The tourism trade fair, IBT Berlin, has announced it will not take place in March 2022 as was planned, due to the increasing infection rates of the Omicron variant.
“Naturally, we examined the possibility of postponing ITB Berlin until summer. However, after consulting with our partners we decided to retain the dates in early March. These are important for the travel industry, as the summer months are the main period for travel and tourism operations,” Messe Berlin CEo, Martin Ecknig said.
“The annual dates of ITB Berlin are deliberately chosen, as our customers mostly do business now or around March. For this reason, we are strengthening the digital elements of ITB Berlin at the ITB Berlin Convention and Digital Business Day. We are doing everything to support a travel industry hard-hit by the pandemic and in 2022 are planning a series of additional services and events in virtual and in-person formats.”
A dedicated Digital Business Day will be held on Thursday 17 March, accessible via ibt.com. IBT Berlin will invite buyers and suppliers to interact online, ‘enabling them to generate maximum trade from any place in the world.’
The virtual element of IBT Berlin will also include a livestream of a think tank meeting comprising of travel industry experts. Topics on the agenda include digitisation, sustainability and resilience.
The Digital Business Day is a further addition to the ITB brand family with the purpose of expanding an existing customer base to reach new audiences. The key themes will be networking and business and on-demand programme content. The event platform will already be available for matchmaking and scheduling appointments before the Digital Business Day on 17 March, including on mobile end devices.
During 2022, IBT will embark on a roadshow across Europe to host one-day B2B events for buyers and suppliers to conduct business
ITB Berlin has ambitions of returning to an in-person event in 2023.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
