ITB World Travel Trends Report: Hard times ahead for an industry

ITB Business Travel Days with
attractive
travel
arrangements
Full service package costing 209 euros for travel and office
managers – available to event planners too for the first time
Berlin, 13 January 2009 – Messe Berlin is providing a full
service travel package especially for those attending the ITB
Business Travel Days, offering real value for money. The flat
rate price of 209 euro covers 1st class return travel to and
from Berlin with Deutsche Bahn, one overnight in a single room
with breakfast at the Kongresshotel Potsdam on Templin Lake,
participation in the range of seminars and a bus shuttle
between the hotel and the Exhibition Grounds. Travel and
office managers and, for the first time, event planners, have
until
25
February
2009
to
apply
to
www.itb-convention.com/businesstravel for the exclusive
“Business Travel Package”, which is valid from 12 to 13 March
(one-day extension possible).
The ITB Business Travel Days from
important platform for everyone
business travel. They are an ideal
management expertise for travel
11 to 15 March 2009 are an
involved in the sector of
source of first-hand travel
managers, business travel
bookers, suppliers, those with MICE responsibilities and event
planners. The ITB Business Travel Forum features an
outstanding programme of highly topical subjects which will be
discussed by prominent figures in the industry. The questions
to be addressed by the experts will include the obstacles
associated with visas, and they will also investigate
ancillary flight costs as an inflationary factor. This year
for the first time the MICE sector will be included as a
separate component of the programme of the Business Travel
Forum.
The ITB Business Travel Forum will take place from 11 to 13
March 2009 in Hall 7.1A, New York 3, during the ITB Berlin
Convention.
The ITB Berlin Convention
ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Sunday, 15 March, and will be open to trade visitors from the
Wednesday to the Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB
Berlin Convention will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Saturday, 14 March 2009. The ITB Berlin Convention is the
world’s largest travel industry convention. Last year some 100
events attracted more than 11,000 participants. For full
programme details click on www.itb-convention.com
Fachhochschule Worms and the US-based market research company
PhoCusWright Inc are partners of the ITB Berlin Convention.
Turkey is co-hosting this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. Other
sponsors of the ITB Berlin Convention include Top Alliance,
responsible for VIP service, hospitalityInside.com, the media
partner of the ITB Hospitality Days, Flug Revue, the media
partner of the ITB Aviation Days, and the Planeterra
Foundation, the sponsor of the ITB Corporate Social
Responsibility Days. Partners cooperating with the ITB
Business Travel Days are Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement
e.V. (VDR), HSMA Deutschland e.V., A&O Hotels and Hostels,
Deutsche Bahn, geschaeftsreisekontakt,
Organisation and Intergerma.
hotel.de,
IHK
For additional details:
www.itb-berlin.com
www.itb-convention.com/businesstravel
ITB
World
Travel
Trends
Report: Hard times ahead for
an
industry
spoiled
by
success
Travel industry worldwide expects markets to slump – big
opportunity for tourism in Germany
Berlin, 5 January 2009 – Hard times lie ahead for the world’s
travel industry. According to the ITB World Travel Trends
Report, conducted by the consultants IPK International and
commissioned by the global travel industry’s leading trade
show, “at best, 2009 will be a year of stagnation.” Published
in Berlin, the trend analysis forecasts that in the wake of
the global financial and economic crisis, the travel industry
can expect to contract by one to two per cent in 2009, and
that in all likelihood the downturn will continue before
things improve. Nor are the signals for 2010 encouraging. Dr.
Martin Buck, Director Competence Center Travel & Logistics,
Messe Berlin: “Recent months have shown how quickly the
circumstances on which to base reliable predictions can
change. Besides any economic recovery, factors such as price
developments on the markets for raw materials have a sustained
impact on the travel industry, making it impossible to issue
reliable forecasts at this time.”
According to the ITB Travel Trends Report, imminent negative
developments will impact strongest on North America, Europe
and the business travel sector, rather than on holiday travel.
According to Dr. Martin Buck, over the next two years interest
in short and medium-range travel destinations will increase.
In addition, with lower fuel prices there will be a resurgence
of personal car travel. “This is a big opportunity for tourism
in Germany”, Buck added. ITB Berlin will be taking place from
11 to 15 March 2009. “Currently bookings are steady and
numbers are very high. Once again we see that in an
economically difficult situation a global network platform
such as ITB Berlin is becoming increasingly important. In
these times business partners want to engage in direct, faceto-face dialogue”, he added.
The findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Reports indicate
that the prospects for the travel market recovering vary
significantly depending on the region. According to the
researchers, the Asian-Pacific region and South America could
emerge from the crisis by the end of this year, as these are
the regions which depend most on rising demand from the
threshold countries India and China. According to the trend
analysis there are positive signs for Europe as well. Even in
times of great economic hardship people are unwilling to give
up holidays. Thus, according to a Europe-wide poll for the
European Travel Monitor in 2008, 48 per cent of respondents
said they would definitely take a holiday in 2009, and that it
was most likely they would travel more often than in 2008.
Responding to the same question, 32 per cent announced they
would travel at least as often as in 2008, and only 14 per
cent said they would travel less. 6 per cent of those polled
said that in 2009 they would not travel at all. However,
figures within Europe vary considerably. Whereas Norwegians
and Finns are eager to travel in 2009, Italians and Britons
are rather less keen to make any plans.
TTM+ to Return in June
The 2009 Thailand Travel Mart Plus the Greater Mekong
Subregion (TTM+) is set for 3 – 7 June 2009.
The annual event, jointly organised by Tourism Authority of
Thailand and Thai tourism industry will take place in Bangkok
early June.
A briefing for buyers and sellers, together with on-site
appointments between operators and patrons, a welcome
reception will be arranged on 3 June (opening day) at Centara
Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Central World.
The last four days of the event will take place at the
Challenger Hall, Muang Thong Thani Impact Arena Exhibition and
Convention Centre. June 4 – 5 will be trade days, focusing on
trade and business talks among operators and participants.
June 5 – 7 will be consumer days for general public, as well
as post-tour days for buyers and media.
TAT is now inviting applicants from all over the world to be
one of 300 hosted buyers in TTM+2009. Applications for
participation can be down loaded and submitted at:
www.thailandtravelmartplus.com from now till 31 March 2009.
Buyer Selecttion Committee will be set up to select those
applicants for Hosted Buyer or Buyer. Application fee for
Hoted Buyer and Buyer is USD200 and USD70 respectively. Hosted
Buyer will receive a return ticket from port to port, 4 nights
accommodation including breakfast, transfer and post-tour.
Buyer will receive 4 nights accommodation including breakfast,
transfer and post-tour except a return ticket.
New dates announced for AIME
2010
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) and Melbourne Convention +
Visitors Bureau (MCVB) has announced that AIME 2010 will be
held in April, not February, due to Chinese New Year and
availability at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition
Centre.
Paul Kennedy, MBE, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Travel
Exhibitions Meetings and Incentive Events said: “While AIME
has traditionally been held annually in February we have had
to consider carefully the affect Chinese New Year – which
falls on 14 February in 2010 – would have on AIME. This is a
time when many of our exhibitors and Hosted Buyers take
extended leave to celebrate with their families. In addition,
airline schedules in the region are stretched to capacity.
“Having looked at all the options, which included moving AIME
to late January or March, and considering other global meeting
and incentive events that exhibitors and buyers may attend,
the most suitable time for AIME 2010 is late April,” Mr
Kennedy said.
AIME 2010 will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 27 & 28
April.
Sandra Chipchase, CEO, MCVB, said she believed the new dates
for AIME 2010 would be well received by the business events
industry in the region.
“AIME is a valued event delivering an enormous amount of
business to the region and it is important that it is held at
a time that is appropriate for all our exhibitors, Hosted
Buyers and trade visitors,” she said.
“April is also a beautiful time for hosted buyers and visitors
to visit Melbourne. They can experience our lovely clear
autumn days and a number of the city’s activities such as the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival,” Ms Chipchase said.
AIME DATES
AIME 2009 – 17 & 18 February.
AIME 2010 – 27 & 28 April.
