CHECKLIST n Some major market segmentsn Cultural Tourism: The idea behind this thematic concept of Hall of Cultural Tourism is to create a world of experiences, which are presented in an attractive architectural mix of halls and booths, that is unique to the ITB.
In the hall one will find a theatre, a museum, booths for cities or specialist exhibitors and other thematic solutions for specific organisations. Additionally, there are information stands, recreational areas, spaces dedicated to trade visitors and stages for special events.The Hall of Cultural Tourism offers a range of activities that continuously expands and develops, providing and creating an environment that highlights a broad and colourful spectrum of cultures. It is the variety of all those cultures and the individual approach of each exhibitor that give the hall its character, rather than the size of the stands.
ITB Young Travel Centre: It has established itself at the ITB exhibition in Berlin as a leading platform for tourist industry products and services. With the growing demand for products in the niche market for youth tourism, the Young Travel Centre is attracting increasing interest from exhibitors. Language trips, hostelling, adventure and activity trips, clubholidays, organised childrens and youth trips, school trips, work and travel abroad are important themes in the “Young Travel Centre”. The Young Travel Centre is made possible through cooperation and co-branding by the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations (FIYTO), Ruf Jugendreisen and Messe Berlin.
ITB Travel Technology: In the Travel Technology Section at ITB Berlin you will find providers of global distribution systems (GDS), tour operator databases, reservations systems, technology solutions, travel agency software ticket distribution and cost calculating programs. New developments will be presented and discussed at the ITB Travel Technology Conference.
Travel With Sense: Since the beginning of the ’90s, nature tourism has been the most rapidly growing sector in the tourism market, recording annual growth rates of 10 to 15 per cent. Exhibitors in the Nature Experience Hall include travel agencies, operators for trekking and touring holidays as well as associations and organizations active in the field.
Wellness Forum: International wellness experts will be meeting at ITB Berlin in Hall 7.1 a on March 14. The topics will range from the thought-provoking question “How healthy is wellness on vacation?” to the polarising issue of whether there will only be “Wellness for the rich” and “Wellness for the poor” in the future. International specialists at the wellness forum will explain globally interesting themes such as Ayurveda and Thalasso and look at how they can be implemented in Europe. A series of special presentations will focus on financing, concepts and visions of the future along with describing employee training programmes.
Market Trends & Innovations (MTI): This year the Market Trends and Innovations Congress has a world premiere! Through a multitude of innovative topics the congress makes an important contribution to advancement and growth in the travel industry. Over a period of five days, prominent industry experts and scholars discuss new markets, new products and new business models.Highlights include the “Expert Forum: China – the newest world travel champion”, the results of the new “ITB-Tourism Barometer”, the “ITB Berlin Message” with the latest forecasts from IPK International for 2004, the entertaining and informative “Front-Office Staff Forum” and much more. The MTI Congress is free to all ITB visitors and can be found in Hall 7.1.b. In the exhibition area national and international universities, colleges, technical institutes and specialist service providers will be presenting in Hall 5.1.
Cruises: For many years now, the market segment specialising in cruises has exhibited at ITB Berlin in a joint presentation. Internationally active companies specialising in ocean and river cruises presented their products and services at ITB 2003. In 2002, nearly one-fourth of all passengers booked a trip on European waters. The national cruise industries benefited directly from this development and recorded a significant increase in passenger numbers in all European regions. The enormous increase in German cruises available in the 2002 season was greeted positively by the market and contributed to an increase in the number of passengers.Backed by a stronger presence of companies specialising in ocean and river cruises, the market segment will be presenting innovative product concepts and current trends in all-inclusive packages at ITB 2004. The industry is looking forward to a significant increase in sales during 2004. This makes ITB 2004 an ideal business platform for the cruise market.
ITB Book World: It has established itself as a leading platform for travel guides and maps. Travel books and guides provide the foundation for world travel – from business trips, to city tours, beach destinations, individual and adventure travel. With the growing demand for products from travel book publishers, more companies representing this important market will be exhibiting at this year’s ITB Book World. Aimed at the major travel guide companies, the ITB Book World in Hall 25 will present a full range of products to interested travelers, trade visitors, and media representatives. Messe Berlin will once again be presenting the coveted ITB Awards as part of the interesting ITB Book World supporting programme. Awards will be presented this year for travel guides focusing on destinations in Australia as well as for the best travel guide series. The “BZ.COMM! Couch Talks” taking place daily on the ITB Book World action stage will bring together top representatives from the tourism industry with the international media.
