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Press Release

March 12, 2021

ITB Berlin NOW: News highlights from Thursday, 11 March 2021

LGBT+ Leadership Summit calls for more inclusion - Innovative concepts for new start in city travel segment - "Adventure & Sustainability Partner" Georgia shows cultural and scenic diversity

The World’s Leading Travel Show has the latest stories from the virtual edition of ITB Berlin NOW 2021 online in its ITB Newsroom and on ITB Berlin News. This is where media representatives and bloggers can obtain free articles for their editorial coverage of sessions at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention, exhibitor press conferences and presentations as well as interviews with leading industry figures.

LGBT+ community: “We are part of everyday society“
LGBT+ Leadership Summit at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention discusses achievements – and the work still ahead
There was still considerable discrimination in everyday life, at the workplace and on trips to many places around the world, including Europe, he said. All those taking part in the discussion concluded that it had to become easier to out oneself at the workplace. Ultimately, companies were a mirror image of society.

Passionate about open borders
Tourism professionals from Spain and Austria use the ITB Berlin NOW Convention to call for a shared European way out of the crisis
What is the future of tourism in Europe? At the ITB Berlin NOW Convention a passionate appeal was made by Norbert Kettner, managing director of the Vienna Tourist Board, and Arturo Ortiz Arduan, director Turespaña Deutschland, for European cooperation and open borders.

Georgia: where God sends guests
The country is presenting its amazing wide range of attractions at ITB Berlin NOW
From its mountain peaks to the Black Sea coast, Georgia has an amazingly wide range of climate zones, flora and fauna and all kinds of culinary specialities including famous Georgian wine to offer. At ITB Berlin NOW, this year’s Adventure & Sustainability partner is showing more and more new aspects of the country. 

Meaningful encounters instead of mass tourism
Experts at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention sketch out city tours of the future
It will be necessary to re-invent city tours following the coronavirus pandemic. In so doing there will be important roles for digitalisation and quality – whereby the word ‘quality‘ should also be seen in the context of significance and reason. This was one of the primary statements by participants in a panel discussion at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention.

Hoteliers’ debate: will sustainability certification increase turnover?
Panel discussion at ITB Berlin NOW shows that business and eco-awareness can be combined
Are visitors’ demands on hotels changing, and can practising eco-awareness improve business? This was the topic that a panel discussion attended by ITB Berlin, Fachhochschule des Mittelstands and the InfraCert Institute for Sustainable Development in the Hotel Industry examined at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention.

Promoting Abu Dhabi with security and snow
HE Ali Hassan Al Shaiba presents an ambitious 10-year concept at ITB Berlin NOW
The capital of the United Arab Emirateshas already made a new start as a tourism destination. During the pandemic it has also used the time to draw up a tourism development plan for the period up to 2030.

No masks when rafting
At ITB Berlin NOW the Adventure Travel Trade Association ATTA presented uniform coronavirus guidelines
The Adventure Travel Trade Association ATTA has put together detailed coronavirus safety guidelines for wildlife, sports and adventure tour operators and presented them at ITB Berlin NOW.

Australia has everything to soothe travellers’ souls
Tourism Australia at ITB Berlin NOW: no borders to open yet
Australia has been doubly hit by the pandemic. In early 2020 the country suffered the worst bushfires in its history. As the nation began to recover, Covid-19 spread across the world. Over the last year, the tourism industry in the southern Pacific has more or less come to a standstill.

Hohe Tauern: In close contact with nature
New hiking routes presented at ITB Berlin NOW: On the same level as Austria’s highest mountains
“Thirteen valleys are strung out like pearls on a necklace in our national park”, was the proud claim made at ITB Berlin NOW by Roland Rauch, general manager of a holiday region, the Hohe Tauern national park. In May 2021 the Hohe Tauern national park acquires a new hiking route, the Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail, stretching for more than 150 kilometres.