AIME is organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) on behalf
of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau. AIME forms part
of the RTE portfolio of Global Meetings and Incentives Events
along with EIBTM (www.eibtm.com), GIBTM (www.gibtm.com), CIBTM
(www.cibtm.com), AIBTM (www.aibtm.com) and the ICCA Exhibition
in association with the ICCA Congress (www.iccaworld.com). RTE
organises 13 events worldwide, including World Travel Market,
Arabian Travel Market, International Golf Travel Market, Top
Resa, International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), La Cumbre,
City Break, and Asia Luxury Travel Market (ALTM).
Widening gap between rich and
poor affects holiday travel,
too
ITB World Travel Trends Report
Widening gap between rich and poor affects holiday travel, too
Luxury travel on the increase – ITB Berlin expects a return of
the trend for cost saving and last-minute bookings in 2009
Berlin, 05 January 2009 – Holiday plans and travel trends are
increasingly mirroring the social divisions between rich and
poor. According to ITB Berlin – the travel industry’s leading
trade show – the fallout from the global economic and
financial crisis will tend to favour the growth of niche
markets, in particular segments such as luxury travel, once
again in 2009. At the same time, bargain hunting and lastminute travel will be dominant. “Whether we like it or not –
the idea of saving money at all costs is back with us again”,
said Dr. Martin Buck, Director of the Competence Center Travel
& Logistics at Messe Berlin.
According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report, commissioned
from consultants IPK International by ITB Berlin, as far as
travel trends are concerned, 2009 is a very difficult year to
forecast. The effects of the global economic and financial
crisis, coupled with uneasiness over prices for raw materials
and significant currency fluctuations, mean that no reliable
forecasts can currently be made. These are the findings of the
ITB World Travel Trends Report. The report is based on the
assessments of around 60 tourism experts from 30 countries,
meeting at the World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa in November
2008, as well as on core data supplied by the World Travel
Monitor®, recognised as the largest ongoing survey on global
travel trends in some 60 source countries.
According to ITB Berlin, the findings of the Pisa Forum
indicate that short trips within Europe will become
increasingly popular next year. “Higher costs and a new kind
of insecurity affecting consumers will undoubtedly impact
negatively on long-haul travel in 2009”, said Dr. Martin Buck.
City-tour vacations will not be enough to counter this trend.
He noted that the boom in trips to major European cities,
which low-cost airlines had significantly accelerated in
recent years, would tail off. According to the Trends Report,
the growth experienced by low-cost airlines has already come
to an end in 2008.
Assessments by ITB Berlin indicate that, against the backdrop
of the economic and financial crisis, business travel, in
particular, together with travel to meetings, conferences and
incentive trips, will suffer. According to Dr. Martin Buck:
“Worldwide, international companies have begun to drastically
cut their spending on business travel, meetings and
incentives. The travel industry is already experiencing the
effects of these measures.” He noted that by contrast, the
economic downturn would affect consumer travel at a later
date.
BTExpo
accomplie
2008:
mission
Les organisateurs reviennent sur une exceptionnelle édition
jubilaire BTExpo 2008 qui a tenu toutes ses promesses et sont
satisfaits des résultats enregistrés. Durant les deux jours du
salon, on a fortement ressenti l’atmosphère positive et la
motivation palpable qui y régnait. Le climat économique sombre
et lourd a disparu laissant place aux éléments nécessaires à
la stabilité du secteur: collaboration, culture et
clairvoyance.
Les exposants de 198 produits et marques ont ainsi trouvé leur
bonheur à BTExpo: rencontres avec des agents de voyages
belges, des contacts de qualité, des possibilités d’ ‘agrandir
leur réseau, des débats, une vitrine pour leur marque, un
forum et surtout un grand engouement.
En dehors d’une ribambelle de commentaires et de remerciements
que l’équipe a pu reçevoir, la dimension « humaine » de BTExpo
semble demeurer la force première du salon. Les initiatives
prises pour assurer aux exposants et aux visiteurs nombre de
possibilités de rencontre ainsi que les moyens mis en œuvre
pour leur permettre de développer leur réseau de contacts ont
été particulièrement appréciés.
