People walk past the booth of Qatar during the ITB Berlin travel trade show in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2024. The ITB Berlin travel trade show kicked off here on Tuesday and will last until March 7. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
UN Tourism expected that international travel will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates pointing to 2 percent growth above 2019 levels.
BERLIN, March 7 (Xinhua) — This year’s ITB Berlin, a tourism trade show, focuses on future topics of artificial intelligence (AI) and green transformation as the industry is set to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Running from Tuesday to Thursday, the 2024 edition of the trade show in the German capital featured a total of 5,500 exhibitors from around 170 countries and regions, according to the organizer.
“ITB Berlin is and remains the most important platform for the travel industry,” said Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, adding that the fair provided “groundbreaking impulses and trends for the whole world, leading to innovations in the international tourism industry.”
People communicate at the booth of Tanzania during the ITB Berlin travel trade show in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2024. The ITB Berlin travel trade show kicked off here on Tuesday and will last until March 7. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
Among the key innovations in the industry, the use of generative artificial intelligence in areas such as customer advice or smart payment was discussed at the ITB.
“The effect of AI on travel and tourism will be more profound than any technological development since the invention of the World Wide Web,” said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Actors from China’s Shaanxi Province perform Yangge, a traditional Chinese folk dance, at the booth of China during the ITB Berlin travel trade show in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
As the travel industry has recognized its responsibility in the fight against climate change, the participants also discussed solutions such as bicycles, electric cars or climate-friendly management of accommodation.
“We must allow the environmentally friendly areas to expand, and restrict those that harm the environment,” said Jeremy Sampson, CEO of the UK-based tourism organization Travel Foundation.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel industry “continued the trend of rapid recovery at a remarkable pace,” with the Asia-Pacific region returning to a “positive balance once again,” a spokesperson for the ITB Berlin’s organizers told Xinhua on Thursday.
A staff member serves coffee at the booth of Ethiopia during the ITB Berlin travel trade show in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
More than 40 exhibitors from China participated in the trade show.
UN Tourism expected that international travel will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates pointing to 2 percent growth above 2019 levels. Last year, the industry’s global revenue reached 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars, around 93 percent of the level in 2019, according to initial estimates. ■
