Published on : Monday, March 10, 2014
Richard Welker, Managing Director, Welldays: “Everybody is here. We are looking for hoteliers and also talking to DMCs. The conference was very useful as we were particularly interested in the online marketing sessions. I am packed with meetings with only a free half hour here or there. Most of my appointments were booked three weeks in advance. If you don’t have an appointment, you won’t be able to get in to meet the right people you need.”
Susanne Leinzinger, hotel buyer Montana Touristic GmbH: “ITB Berlin is very big, very impressive. It’s important for us to meet contact here, as well as to see what’s happening in the industry. We’re doing contracts with hotels in Germany only, so most of our meetings were booked one month ahead. You have to know where to go on the fairgrounds, otherwise you can easily be lost.”
Jayden Kwak, Team Manager in the Sales & Marketing Division, Jason Travel Service Korea: “We are here to find partners. ITB Berlin is so big, and it’s my first visit. It’s a good thing that ITB Berlin makes such clear directions to get around this large show. It is extremely convenient to have access to the Buyers Circle with lounge.”
Exhibitors
H.E. Sarradh Kongahaye, the Sri Lankan ambassador to Germany: “This year we look back upon 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries. It is also our 48th appearance at ITB Berlin. We are very satisfied with our results at the show and have applied to become the partner country of ITB in the years ahead. That would give us an excellent chance to highlight Sri Lanka’s products and we would gladly make every use of that opportunity“.
Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer: “ITB Berlin is a regular fixture in Emirates’ annual event panning for almost 20 years and our participation in 2014 was again an all-round success. Like Emirates’ route network, the exhibition unites new and existing corporate partners, customers and industry stakeholders from six continents. Being a global connector of people and places the trade show in the heart of Europe is a perfect platform for us to demonstrate our product and services and to reaffirm Emirates’ commitment to the European market.”
Dieter Zümpel, Managing Director Alltours: “We made the right decision to participate in ITB Berlin 2014 and will be back in the years to come.“
Karin Luize De Carvalho, managing director of EMBRATUR Frankfurt: “This year’s show went very well for us. We had lots of appointments, some of which we already made a month ago. This year a special situation arose. Our tourist board currently has offices in Germany again, so that many people wanted to get in touch.“
Petra Hedorfer, Chair of the German National Tourism Board (DZT): “ITB Berlin went very well for us and gave us the opportunity to show the tourism industry and visitors from around the world, not least at our press conference, what Germany as a tourism destination has to offer. At ITB Berlin, together with our partners in tourism in Germany, we were particularly proud to note a new record in arrivals (71.9 million). That is an excellent start to business in 2014. As the world’s largest and most important B2B platform for the tourism industry ITB Berlin represents an indispensable marketing instrument for us.”
Hisham Zaazou, Egyptian minister of tourism: “ITB Berlin gave me a good opportunity to hold important conversations with tourism managers and politicians, particularly with a view towards informing them of the real situation regarding safety in our country.”
Andreas M. Gross, chairman of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Zentralamerika: “The show was fantastic in every respect – there were new leads, new products and new opportunities for conducting business.”
Christopher James, president of the Hotel and Tourism Association of Trinidad and Tobago: ”The best ITB in 20 years.“
Pilar Cano, president of the Central American Tourism Agency (CATA): ”There were many new leads and we met lots of new business partners. Our exhibitors confirmed that the region offers even greater business prospects.”
Jens Bischof, head of Products & Marketing, Lufthansa Passage: “For Lufthansa and for me personally ITB occupies a very important role, which is why ours was one of the most exciting stands where we offered a wide range, exhibiting all our products. The response was awesome.”
Nishantha Wickremasinghe, chairman, Sri Lankan Airlines: “ITB gave us the opportunity to discuss the industry’s future and meet old and new customers. This was the best possible platform for us to announce the date of our entry into the Oneworld Alliance.”
C.S. Subbiah, manager, Germany & Central Europe, Air India: “It was very important for us to be here and to showcase the good progress we have made. That is why we greatly enlarged our display at ITB and met business partners from the tourism sector and the media.”
Mohammed Mubarak Al-Shikely, general manager, Marketing, Oman Air: “For us, the world’s largest travel trade show is the most important place to meet people.
Gerd Buchholz, officer responsible for Barrier-free Travel, VisitBerlin: ”There is a growing acceptance of barrier-free travel. We noticed that on the stand. We organised a theme island with a wheelchair and the entire chain of tourism services on the ground. Lots of trade visitors came to us asking us where we were. The project manager of the Federal Project for Barrier-free Destinations in Germany received an invitation to Italy directly on the stand. This is a first step towards creating general awareness. The road ahead is long. Our aim is to dispel images of wheelchairs. Disabilities are manifold, and the idea that everyone can come on board needs to be widely propagated.VisitBerlin took a first decisive step in that direction. Initial surveys on the tourism infrastructure have taken place and we are now waiting on the results in order to provide certification.”
Olaf Schlieper, Head of Innovation, Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus (DZT): ”My personal impression was that this sent out a clear signal regarding barrier-free travel, which in turn forms part of sustainable tourism. The reactions to both topics were very positive. We released two publications here highlighting best practices.”
Ingrid Sorat, Germany director of the Slovakian Tourism Centre: “Slovakia welcomes German tourists’ growing interest. In 2013 we registered a 13 per cent increase in visitors. The reactions at ITB were fantastic, both on the stand and at the press lunch, which we organised for the first time.”
Statement Aleksandr Martynow, deputy director of the Committee for the Promotion of Tourism in St. Petersburg: “Each year ITB Berlin is a firm fixture on our calendar of events. It is an important event, as the German tourism market has good potential. Many thousands of German tourists visit this diamond among Russian cities.“
Susith Hettihewa, regional general manager for the European Union, Air Astana: “From Air Astana’s point of view ITB is the ideal marketplace for promoting flights to Central Asia among business travellers and tourists alike. Expo 2017 in Astana was already a major topic at the many meetings we had. That will further boost Kazakhstan’s prospects as a tourism destination.“
Markus Kopp, chairman of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG: “As the world’s largest travel trade show ITB provides us with an ideal opportunity to show the wide-ranging audiences of trade visitors and the general public what the airports at Leipzig/Halle and Dresden have to offer.“
Dr. Nicolae Platon, director general of the National Tourism Agency of Moldova: “This was our tenth appearance at ITB and our most successful to date. We had a lot of meetings with new customers on our stand and our first press conference at ITB was very well attended. Interest in Europe’s most authentic region is on the rise.”
Norbert Fiebig, CEO, DER Touristik: “ITB Berlin 2014 went very well for DER Touristik. So far, tourism has been outstanding this year and ITB Berlin proved once again to be the ideal venue for exchanging ideas and holding talks with our business partners from 150 countries. This is where the tone is set for 2013/2014 to become a new record year for DER Touristik.”
Jasmin Taylor, managing director, JT Touristik: “For us, ITB Berlin 2014 was an all-round success. We welcomed numerous business partners and visitors on our stand, including many from abroad. From our point of view the show is the ideal platform for holding key talks.”
Source:- ITB
Tags: ITB Berlin
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