L’arrivée massive de 200 exposants au petit-déjeuner qui leur
était consacré a été remarquable, petit-déjeuner pendant
lequel un sketch ludique attirait l’attention sur les « do’s
and don’ts » de la gestion d’un stand.
La deuxième édition du BTE Networking Dinner le 10 décembre
accueillait 160 participants. Cette formule, mise au point par
BTExpo, est l’opportunité unique pour se créer rapidement des
nouveaux contacts professionnels. Cela va sans dire que les
‘matchings’ créés pour le dîner sont l’essence même de cet
évènement. Les inévitables « no shows » n’ont pas ternis le
bon déroulement de la soirée car les organisateurs ont comblé
les places vacantes en faisant participer des personnes
inscrites sur une liste d’attente. Une troisième édition
s’annonce déjà en 2009 dotée d’un concept encore mieux rôdé!
Le forum a été le théâtre de pas moins de 17 workshops et
conférences. Les débats organisés par Etienne De Nil,
Executive Board member de BTExpo ont été menés entre autres
par Robrecht Willaerts, Baudouin Gillis, Jan Van den Abeele,
Jean Philippe Cuvelier, Bernard Tuytens… Ils ont attiré une
forte audience. Des points IT Fidelity ont été généreusement
distribués par certains exposants permettant au visiteur de
BTExpo d’engranger suffisamment de points pour s’offrir le
cadeau de fin d ‘année de son choix.
La conférence ABTO a attiré une attention particulière des
médias et le salon a eu sa place dans l’actualité via RTL-TVI
et VTM. D’autres associations professionnelles comme la
Commission de Litiges Voyages, Travelcoop, FBAA ont choisi
BTExpo pour l’organisation de leur forum.
Le concept de la restauration cette année a été basé sur un
système « self-service / free flow « . Un service de qualité,
des mets variés et un personnel qualifié ont assuré les pauses
lunch qui se sont déroulées dans les meilleures conditions.
Aucune file d’attente ni aucune réclamation n’ont été
enregistrées. Dans le snack-Artas le concept ‘health’ a aussi
connu un grand succès.
On pouvait aussi se rendre à l’Appelboom afin d’y prendre un
petit verre ainsi qu’un sandwich. L’atmosphère détendue du VIP
lounge en a ravi plus d’un et de nombreuses relations
d’affaires se sont nouées dans ce lieu.
Les organisateurs du salon ont décidé cette année de répondre
aux attentes d’un certain nombre d’exposants proposant aussi
un produit spécifique MICE.
Des contacts avec les dirigeants des quatre associations
principales, c-à-d SITE BeLux Chapter, MPI, INITIATIVE en
BAPCO ont porté leurs fruits et plus de 90 visiteurs MICE se
sont enregistrés pour une visite du salon. Le TOB Espagne et
Abu Dhabi ont élaboré une présentation MICE. Un tout nouveau
logo distinguait clairement les exposants venus avec une offre
spécifique. L’année prochaine, le concept MICE prendra encore
plus d’ampleur et dans le courant de l’année 2009 les
principaux intéressés se réuniront pour en discuter.
BTExpo a fait de l’agent de voyage sa cible prioritaire cette
année et cela semble avoir porté ses fruits. Après un premier
jour plutôt calme ; le deuxième jour accueillait en masse les
agents de voyages. Les couloirs et les stands du salon étaient
pleins à craquer à la grande satisfaction de tous les
exposants. 3 852 visiteurs ont été enregistrés durant les deux
jours du salon avec une croissance du nombre de ceux-ci pour
le deuxième jour. Cela s’explique naturellement par la
nocturne et la « travel agents party » qui a suivi ; deux
événements annoncés à maintes reprises dans la toute nouvelle
communication de BTExpo.
Le 11 décembre à 18:30, la nocturne a été bercée dans une
ambiance orientale avec un moment dédié à Abu Dhabi dans le
forum. Un délicieux thé à la menthe, du café au cardamome, des
dattes et des petits gâteaux ont été offerts durant la remise
du prix MICE TOUR , qui contenait le vol, le séjour en hotel
5* et des visites organisées à Abu Dhabi.
