ITB Berlin, an annual
event considered one of the most critical in the travel trade industry,
concluded last week after another successful year.
Participants worldwide come
to exchange their ideas and create new partnerships.
The 2024 ITB Berlin tradeshow took place at the
Berlin Exhibition grounds between March 5-7, with the show's motto this year being
“Pioneer the Transition in Travel & Tourism."
The show was so large and
diverse that it impacted every aspect of travel on a global scale. Over 5,500
exhibitors from 170 countries sprawled across 27 exhibition halls. The travel sectors
represented include destination tourist boards, tour operators, hotels,
transportation companies, technology, and more.
Among the 170 countries
represented, even the nations facing difficult times, such as Ukraine, Israel
and Palestine, were exhibitors and speakers at ITB.
According to United Nations
Tourism stats shared at the show, Europe
was the world's top tourist destination for 2023, with over 700.4 million
visitors. That number represents 54.5 percent of all international tourist
arrivals, which is only five percent less than their 2019 pre-COVID arrival
numbers.
The popular vacation
destination of Portugal surpassed its 2019 visitor numbers by 11 percent.
Oman showcase at ITB Berlin 2024. (Photo Credit: Maura Lee Byrne)
Attendance-wise, ITB was
a success, with over 100,000 attendees and travel representatives. The numbers
would have been higher if a transportation
strike on the show's last day had not impacted plans.
Lufthansa and Deutsche
Bahn, the German rail company, both went on strike early Thursday morning,
leaving many without air and rail transportation.
This strike resulted in over
70 percent of the appointments being canceled on the show's last day, leaving
both exhibitors and visitors very frustrated.
Many participants left
the show a day early to avoid
the strike, which left thousands stranded with no way to get home.
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