1. Event Review
ITB Berlin: Going from strength to strength
While Europe is still facing economic crisis, this years ITB proved that travel business is still strong. Chandragupta
Amritkar reports from Berlin
I
TB Berlin, considered as the largest travel show on earth, this
year again broke its earlier record with increased numbers of
trade visitors, exhibitors reporting more contracts signed, and
an upsurge in attendance at the ITB Berlin Convention. ITB
Berlin 2012 recorded 113,006 trade visitors (39.7% of them from
abroad) and 10,644 exhibitors from 187 countries. Dr. Christian
Göke, COO of Messe Berlin, drew some very positive conclu-
sions: “Over 2,200 more trade visitors than last year, an outstand-
ing climate for business and the efficient creation of new business
contacts at the newly established ITB Buyers Circle all under-
lined the position of ITB Berlin as a world leader. Considering the
current political and economic challenges the topics chosen for
the ITB Berlin Convention were certainly the right ones. Experts
pointed out strategies for achieving sustainability and for the
effective use of smartphone-based technologies. As a conse-
quence ITB Berlin was able to demonstrate why it occupies the Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology,
leading position as a platform for disseminating knowledge Dr. Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister of Transport, Construction
across the tourism industry.” and Urban Development, Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister of Food,
Agriculture and Consumer Protection and Dirk Niebel, Federal
Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as
the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, came to learn
more about the strengths and capabilities of the travel sector.
Indian Presence
As expected India had a great presence at ITB. Though a
majority of Indian exhibitors were in the Indian pavilion set upp
by the Ministry of Tourism India, a few of them opted to have
bigger stalls. The Indian pavilion showcased a wide array of the
country's tourism products and destinations. The total area of the
India Pavilion at ITB this year was 871 square metres. 11 state
tourism boards and a total of 50 participants comprising tour
operators, destination management companies, hotels and resort
companies showcased their tourism products and destinations at
The Travel Technology section at ITB Berlin 2012 was larger the Pavilion along with India Tourism.The tourism boards of
than ever before, with 236 exhibitors displaying technical innova- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Andaman
tions in four halls. In Hall 7.1c some well-known companies as & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and
well as new start-ups presented their latest apps and innovations Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
for the fields of mobile travel services and social media. Although The Indian pavilion was inaugurated by India's Tourism Minis-
major advances have been made with applications over the past
two years, development work is still in progress, and this is a fas-
cinating topic, not only for travel experts but for the public too. A
so-called App Marathon took place on the Saturday at ITB for the
first time, providing visitors with an overview of the world of
travel apps.
Journalists and bloggers also flocked at this global event. A
total of 6,975 accredited journalists from 94 countries reported
from ITB Berlin. Once again this trade show provided a meeting
place for international politicians and diplomats. In addition to
the 64 foreign delegations the fair was also attended by Princess
Ubolratana Mahidol of Thailand. Meetings took place between 76
ambassadors from all over the world, as well as 43 government
ministers and numerous state secretaries from many countries.
Global Destinations 4 May - June 2012