Ensuite ce fut le tour d’Etienne de Nil en présence de la
famille Baeke du magazine Travel Express, pour décerner le
prix annuel Walter Baeke. Ce prix a été attribué cette année
aux journalistes Patrick Anspach et Eric Brusten.
La Travel Agents Party tant attendue, restera longtemps gravée
dans les mémoires des 750 personnes présentes. Sponsor TAP
s’est avéré être le partenaire idéal pour cette édition
anniversaire qui ne pouvait pas passer inaperçue. Des
danseuses Brésiliennes qui brillaient de mille feux, des
danseurs capoeira ainsi que des percussionnistes du Brésil ont
assuré le spectacle où les caipirinhas rafraîchissantes
coulaient à flot. L’ambiance a été entretenue par un DJ
prometteur en la personne de ‘2 Funk’ et quand à 01:00 du
matin, il fallut plier bagages. Une foule déchaînée scandait
encore: ‘We want more!’.
BTExpo a bel et bien compris le message et : There will be
more!
Le 9 et le 10 décembre 2009 aura lieu la 6ème édition BTExpo.
Compte tenu des réactions positives de cette année, BTExpo va
déployer toutes ses forces pour assurer la pérennité et le
développement du secteur. Comme chaque année une analyse et
une enquête de satisfaction seront menées auprès des exposants
et des visiteurs. Les résultats seront pris en compte pour
améliorer l’édition 2009, y compris le lieu, la logistique, le
programme, la forme, le contenu et évidemment les ambitions
futures !
La recherche permanente des organisateurs pour tendre vers la
perfection débouche sur des questions stratégiques. L’attitude
n’est pas négative mais procède d’une autocritique
constructive, et constitue le fondement d’une gestion saine et
durable !
ITB
World
Travel
Trends
Report: Despite higher fuel
prices – car trips leave air
travel behind
ITB World Travel Trends Report
Travellers increasingly in favour of cars and trains – flights
with low-cost airlines in decline for the first time
Berlin, 17 December 2008 – For the moment one of the most
conspicuous travel trends of recent years seems to have been
checked. For the first time, holidaymakers are increasingly
favouring car and train travel. This is one of the findings of
the ITB World Travel Trends Report, conducted by the
consultants IPK International and commissioned by the ITB
Berlin. According to this trend analysis, now published, from
January to August 2008 in Europe, holiday trips by car and
train increased by five per cent compared with the same period
in 2007. At 50 per cent, air travel still retains a larger
share than car travel, which stands at around 30 per cent. Dr.
Martin Buck, Director of the Competence Center Travel &
Logistics at Messe Berlin, and responsible for the global
travel industry’s leading trade show: “This year, the longstanding preference of holidaymakers for air travel has come
to an end for the first time. This is a remarkable
development, particularly in view of the record fuel prices
this summer,” he added.
According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report this slump in
air travel growth can be mainly attributed to the price
increases charged by airlines due to the higher cost of
kerosine. “However, the inconvenience experienced by
passengers as a result of increased security measures and
flight delays has contributed to airline travel becoming less
attractive of late”, said Martin Buck.
According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report, 2008 was the
first year that the market share occupied by low-cost airlines
contracted. In relation to 2007 holiday flights with low-cost
airlines fell by one per cent. By contrast, flights with socalled traditional carriers rose by three per cent. Currently,
low-cost airline flights retain a 36 per cent share of the
markets in which the survey took place, with traditional
carriers making up 64 per cent. Martin Buck: “However, it is
becoming increasingly clear that there are barely discernible
differences between low-cost airlines and carriers operating a
traditional airline business.”
The rising popularity of travel by train in the first eight
months of 2008 can also ascribed to higher flight prices,
delays, and the inconvenience experienced by passengers at
airports. Furthermore, with Europe boasting modern high-speed
trains and rail services now becoming attractive again, air
travel has forfeited part of its market share. The ITB Berlin
Covention 2009 will also be examining how attractive different
types of transport are. Leading representatives of various
forms of transport will be discussing the impact of oil prices
on leisure-time mobility at the ITB Future Day on Wednesday,
11 March. Afterwards, at the “ITB Berlin Message”, Rolf
Freitag of IPK International will present the latest data
forecasting global travel trends.
The ITB Berlin Convention
The ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Sunday, 15 March, and will be open to trade visitors from the
Wednesday to the Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB
Berlin Convention will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Saturday, 14 March 2009. The ITB Berlin Convention is the
world’s largest travel industry convention. Last year some 100
events attracted more than 11,000 participants. For full
programme details click on www.itb-convention.com.
Fachhochschule Worms and the US-based market research company
PhoCusWright Inc are partners of the ITB Berlin Convention.
Turkey is co-hosting this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. Other
sponsors of the ITB Berlin Convention include Top Alliance,
responsible for VIP service, hospitalityInside.com, the media
partner of the ITB Hospitality Days, Flug Revue, the media
partner of the ITB Aviation Days, and the Planeterra
Foundation, the sponsor of the ITB Corporate Social
Responsibility Days. Partners cooperating with the ITB
Business Travel Days are Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement
e.V. (VDR), HSMA Deutschland e.V., A&O Hotels and Hostels,
Deutsche Bahn, geschaeftsreisekontakt, hotel.de, IHK
Organisation and Intergerma.
ITB Business Travel Days:
Business travel at a time of
financial crisis
Networking and advanced training for business travel managers
and industry newcomers – Main themes: Ancillary air travel
costs and the visa problem – New: more MICE topics and
“Aktuelle Stunde” – exclusive details about careers in
business travel and professional qualifications in mobility
management
Berlin, 15 December 2008. Business travel at a time of global
financial and economic crisis: a new challenge facing an
industry which, according to conservative estimates,
guarantees employment for well over half a million people in
Germany. According to the latest findings of the Association
of German Travel Management (VDR e.V.) in its 2008 Business
Travel Analysis, half of all the expenditure in German hotels
is accounted for by business travellers. Current issues
concerning business travel will form the focus of attention at
the ITB Business Travel Forum from 11 to 13 March 2009, which
is expected to attract everyone from juniors to business
travel managers to participate in the exchange of information
at this advanced training event in Berlin. David Ruetz, Senior
Manager ITB Berlin: “This year the Business Travel Days are
undergoing a further qualitative improvement, because we are
convinced of the importance of this sector. The business
travel market remains a reliable indicator of the economic
situation and also exercises a stabilising effect: It is not
seasonal in nature, and remains largely immune to crises due
to the fact that, in an age of globalisation, it is vital for
staff to be able to travel.” It is a significant economic
factor for the travel industry as a whole and, for the past
four years, the ITB Berlin has been providing a dedicated
platform where newcomers to the industry, as well as
experienced travel managers, can obtain information and expand
their professional knowledge.
Newcomers’ Day with an eminent speaker, Ekkehard Goetting
The Business Travel Forum will begin on Wednesday, 11 March
2009, with a Newcomers’ Day and two highly topical subjects.
In his opening speech Prof. Dr. Friedrich Hubert Esser,
Divisional Director for Vocational Training with the Main
Association of the German Skilled Trades, Berlin, will talk on
the subject of “Training in Times of (Financial) Crisis”.
Another prominent speaker, Ekkehard Goetting, Chairman & CEO
of the German Economic Delegation in Hong Kong, will address a
contentious issue under the heading of “Farewell Germany?
Learning, living and working abroad”. The amendments that have
been made to careers in travel, and the creation of a new
professional qualification for mobility management, are of
major importance to anyone entering the industry. The Council
of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) Berlin
will be providing exclusive details about the current stage of
discussions at the ITB Berlin.
Major topics: visas and MICE
In the keynote speech of the Business Travel Executive
Day/MICE on the Thursday at the ITB, Lutz I. Stammnitz,
President Procurement, Mobility and Logistics, Siemens AG,
Munich, and Business Travel Manager of the Year 2008 (TIC),
will provoke a debate as to whether business travel management
constitutes a “black box”.
For the first time MICE topics will form a separate component
in the programme of the Business Travel Forum. Under the
heading of “Legal, illegal, or irrelevant? The problem of
visas for business travel”, a panel of experts will discuss
some frequently neglected issues associated with visas.
