trends in 2022: Future of Human Resource Management in Tourism’, ‘Tours and Activities Sustainable Return’. The online sessions will also feature a survey by the market research institute Arival presenting the outlook for the industry as well as trends and forecasts.
2nd Day– eTrack and Digitization in tourism industry
The focus of the eTravel track will be on digitalisation in the tourism industry. Dirk Rogl, the session moderator and founder of Travel Commerce, Andreas Wulfes, managing director of Neusta Data Intelligence, Hayley Berg, head of Price Intelligence Hopper, and Mathias Gerber, regional director of Central Europe Sojern will host a session titled, ‘The Power of BI: New Data Trends and Data Skills for the Travel Industry’. Sebastian Beck,the international sales manager at ISO Travel Solutions GmbH, will explain how companies can improve their marketing by employing personalised videos and creating an emotive experience for customers.
Henrik Steen, director of Software Engineering Cloudbeds, Michael Heinze, managing director of the Shiji Group, Iris Steinmetz, senior director of Operations EMEA, HRS (Hospitality & Retail Systems), and Timo Kettern, corporate director of IT Bierwirth & Kluth, will be among those examining the aspects involved in developing a modern, scalable hotel technology stack.
3rd Day– Responisble Tourism and Female Leadership in Times of Crisis/Best Practice Stories of Resilience
Responsible Tourism track will continue the wide-ranging programme of panel discussions, keynote speeches and lectures. Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council will host a panel entitled panel entitled ’Carbon neutrality is not enough’. The latest developments industry developments since Evora, COP26 and COP15, and the resultant takeaways for the travel industry will be discussed here. r. Susanne Etti, environmental impact specialist for Intrepid Travel, Celine Oleson, representing Corporate Partnerships Climeworks, Jane Ashton, the sustainability director of Easyjet, and Christian Delom, executive director of A World for Travel will take part in this session.
‘Female Leadership in Times of Crisis/Best Practice Stories of Resilience’, will be the fifth ITB Gender Equality in Tourism session moderated by ITB’s CSR commissioner Rika Jean-François. Dr. Sreeja K.G, director of Research, EQUINOCT Community Sourced Modelling Solutions, Holly Budge of How Many Elephants/World Female Ranger Week, Muna Haddad of the Jordan Prime Ministry Delivery Unit, and founder and CEO of BARAKA, and Shana Fatina, founder and commissioner, ORA DIVE, Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia will take part in the discussion.
Natalia Turcanu, the executive director of the National Inbound & Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova (ANTRIM), will talk about current crisis management efforts taking place in the areas bordering Moldova and Ukraine.
Good Practice Examples to Address Human Rights Risks of Informal Workers in Tourism will be another panel that will be powered by powered by ECPAT, Brot für die Welt, Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism.
Katharina Stechl, the session moderator and programme manager of the Roundtable on Human Rights in Tourism e.V., a multi-stakeholder initiative and non-profit organisation co-founded by ITB, will take part in a discussion with Antje Monshausen, head of Tourism.
Tags: Berlin, Europe, ITB Berlin
