North left out of tourism loop

CHIANG MAI, 22 November 2011: Chaing Mai Tourism Business Association says it will take two years to improve business in this northern town that is largely forgotten by mass tourism heading for Thailand’s  more popular beach resorts.

CMTBA general secretary, Vorapong Muchaothai, said the province would spend around Bt50 million on promotions during the fiscal year 2012 to address the shortcomings.

Data shows that less than 15% of all the travellers to Thailand will visit the North and Chiang Mai. Repeat visits are also low and spending is considerably below what Phuket or Pattaya earn from tourism. Read more

Germany gains tourism crown

BERLIN 21 March 2011 – Germany, one of the world’s largest outbound travel markets, is on its way to becoming one of world’s top inbound travel destinations. The country crossed 60 million overnight stays in 2010 and is targeting 80 million by 2020, with arrivals from China and India expected to figure highly.

Speaking at the ITB Berlin, German National Tourist Board Chief Executive Officer, Petra Hedorfer said: “Germany has the potential to stake out a permanent place for itself as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.”

She added, “We believe that growth of between 2 and 4 % is entirely realistic for inbound tourism, and the domestic market is also expected to grow by up to 2%.”

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Tourism could face bleak year

BERLIN, 16 March 2011 – The 45th ITB, the world’s largest travel trade show, began on an euphoric note with prominent appearances by tourism authorities of Tunisia and Egypt, and ended on a depressing note with the devastating tsunami in Japan and the prospects of soaring energy prices as a result of a wider conflict in oil-rich Libya.

It marked the end of a period of relative calm that allowed global tourism to make a strong recovery in 2010 and returned it to the possibility of facing yet another bleak year.

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Germany’s inbound tourism on a roll

BERLIN, 11 March 2011 – More than 20 years after the Berlin Wall fell, Germany is pulling in tourists as never before, setting itself up as a serious rival to more established European destinations like France and Italy.

The German tourism industry was in bullish mood Thursday at the world’s biggest trade fair, the ITB, as holidaymakers flock in ever-greater numbers to see historic Berlin, Bavarian castles and Baltic coast beaches.

With a nod to Germany’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and leading exporter, Ernst Burgbacher, secretary of state for tourism, crowed: “Now we can add ‘holiday in Germany’ to ‘made in Germany’.”

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Mongolia in ITB focus

BERLIN, 8 March 2011 – Mongolia is a designated partner country at this year’s ITB Berlin, which gets underway 9 March.

Mongolia will be presenting itself as an attractive travel destination for cultural tourists, as well as being the host of high-level podium discussions on domestic economic development and on measures to combat the effects of climate change.

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THAI promotes aircraft upgrade at ITB

BANGKOK, 7 March 2011 — Thai Airways international will highlight fleet modernisation as well as showcase new in-flight products at ITB Berlin, 9 to 12 March, under the theme “Experience our legendary services through your dream destination”.

The airline’s pavilion will feature a demo area to show off a new economy class seat including in-seat audio and video on demand, which is currently being retrofitted on Boeing 747-400 and 777-200 aircraft.

In line with the carrier’s long-term product development plans, six Boeing 747-400 will be fitted with the new economy class seats by the end of this year. The retro-fitted aircraft will serve on THAI´s Frankfurt and Munich routes.

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ITB Berlin sets the pace for CSR

BERLIN, 22 February 2011 – Sustainability will be one of the main topics on the agenda at ITB Berlin this year.

The world’s leading travel trade show will make use of its key role to promote a dialogue among companies in their effort to provide economically, socially and ecologically responsible tourism products and services. The issue of Corporate Social Responsibility concerns every area of the ITB Berlin Convention.

The most important event setting the pace is the ITB CSR Day, which was launched successfully three years ago.

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Egypt partners with ITB Asia

SINGAPORE, 14 October 2010 – Egypt is the official partner country for the 2010 ITB Asia, the show organisers, Messe Berlin Singapore, announced Thursday. .

Egypt, which positions itself under the tagline, “Where it all begins,” will use Egypt Night when ITB Asia opens on 20 October to showcase the destination to delegates attending the B2B travel mart.

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Around the halls of ITB

Turkey is the highlighted destination at this year’s ITB an interesting development as the national airline, Turkish Airlines, has identified Bangkok as its preferred hub in Asia and is about to enter code-share agreements with Thai Airways International.

The airline is focusing on Istanbul as its gateway hub to Europe and the city is demonstrating at the ITB exhibition grounds why it is the current European capital of culture.

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ITB opens on a robust note

ITB Berlin opened this morning, 10 March, with exhibitors  representing 11,127 companies from 187 countries showcasing travel products and the latest trends in technology. This year’s attendance is up marginally from 11,098 last year.

“At a time of reduced marketing budgets, ITB Berlin enjoys a clear competitive edge,” said Messe Berlin’s chief operating officer, Christian Göke. “We are proud to announce that exhibitors increased again. Moreover, with new sections and new exhibitors, ITB Berlin confirms its role as a trendsetter and an opinion leader.”

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