Despite international crises and the risk of political conflict around the world, as 2015 begins the economic prospects for the global travel industry could not be better for the months to come. As ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade show, closes its doors the conclusion is the travel industry has high expectations as the 2015 travel season beckons.
ITB Berlin, which came to an end on Sunday, was able to cement its position as the world’s largest travel trade show. From March 4-8, 2015 over 10,000 exhibitors from 186 countries, more than two-thirds of whom were from abroad, were represented in 26 display halls which were fully booked. Overall, some 115,000 trade visitors (2014: 114,000) traveled to Berlin. The share of trade visitors from abroad increased to 43 percent (2014: 40 percent). According to estimates by Messe Berlin the volume of sales at ITB increased from around 6.5 billion euros in 2014 to 6.7 billion euros.
“This is where the opportunities and risks are debated and the potential impact of the sharing economy on the international travel industry is analyzed,” said Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.
23,000 visitors (2014: 22,000) attended the ITB Berlin Convention, another new record. Decision-makers and opinion-formers debated the key topics concerning the travel industry at a total of 200 events which took place in eight auditoriums. 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 had a success story to celebrate.
Trends at ITB Berlin 2015 included the massive rise in the use of mobile devices to book trips, a phenomenon that has now become the norm. Despite the Internet having brought about lasting change to the travel world with new travel apps and meta search engines, tourists continue to entrust the task of booking the time of the year they enjoy most with their local travel agency. With their ability to offer personal assistance travel agencies are capable of positioning themselves as important sales channels in the face of online travel portals and social media and their relentless rise.
The next ITB Berlin will take place March 8 – 13, 2016.
ITB Berlin, www.itb-berlin.com