Berlin, 12th March, 2010: This year’s ITB has defied the global economic murk and has come ahead confidently with a higher number of exhibitors than the last convention as the travel market recovers from a difficult downturn. Officials said ITB 2010 is taking place against a more stable backdrop than in 2009.
As the world’s largest travel show opened its doors for the 44th time, sources have revealed that exhibitors have spent more money again after investment dipped last year. “Even in these hard economic times we have managed to grow and can announce positive figures,” said managing director Christian Göke.
The number of exhibitors has risen slightly over last year’s total of 11,098 to 11,127 from 187 countries and the show is again sold out. This has encouraged more exhibitors to invest in two-storey stands to boost their presence without taking up additional floor space. The event has also seen the return of some big names which were absent in recent years, notably Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport, United Airlines and Sabre.
“I believe we are out of the trough,” said Klaus Laepple, president of German travel association DRV.
The upturn follows a slight fall last year, when German package holiday sales fell three per cent to 20.8 billion euros, although Laepple pointed out that the travel market has not fared as badly as other retail sectors. For Germans, the most popular destination was their own country, with 76 million trips taken within its borders. Spain was the most popular foreign choice, followed by other Mediterranean destinations, Italy and Austria.
“The big downward trend has stopped and during 2010 we hope to see a solid increase,” Laepple added. “This will be a challenging year – a year of consolidation and stabilisation. We are cautiously optimistic, but not euphoric.
