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“The day the world stood still” - David Ruetz on the coronavirus shutdown
60 Years of Stories: What does it feel like when one of the world’s largest trade shows - with thousands of exhibitors, months of planning, and fully constructed booths - is suddenly called off?
David Ruetz, SVP of Messe Berlin and at the time Head of ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, recalls in this video interview the shocking moment in 2020 when the pandemic became a reality.
What went through his mind the first time he consciously heard the word “Corona”?
What is it like to witness an entire global industry come to a standstill within hours?
And did anyone back then truly grasp the scale of what was to come?
David Ruetz, SVP of Messe Berlin, recalls in this video interview the shocking moment in 2020 when the pandemic became a reality.
Ruetz shares deeply personal memories of this dramatic turning point, offering a behind-the-scenes look at an event that came to symbolize the abrupt end of the world as we knew it.
Five years later, one thing has endured: the fascination with travel.
What still inspires him about it today - after everything the industry has weathered – he is revealing at the end of the video.
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ITB Berlin – Gingerbread heart from the year 2020. Copyright: ITB Berlin