Statement on behalf of human rights
Managers at ITB Berlin NOW call for open LGBT+-friendliness
There are two reasons why the worldwide LGBT+ community will be able to breathe more easily following the pandemic: Tourism suppliers will be expected to make use of a new openness in this respect, to openly acknowledge this group of people, and thus to embrace human rights as well, suggested the participants in the round table at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention.

Beijing is focusing on domestic tourism
The Chinese capital is presenting restructured tourism products at ITB Berlin NOW
Since the coronavirus pandemic Beijing has completely restructured its tourism products. Its main focus is on domestic tourism, explained Wei Pang, deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, at ITB Berlin NOW.

Phocuswright takes a look into the future
Expert Charuta Fadnis provides insights into market research findings and technological trends at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention
When can the tourism sector be expected to recover? In their investigations into this question the market researchers from Phocuswright have produced some findings that differ widely from one country and region to another. 

Now it comes down to prevention
Expert discuss resilience at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention
A lasting recovery, and not only by the tourism industry, depends to a decisive extent on prevention if damage caused by the virus on a massive, global scale is to be avoided. This was unanimously agreed by the government representatives and experts who took part in a panel discussion at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention on the subject of resilience.

Data protection in the smart travel chain
ITB Berlin NOW discusses the disclosure of health data
The new relevance of heath data has given even greater topicality to the subject of data protection in the smart travel chain. In summing up the situation, data experts at ITB Berlin NOW decided that not all the answers have yet been found.

The pandemic as a wake-up call
Experts at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention advise tourism businesses to adopt strategic personnel management
Studying tourism online – is it effective? The reply from three tourism professors at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention on Thursday was ambivalent.

ITB Newsroom and ITB Berlin News: the latest industry news, first-hand

Every day, journalists, bloggers and other interested visitors can find these news stories and many more from the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show in the ITB Newsroom and on ITB Berlin News. The ITB Newsroom is currently reporting in English and German on the highlights of this year’s entirely virtual event. ITB Berlin News has the latest industry news and stories from ITB Berlin NOW 2021 in English only. Topics at the ITB Berlin NOW Convention, the global travel industry’s leading think tank, are also widely covered by the two news portals.

About ITB Berlin NOW and the ITB Berlin NOW Convention

ITB Berlin NOW will take place from Tuesday, 9 to Friday, 12 March for trade visitors only and as an entirely virtual event. ITB Berlin is the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show. As part of ITB Berlin NOW, the ITB Berlin NOW Convention, the largest travel industry event of its kind, will also take place as a virtual event. The World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) is the co-host, Mascontour Track is the sponsor of the ITB Future Track, Google and Lufthansa are track sponsors of the ITB Marketing & Distribution Track, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is the ITB Sustainability Track partner,  SIO AG is the track sponsor of the eTravel DATA TALKS and Studiosus is the session sponsor. We would also like to especially thank further sponsors: the Official Buyers Circle Sponsor Philippines, the Luxury Sponsor Botswana Tourism as well as the NOW Star sponsors Indonesia, Maldives, Philippines and Tourism Malaysia, the NOW Shine sponsors BWH Hotel Group and Huawei Petal Search and the NOW Light sponsors Clock PMS+, Deutsche Hospitality, Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, Madrid, NG Phaselis Bay, Penguin Ocean Leisure, SERVICE-REISEN GIESSEN, SR Travel and Via Hansa & Borealis.

For exhibitors, trade visitors and the media, participation in the ITB Berlin NOW Convention is included in the price of a ticket. Additional information is available at www.itb.com/now and from the ITB Social Media Newsroom.

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About Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH
Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH has been promoting the Free State of Saxony as an attractive travel destination on the German and international market since the year 2000. Under the brand slogan ’SACHSEN. LAND VON WELT’, it has positioned Saxony as a quality cultural destination featuring art, culture and city tourism as well as holidays for families, health and fitness enthusiasts. Saxony’s largest markets are Germany itself, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the USA, UK, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Asia. Buchungsservice Sachsen has information and advice on Saxony as a travel destination and provides a booking service.