ITB Berlin predicts robust year for travel

ITB Berlin predicts robust year for travel
By Hannah Edensor


As ITB Berlin 2015 closes its doors to this year’s trade show, it’s a strong global travel industry we’ve got to look forward to.

Despite international crises and political conflict, economic prospects for the world’s travel industry are on the up and up, with a number of positives coming out of the biggest trade show in the business.

An economy boosted by falling energy prices, reduced interest rates, low inflation and positive economic forecasts for the Europeans and North Americans were all items on the agenda, and they all look good.

Expectations for 2015 are high as the travel season beckons, with Germany in particular boasting a strong set of consumers keen to travel.

Wage increases and a consistently stable employment market coupled with the falling cost of living have significantly increased spending.

More than ever, people are willing to spend their money on holidays, and the luxury travel segment in particular stands to benefit from this trend.

ITB Berlin, which came to an end on Sunday, was able to cement its position as the world’s largest travel trade show.

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From March 4 to 8 2015 just shy of 11,000 exhibitors from 186 countries, more than two-thirds of whom were from abroad, came through its doors.

Exhibitors were represented in 26 display halls, all fully booked, with some 115,000 trade visitors making the trip to Berlin. The share of trade visitors from abroad increased to 43%, up 3% from 2014, with visitors even staying on in Berlin for an average 2.4 days.

According to estimates by Messe Berlin, the volume of sales at the trade show increased from around 6.5 billion euros in 2014 to 6.7 billion euros.

CEO of Messe Berlin Dr. Christian Göke said ITB Berlin fulfils its role as the world’s leading think tank and shop window for the travel industry.

“This is where the opportunities and risks are debated and the potential impact of the sharing economy on the international travel industry is analysed,” he said.

“Over the past few days ITB Berlin has provided further evidence of how important personal exchanges and meetings between people are for an industry that is increasingly dominated by the digital transition.”

23,000 visitors attended the ITB Berlin Convention, hitting another new record, while decision-makers and opinion-formers debated the key topics concerning the travel industry at a total of 200 events.

This year the focus was on the sharing economy, which was the subject of numerous panel discussions and exclusive surveys. Marking its tenth anniversary, the ITB Hospitality Day also had a success story to celebrate.

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