Decision-makers can learn about “Event Guidelines” as well as
taking part in the panel discussion “How good is Germany’s
position as a MICE destination”.
On the Thursday and Friday the VDR Academy is holding three
practically based workshops in which staff involved with the
operational aspects of business travel can learn important
details about contracts with airlines, fiscal aspects of
business travel and events, and the fundamentals of planning
business trips.
New: “Aktuelle Stunde” – main topic: Ancillary air travel
costs
The “Business Travel Practitioners’ Day” on Friday, 13 March,
will feature a number of highly informative subjects. The
“Aktuelle Stunde” (Topical Hour) is a new feature, in which
prominent speakers will report on a number of items, among
them “Including aviation in EU emissions trading”. During the
subsequent discussions travel managers will investigate the
“main factors in pushing up air ticket prices”, which include
the surcharges for security and aviation fuel, for using
credit cards and for baggage, and many other contributory
aspects. And Verkehrsclub Deutschland e.V. will be using its
“Guidelines for environmentally acceptable business travel” in
order to show how business travel can be organised in ways
that are both profitable and ecologically sound. This will be
just one of many contributions to the subject of Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) in tourism. The CSR Day will be
held for the first time at this year’s ITB.
The ITB Business Travel Forum will take place from 11 to 13
March 2009 in Hall 7.1a, New York 3, during the ITB Berlin
Convention.
The ITB Berlin Convention
The ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Sunday, 15 March, and will be open to trade visitors from the
Wednesday to the Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB
Berlin Convention will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Saturday, 14 March 2009. The ITB Berlin Convention is the
world’s largest travel industry convention. Last year some 100
events attracted more than 11,000 participants. For full
programme details click on www.itb-convention.com.
PhoCusWright@ITB Berlin –
high-level industry gathering
of
international
travel
technology experts
PhoCusWright@ITB Berlin – high-level industry gathering of
international travel technology experts
Trend forum for e-business and travel technology – forwardlooking topics and high-ranking speakers – Early Bird ticket
bookable online
Berlin, 8 December 2008 – Booking in advance can really save
money. Trade visitors attending the international ITB Travel
Technology Conference PhoCusWright@ITB on 12 March 2009 will
receive special rates until 31 January 2009, with an Early
Bird ticket costing only EUR 300 instead of EUR 350 per
person. This ticket grants admission to each PhoCusWright
session, includes a trade visitor pass for the ITB Berlin, and
can
be
booked
at
www.itb-berlin.com/tickets
<http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/Internet/Internet/
www.itb-berlin/englisch/Visitor_Centre/Tickets_and_Entrances/i
ndex.html> .
Innovative topics and developments and high-ranking speakers
The compact and highly topical programme of the Travel
Technology conference organised in collaboration with
PhoCusWright, a leading US market research company in the
tourism and travel industry, will provide information on
developments, innovations and new services, to experts from
sales, marketing and business development, who represent the
entire value-added spectrum of the tourism industry.
PhoCusWright@ITB Berlin shows how new technologies can be
implemented effectively to increase profit margins and
operational efficiency. Trade visitors will find out how to
exploit new technologies to realise their business potential
in new areas.
Among the conference highlights are Executive Roundtables on
topics such as “the local influence of social networking” and
“tourism marketing of the future”. There will be keynotes on
the latest technologies for marketing rail tours, and on
combining technology, luxury and nostalgia. Case studies will
examine next-generation mobile travel services. CEO Interviews
will round off the programme organised by analysts at
PhoCusWright.
Successful, high-ranking executives and e-business experts
will be offering inspiration and concrete suggestions. The
list of speakers guarantees sessions of outstanding quality.
They include Dr. Eberhard Kurz, CIO, Deutsche Bahn AG; Javier
Pérez-Tenessa, founder and CEO, eDreams Inc.; Javier GonzalesSoria, Managing Director, Spain, Google Inc.; Michael Lacy,
CEO Handy Group; Gerry Samuels, founder and Executive
Director, Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd.; James Lohan,
Managing Director, Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Dale Moss, Managing
Director, OpenSkies; Konrad Plankensteiner, CEO, Tiscover AG,
and many more.
Following its successful launch last year, the PhoCusWright
Bloggers Summit will be taking place again. On 11 March travel
industry bloggers will be exchanging views on trends in usergenerated content. Free workshops dealing with numerous case
studies will take up topics such as fragmentation and
consolidation regarding Social Media, Twitter and SEO.
PhoCusWright is a world-renowned marketing research and
consulting company specialising in the tourism industry, with
a focus on researching consumer markets, companies, market
competition and internet technologies. PhoCusWright analyses
the technological innovations of the travel industry using
expert specialist knowledge, knowledge of the industry, and
analytical methods. The company is based in Connecticut and
has branches in New York, Düsseldorf and Mumbai.
PhoCusWright@ITB Berlin will be taking place on 12 March 2009
in Hall 7.3 during the ITB Berlin Convention. Additional
information
on
these
www.itb-convention.com
events
is
available
at
<http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/MesseBerlin/htdocs
/www.itb-kongress/en/ConventionProgram/EDB-ProgramOverview/ind
ex.html>
The ITB Berlin Convention
The ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Sunday, 15 March, and will be open to trade visitors from the
Wednesday to the Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB
Berlin Convention will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to
Saturday, 14 March 2009. The ITB Berlin Convention is the
world’s largest travel industry convention. Last year some 100
events attracted more than 11,000 participants. For full
programme
details
click
on
www.itb-convention.com
<http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/MesseBerlin/htdocs
/www.itb-kongress/en/ConventionProgram/EDB-ProgramOverview/ind
ex.html> .
Fachhochschule Worms and the US-based market research company
PhoCusWright Inc are partners of the ITB Berlin Convention.
Turkey is co-hosting this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. Other
sponsors of the ITB Berlin Convention include Top Alliance,
responsible for VIP service, hospitalityInside.com, the media
partner of the ITB Hospitality Days, Flug Revue, the media
partner of the ITB Aviation Days, and the Planeterra
Foundation, the sponsor of the ITB Corporate Social
Responsibility Days. Partners cooperating with the ITB
Business Travel Days are Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement
e.V. (VDR), HSMA Deutschland e.V., A&O Hotels and Hostels,
Deutsche Bahn, geschaeftsreisekontakt, hotel.de, IHK
Organisation and Intergerma.
***
EIBTM breaks all records with
over 3,700 hosted buyers and
8,000 total attendance
Biggest ever for best business, best professional education
and best networking
This year’s EIBTM was confirmed by Paul Kennedy, MBE, Group
Exhibition Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions Meetings and
Incentive Events as the ‘biggest ever’.
He announced that unaudited figures showed that the event
attracted a record number of Hosted Buyers – 3,711 up 12% on
the previous year; 51,000 pre- scheduled meetings were
organised over the three day event – up over 11,000, and total
attendance is expected to top the 8,000 mark, up 6% on 2007.
Paul Kennedy commented: “The record figures show not only how
resilient the meetings market is in challenging times but the
reputation EIBTM has as the place to do business. It certainly
seemed that more actual business was being transacted on the
show floor than ever before.”
He added: “We welcomed our largest ever gathering of Hosted
Buyers from as far afield as Australia, China, India, Thailand
and the Americas and from an exhibitor perspective we are
already receiving requests for space for next year.´´
The buzz around the show highlighted the enormous amount of
business generated at the event.
Mr Peter Bull, Saleslink Marketing Portugal said: “We had 290
pre-scheduled appointments in three days. We haven’t stopped.
On Wednesday we had 14 signed specific group enquiries.”
Ms Tereza Zarogianni, Eventit Greece said :“It’s been
fantastic business – no recession here; at least not here at
EIBTM.”
Suzan
Tosunlar,
Director
of
Brand
Services,
Swisshotel
commented: “A very good show, we received lots of good
requests; it was far better than expected.”
Hosted Buyer Dicky Riel, General Manager A La Carte
International said: “This was the most fantastic EIBTM event
so far. I am very positive and did all my appointments plus
twenty more.”
EIBTM is ABC Audited every year to guarantee that the number
of visitors promoted is completely accurate and are unique
attendees only.
EIBTM 2009 (www.eibtm.com) will take place again in Barcelona
1st – 3rd December 2009.