Expeditions and Adventure Travel Booming says ITB
The market for expeditions and adventure travel is booming. “Travellers are after something different”, says David Ruetz, of ITB Berlin. “Everyone wants to experience something nowadays – adventure travel paints a different picture of the world, away from beaten paths, and let’s tourists experience holidays that are special.”
The global industry’s leading trade show will be offering a foretaste of the various ways to experience adventure and nature. Tour operators, tourist boards and organisations from almost every continent will be offering information on expeditions, diving holidays, nature trips, as well as on sustainable tourism and eco-travel.
During the three days reserved for trade visitors a pow-wow will be taking place in the “Experience Adventure, Ecotourism & Expeditions” section for the fourth time. This year’s slogan for the various sessions with leading international speakers is “Desert, destruction and sustainable tourism”. Mary Amiri, the well-known European journalist will kick off the series. As an enthusiastic globetrotter she will be presenting various regions from around the world.
Warm-up sessions with flash interviews, chat shows, presentations and discussions, as well as a festival entitled “Rendezvous with the desert” welcoming visitors with musicians and dancers from Panama, Kenya and other countries will make sure the events are informative, exciting and entertaining. Two photo exhibitions will visually round off the events. Impressive images of “the deserts of this world” and “Kenya’s northern deserts” will reveal nature’s secrets.
The focal point of the Trends & Events hall will be a large stage hosting lively events, which will act as a platform for workshops and events during the days reserved for trade visitors. On the open days for the general public the stage will be transformed into an entertaining venue with international groups performing music and shows. Kazakhstan Performance, Korean dancers, and Ritmos y Raices Panameñas, a folk ballet from Panama, will be showing off their artistic skills. Miss British Virgin Island will be enchanting visitors with her beautiful smile!
For many years the fashion show “WeltGewänder“ organised by Welthungerhilfe (World Famine Relief) has been among the attractions popular with the general public. The colourful and innovative “global couture” collections are designed by students from leading international fashion schools. On Sunday afternoon the motto will be “live on stage”, when Deutschlandfunk’s programme “Sonntagsspaziergang” goes live on air.
ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, 11 to Sunday, 15 March. The period from the Wednesday to the Friday is reserved for trade visitors. Last year 11,147 exhibitors from 186 countries presented innovative products and services, and a total of 177,900ö visitors attended the 2008 event.
Valere Tjolle
Valere
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent