180,000 attend global tourism trade show in Berlin

The global travel trade show ITB Berlin ended Saturday March 13, 2010 and made history as the biggest event in the history of tourism shows with 180,000 visitors attending.

The event also recorded orders worth six billion euros, a press release form the organizers, Messe Berlin copied to ghanabusinessnews.com has said.
The event also witnessed a record number of journalists in attendance, 7,200 journalists from around the world covered the show.

Commenting on the success of the show, Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin said “ITB Berlin 2010 broke records despite the difficult overall economic situation. More than 11,000 exhibitors placed a total of more than six billion euros worth of orders. The industry demonstrated resilience and placed its trust in the strong brand that is ITB Berlin, which once again was able to gather all the leading players in the market. ITB Berlin is the trade show where senior executives do business. The proportion of decision-makers attending this year’s fair was greatly in excess of fifty per cent.”

According to the release, 11,127 companies from 187 countries attended the show as compared to 11,098 in 2009. The exhibitors it said showcased the international travel industry’s entire range of products and services.

The success of ITB Berlin 2010 is an indication that the tourism sector is resilient, despite the global economic crisis and it also holds the key to economic boom for most countries.

The next event is scheduled for Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13, March 2011.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi