Travel Trends with Dan Christian
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Travel Trends with Dan Christian
Event Spotlight: ITB Berlin
Discover everything you need to know about ITB Berlin, the largest global travel trade show, with valuable insights from Debbie Rothe, Director of ITB. This special episode spotlights dives all the speakers, session plans and tips for making the most essential event for travel industry professionals.
We cover the highlights to help you maximize your ITB Berlin experience:
- What makes ITB Berlin a key event for the travel industry
- A look at its diverse exhibitors and global participants
- Key details on ticket pricing and accessibility
- A preview of ITB Berlin 2025, featuring themes of innovation
- A deep focus on sustainability in travel
- Albania’s role as the host country
- An impressive lineup of speakers and their session topics
- Registration and important dates to mark
Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned professional, this episode offers a rich roadmap to navigating the evolving world of global travel. Don’t miss it!
Season 5 Launched Jan 15th. New Episodes Every Weds! Check out our first 4 Seasons.
https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/
As ITB, we have or we're focusing on the aim to kind of be the mirror of the whole travel industry, which makes it very complex, as you just said, with almost 6,000 exhibitors and almost 100,000 people on site.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to a special event spotlight of Travel Trends. Today we're going to be discussing one of the most anticipated events of the travel industry calendar year and it's also the world's largest event that attracts more than 100,000 people each year. And, of course, we're talking about ITB Berlin, where I'm going to be for the very first time this year, and in this session we're going to be speaking to Debbie Roth, who's the director of ITB. She's been with this incredible organization over 10 years and so in many ways, she's the perfect person for us to speak to, to understand what you need to know if you're a first timer like me, but also for those of you who are returning, to understand what the big themes and focuses and key speakers are for ITB 2025. Now the dates are March 4th to 6th. If you're listening to this afterwards, don't worry, because you're going to still get a lot of benefit from this discussion and you can certainly start planning ahead for next year.
Speaker 2:Leaders and executives from WeRoad, from Impulse Travel in Colombia, from With Locals based in Amsterdam and also the head of tourism for South Africa. It's going to be an amazing session. I just wanted to thank Charlotte Lamp-Davies, who runs the tours and activities track for helping to curate this, what I consider to be a can't miss session, so I hope to see many of you there at 1210 on March the 5th. You can find out all the details about ITB at itbcom. You can register. The tickets are incredibly reasonable if you're like me and attending for the first time and are not familiar with ITB, but there's so much happening at this event it's on more than three floors and you'll hear all the details that Debbie and I get to in this discussion. I certainly would love to connect with you if you're going to be there, so feel free to reach out to me, dan, at traveltrendspodcastcom, and I hope we had a chance to meet many of you in person. The other thing I wanted to highlight, too, is they also have an amazing podcast, which is called the Travel Hero Podcast. You can find that on the ITB website or any of your streaming platforms, and I had the privilege and honor to be on their podcast just a few weeks ago, so you can definitely check that out and listen to some of the other updates leading up to the big event.
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Speaker 2:Our longtime listeners will be very familiar with travelaicom, one of our sponsors, from the very beginning. They've sponsored the last two seasons and also our AI Summit. You might actually remember they were recently featured in season four. The two co-founders, john Liotier and Chris Jensen, live from Focusrite, where they shared how their innovative use of AI is reshaping the travel industry. If you missed it, we highly recommend going back to hear their inspiring story of building one of the fastest growing, profitable AI companies in travel.
Speaker 2:Entirely bootstrapped Travel AI is revolutionizing the industry by blending AI power deficiency with personalized, human-centered travel experiences, from micro-segmentation to tailored travel solutions. Their mission is to enhance every traveler's journey while setting the pace for travel's future. Here's how you can join the exciting mission. If you or someone you know in tech or AI is looking for a new career that combines innovation and impact, then head to TravelAIcom or follow them on LinkedIn to explore more opportunities. They are growing fast. Thanks again for your continued support, and now back to the show. Now, without any further ado, let's welcome our special guest, the inspiring leader behind ITB Berlin, debbie Roth. Great to have you here, debbie. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, Dan. Thank you for having me here.
Speaker 2:For sure. I'm so excited for my first ITB, as you know. I cannot believe it's been this long and I have not been. I'm doing a session as many of our listeners have heard on our podcast on March the 5th to do on Hidden Gems. We've got an amazing session planned, but I wanted to have you on our podcast to talk about the event itself and all the things you're looking forward to. But maybe before we get into that, it'd be best to start with your background. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got into tourism and specifically, your role as the director at ITV?
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure. So I've been with ITV Berlin and the travel industry for more than 10 years now, so I started my personal journey in 2014 as a key account manager for the mainly Eastern European countries and I, from then on, I got a lot of touch points with the travel industry, of course, and since I've been always interested in global scale events because I actually my studies and event management, and this combination, together with the travel industry, was actually the best that came up for me and, yes, now I'm here well, that's fantastic, and I had noticed in your you'd actually spent a bit of time in China as well.
Speaker 2:Tell us a little bit about that, because, yeah, you studied this and obviously you're German and the event is in Berlin, so I do want to talk about that too, because obviously the destination itself is important for what is the largest global travel industry event, but you spent some time in the largest global market, so tell us a little bit about how that came about, if you wouldn't mind.
Speaker 1:It was so exciting actually, because, as you know, itb is not only in Berlin. We also have an ITB in Asia for the Southeast Asian market, and ITB China in Shanghai for the Chinese market, and now also ITB India and Mumbai. However, for the Chinese market, we launched the ITB China in 2017. However, for the Chinese market, we launched the ITB China in 2017. And it was just so exciting because I had the chance to contribute to that event from the beginning on, and we went to Shanghai and, yeah, organized an ITB name.
Speaker 2:That's incredible, very cool. So let's bring everyone else in that may not be familiar with ITB, because we say ITB Berlin, but it's's of course, it's in the name. So tell everyone what ITB stands for and how you've essentially become this globally recognized travel brand and how. I guess this was the part that shocked me was just the scale of the event, having been at WTM, where there's 20 or 30,000 people and that ITB is over 100,000. So, yeah, give us a little bit of background about the branding and the event itself.
Speaker 1:Sure. So ITB Berlin is indeed the world's leading global travel trade show and conference, which is very important because we have both in parallel and we have a registry spanning over more than 50 years. Actually, next year, in 2026, itb is going to be 60 years old. Next year, in 2026, itb is going to be 60 years old. So in 1966, we started with ITB in Berlin and it's held annually in Berlin. It actually serves as a major platform, let's say, and family gathering of the tourism industry for networking, knowledge exchange and business development in travel and tourism. So, which is very important for us, because we are welcoming, as you just said, over 100,000 people every year in Berlin, from travel professionals over students, young professionals and everyone who's involved in the travel and tourism industry, and this from more than 180 countries.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's extraordinary, and I like the word family because I certainly have, having been working in the travel industry for more than 20 years it does feel like a big, extended family. You do see, um, your friends and colleagues at various events, so I'm very keen to see just how many people I end up knowing. Obviously, there's a lot of people I'm going to meet, which is going to be, uh, one really cool thing about itv berlin, I guess, um, in terms of who comes together for the event. One of the things I've heard speaking to Charlotte, who's one of your colleagues and she had highlighted to me the number of tourism boards. So tell us a little bit about what anyone attending the event. If they were to close their eyes and open them again and they're at ITV Berlin, tell us a little bit about what they would see or experience and who's there.
Speaker 1:Actually, if you ask me, of course, there. Actually, if you ask me, of course, it's a must-attend event for anyone who's in the travel and tourism industry. So it's actually where the entire ecosystem of the travel industry meets and let's start, for example, as you just said, with the tourism boards and the destinations. They get a global platform to showcase their offerings and form partnerships with tour operators, media and investors, the travel agencies, and with tour operators, media and investors, the travel agencies and the tour operators coming from all over the world to discover new destinations, experiences, to enhance their offerings. And, of course, the airlines and the hospitality brands, who connect with potential partners, explore trends of customer demands and showcase their latest innovations. So it's actually something for the whole travel market and I think it's a must-attend event.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, Well, the one thing I was impressed, too, is that it's actually quite affordable. A lot of events are actually very expensive, and so I just wanted to ask in that regard if you actually wouldn't mind giving it a bit of an overview of that of people attending the event, because, again, it is incredibly cost-effective by comparison to what some industry events cost. And I guess my other question along those lines is whether or not you actually get travelers beyond people that work in the travel industry. Do you find that there's other people that just are interested in our industry? I mean a lot of travel advisors? I'm sure it would be keen to see.
Speaker 2:Um, my son, for example, wants to be a pilot, so he'd want to go see all the airlines and see, like, their new routes and their different planes, and I think he'd get a kick out of coming. He's already asked me if he can come. I said not this year, maybe next year. But yeah, tell us a little bit more about, I guess, the pricing and if it does extend to even people outside the industry.
Speaker 1:So ITV Berlin used to be the family gathering that is, or gives access to almost everyone who's interested in the industry as well as wants to become an industry member, let's say so, yes, the prices are quite good because it's not about, you know, like we're a global scale event, which means we have a lot of people on site, which means that we have the chance to actually provide these kinds of prices. However, at the end, what we get out of it is that we have, let's say, industry discussion, we have insights that we can promote afterwards and, of course, we have our exhibitors as well as our attendees, who are kind of contributing to the financial resources of an ITB Berlin. What we have at ITB is that we're pure ITB, pure B2B only event. So, yes, until Corona hit in, we were open for public as well on the weekend. However, after Corona, we decided to go to a B2B only event, having only travel professionals on site, which is actually much more efficient for everyone attending.
Speaker 2:No, I appreciate mentioning that, and just part of the reason I wanted to highlight that to our global listeners. I mean, we have listeners in 125 countries and Europe is our second largest market after North America, and I'm sure there's a lot of people that part of our podcast is people that either are coming back to the industry or want to get into the travel industry, and so, just so everyone knows too, like the um for those of you who are students, there's actually a a 48 Euro ticket, um, you can go for 35 Euros for the day. Or if you're in the industry and you're in the area or want to make the effort to get to Berlin, it's 80 Euros, and this was like I'm used to spending two or $3,000 for a pass to a trade show, and so that's why comparison seemed so economical. But obviously the key is to get as many people there to showcase the number of partners, because my understanding too, debbie, is that the event itself is over like three floors. So, yeah, take us.
Speaker 1:Take us through what the experience is like there's actually I I an average of 20 kilometers per day that you make at an itv ber, because it's 150,000 square meters that we're looking at. It's 40 halls with a capacity of an average like 5,000 square meters each. So it's a lot to go, it's a lot to explore.
Speaker 2:You have to get your steps in, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you do, so you have to put your trainers on, that's true. Yeah, I mean, this is what ITB is all about. Right, it's like traveling around the world at one place in Berlin, and this is what we are focusing on in the future as well, and this is why we want to have people as well as companies get access to this show, even for a little budget.
Speaker 2:Right, and now let's talk about your role, the director role at ITB and I know you kindly mentioned to us that you've been in the industry for over 10 years and you've been with ITB for the majority of that time. But tell us about your role and specifically what you oversee, given this is like a massive event. I'm sure there's like a large team that's working with you. But, yeah, tell us a bit about your role and the team that brings this event together.
Speaker 1:Sure. So, as you just said, it's a team effort for sure. I mean, I have a passionate project core team of around 20 people here who work year round to shape and organize the event, but when ITB Berlin comes to life, nearly 1,000 people join forces to ensure everything runs smoothly, of course. So, yeah, we're basically starting from planning an inspiring conference program to coordinate exhibitors and managing on-site logistics, as well as marketing campaigns to ensure, of course, all important information and news are being communicated. So, yeah, the C words were passion and energy to create a seamless experience for everyone, and this hard work transforms ITB Berlin into the world's most important gathering for the travel industry. My personal role is actually to facilitate this whole team in working together, in joining forces and, of course, be a kind of strategy for the future and shape the event as it is and ensure that everyone gets access to this global travel event.
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Speaker 2:And now back to the show, now this year's event. Of course it's happening March 4th to 6th, but tell everyone what the theme or the focus is for this year's event and you know, I know what I've read in preparation for our conversation, but I guess I'd love to hear it from you and I'm sure our audience would as well. So the theme, the focus for this year's event and, I guess, what you're particularly excited about this year.
Speaker 1:So the event itself. I mean we always have like a, let's say, general claim what it is all about. I mean it's not like changing every year, because the travel industry is kind of, you know, a very dynamic and vibrant industry which changes like day by day but has always like new ideas in stock. But what we wanted to kind of bring together is the transformative and innovative type of industry that the travel industry is, and that's why we called it pioneering the transition and tourism Convention, because we wanted to showcase and kind of bring together that the whole industry is bringing and showcasing new products, innovations, new ideas, and exchanging, of course, their ideas and discussions on stage at ITV Berlin Convention, but also on the show floor, like in the aisles where they stand or like catch up just in between meetings. And this is what it's all about.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great. I appreciate you sharing that and I was looking into some of the details myself so I could start to prepare for meetings and, obviously, this session that we're hosting. But there's like 5,600 exhibitors that's the part that astounds me. Like there's 24,000 participants, 100,000 attendees Like these numbers are staggering. So when I think about 5,000 exhib, um, and then who's going to be there?
Speaker 2:The other thing I'd like to know from you because, in terms of trying to make your time, it's like trying to go through a um, a large museum for the first time and you're trying to figure out what the highlights are that you should try to get to. And I'd love to hear that from your point of view, because when I was doing my research, both for the event and our conversation, I was seeing that you have, you you know, focus on adventure tourism, business travel, luxury travel, even medical tourism, which is something we've never focused on on our show. We've certainly done wellness, but that's and I want to meet interesting people in different segments that could be on our show, that could add value to our audience. So I guess what would you suggest or what were some of the highlights this year, I should say, of some of the exhibitors that are coming together, either doing something particularly astounding, or new exhibitors that you're really keen to see what the reaction is to the audience of some of these new partners.
Speaker 1:So, as ITB, we have, or we're focusing on the aim to kind of be the mirror of the whole travel industry, which makes it very complex, as you just said, with almost 6,000 exhibitors and almost 100,000 people on site.
Speaker 1:However, preparation is all, so you're doing a great job with that and having a look at the event program, as well as, of course, the showcase at the show floor, where everyone is kind of positioned on the fairground.
Speaker 1:If you ask me about some highlights, I would definitely um catch up and go to hall 3.1, where our host country, albania, is positioned this year, with more than 700 square meters, um, our host country, as you know, is like the biggest showcase of a destination, with the opening ceremony on monday having a great show on stage and also showcasing all the let's say like the wide range of products that Albania is representing there. Of course, we will have a great event program. We have 17 theme tracks at ITB Berlin Convention on stage, on four stages. We have several different topics that we are going to touch on stage, which is like responsible tourism, which is travel technology, ai in specific, but, of course, adventure travel and future marketing. Everything is going to be discussed on stage and so you definitely have to come by the convention, which is in all the halls of 7.1 A, b and C, and it's going to be a great program, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Now, that's great. I appreciate you mentioning the and I should clarify too the third, fourth and fifth and when on? I was just looking at some of the dates it's fourth to sixth and I was actually the dates I was looking at some of the events because after our session on the morning of the fifth, there sessions all afternoon I was like, okay, I've got a plan to attend those Cause for me. I like I mean I really enjoy the networking and the connections and visiting various vendors, but I really want to learn as much as possible. So I love attending the tracks and that's what stood out to me that I need to schedule my time uh, around. As soon as you said Albania, we have mentioned Albania several times on our podcast in season five because it has been one of the um hot emerging destinations and I've highlighted to our audience because this is great, you're in germany and we're talking about we've. A friend of mine got back from this incredible um kind of eastern european trip and he said albania was by far the highlight.
Speaker 2:And what he was saying is all the americans are in croatia, where it's really expensive and crowded and all the europeans are inia because they they it's so cost effective like the, the hiking and like, and so I'm totally intrigued about going to Albania and I see it as kind of one of the five emerging destinations, so that's actually really cool.
Speaker 1:It validates.
Speaker 2:I guess what I'm hearing, that they're. They're actually putting the the effort in now too, to court more travelers by being the flagship at your event in now too, to court more travelers by being the flagship at your event.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. And speaking about the speakers, it's I mean we have more than 400 speakers on site, so it's actually quite hard for me to select from that.
Speaker 1:I can't play favorites yeah, yeah, I can't play favorites, but in order to give you some sneak peeks, of course we're going to have, for example, masha Driesen, who's the original vice president in Continental Europe from Microsoft. We're going to have, for example, greg Schultz, the chief commercial officer of Expedia Group, or Roya Zaitun, the head of YouTube Culture and Trends from Google. So there is just such a wide range of interesting speakers on stage and I just can give you the advice to go through the whole Congress program to get an impression of who's going to be on stage and when and to mark it in your calendars, because otherwise, I don't know, the podcast is going to be like four hours, fair enough.
Speaker 2:Well, you mentioned another point, too, about sustainability being one of the focus areas, and that's one thing I just wanted to ask you a little bit more about, because I was just at a conference in Quebec City which was extraordinary.
Speaker 2:Mt Lab put on this amazing event called Le Grand Remus, which translates to Troubled Waters, and the theme of their conference was around sustainability and innovation, given that we're all going to continue to see a dramatic increase in the number of global travelers, which, on the business side, is fantastic and exciting and people like ourselves can be reassured that we can continue to make our career in travel.
Speaker 2:However, we obviously need to be mindful of the next generations and the impact it has on our planet, and I think we all sense that as as as travelers, but everyone's trying to figure out what they can do or should do and, going to this event, they actually prefer me to take the train, but the train was about 14 hours there and back, each sorry, each way, and it just wasn't realistic. But what are some of the things that you are, as ITB, prioritizing around? Sustainability, given it is such a big topic, and obviously I'll see some of these things, I'm sure, at the event itself whether it be, you know, no plastic bottles. I mean some of the things that are more associated with that movement. But yeah, is there certain initiatives that ITB has implemented or around sustainability or responsible travel, and how you approach putting together this event?
Speaker 1:Sure. So I mean, there are different layers of that. So, first of all, as you just mentioned, in the event production itself. So what we are doing, which is, for example, we hand out water bottles so you can just get your water from the bathrooms or from our water dispensers on site, we are trying to avoid any kind of plastics or also papers, like we are almost paperless not yet, but actually as ITB, we're just one part of the whole show and the exhibitors and attendees are like the major part of it. So everyone has to contribute on that. And, yeah, definitely, when it comes to the show itself, we're facilitator. We're facilitator for the discussion itself. We are providing Hall 4.1, where adventure travel as well as responsible travel is going to be showcased by exhibitors and also by, of course, sessions on stage, and we have the Responsible Tourism Track and the ITB Berlin Convention.
Speaker 2:Got it Okay. That's super helpful. I appreciate giving us that context because I know it is of increasing importance. We've certainly seen it post-pandemic, that you know. It used to be in the top 10 for people's consideration and now it's more in the top five. And I've referenced in a couple of interviews how James Thornton from Intrepid and obviously Intrepid is going to be there a lot of these small group adventure tour companies that are sustainably focused you know B Corp and they're having massive growth because consumers are choosing that type of travel. And one of the things he highlighted to me that I just wanted to reshare with our audience for no-transcript back and making sure that we're conscientious of the impact that we're having.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, and I mean talking, especially talking to destinations. I have a lot of discussions with destinations. I'm always saying the best that you can do is finding ambassadors of your country. So if you have travelers who are having a good time in your country and getting some more, let's say, very authentic experiences on site, they will come back and this is very sustainable because you will have them in your country as many ways as you want and you can kind of educate them on how to travel your country as many ways as you want and you can kind of educate them on how to, you know, travel your country. And I think that sustainability is becoming more and more of a top priority of travel, of the travel industry, and we would like to continue these discussions and initiatives around eco-friendly travel, which is very important and, of course, like green technologies and sustainable practices.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's fantastic. I'm excited to see more about that. I had a chance to meet Matt Woods, who is the CEO of Queenstown Tourism, just recently, and he gave an amazing presentation at this conference I was at, and this is where I look forward to seeing other people similar to him that are very conscientious about the impact. And he was highlighting about the jet boats in New Zealand how they've become electric and now they have no emissions the jet boats in New Zealand, how they've become electric and now they have, you know, no emissions. And there he sees New Zealand and some of these innovations that they're introducing as a shop front to the world to encourage not only travelers to come there, but also then other entrepreneurs to take these ideas and bring them back to their home countries. And one thing he'd highlighted to me too that I didn't realize I guess that this year they'll have their first fleet of electric jets in New Zealand and they're actually made in America, which I'm not sure how many are flying in America, but nevertheless an entrepreneur in America selling them to New Zealand who's very conscientious about the impact, and hopefully more people rise to that challenge as well. We'll be right back tour operator ticketing platform, ota or transport solution. When you partner with Protect Group, your customers get peace of mind and you generate extra revenue. With a Trustpilot score of 4.8 stars and over 31,000 reviews, they treat your customers as their own, earning the highest customer ratings in the industry. To find out more, check out Protect Group at protectgroup. That's protectgroup. Check out Protect Group at protectgroup. That's protectgroup.
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Speaker 1:If I have to pick one, it's definitely the bus and excitement of the event itself, because it's contagious, Whether it's meeting people from all over the world, like you know, just meeting and hugging and seeing this various really diverse and huge range of exhibitors and products and the vibrant international atmosphere. I really love that because you can see how travel builds bridges, how travel kind of connects cultures and, yeah, just brings the discussion on stage, which is quite nice, and you can kind of, let's say, replicate this kind of vibrant atmosphere as well.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it's like a wedding the whole family's coming in, but it's a wedding you want to go to and actually everyone's happy to be there, which is the best kind of wedding.
Speaker 1:And you don't want it to end. You know the three days are so fully packed that you don't want to have like Thursday evening where everything is like ended and everyone just goes home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's my hope too. I mean, I love Berlin as a city, so I'm planning to come in early. It's been a number of years since I've been back to Berlin I first time, but many people are coming back because it is such an international city. But yeah, any tips or suggestions for those people planning to come to Berlin. I know it's got so much to offer, so I know you can't pack it all in, but yeah, just a few suggestions from your vantage point. I'm sure it'd be helpful for some of our listeners.
Speaker 1:Yeah sure, so I mean from Tuesday to Thursday you're already fully booked, right? Because you're at the exhibition round, so there's no chance to go anywhere else. But if you're having some more time, you should definitely just like scroll around the city. It's basically the best thing you can do because you can actually walk a lot of times in Berlin. You can have a look, for example, in Charlottenburg, which is our district, where we have a lot of great food opportunities, like the best Asian restaurants that we have in Berlin, for example in the Cannstrasse, cannstreet. It's really nice.
Speaker 1:You can scroll through the governmental area, which is really nice because it's so modern, and you have great opportunities to just, you know, get a coffee and lay down on on the green spaces of Berlin, having like a look at at the great waters. We have a lot of seas in Berlin. My personal favorite is a little bit like around the corner of the exhibition ground it's the Grunewald, which is one of the most beautiful places in Berlin, I would say, because it's so green. It's our forest, the Grunewald, and you can just, like, you know, have a walk. You can just get yourself calmed down a little bit and have, yeah, a nice walk.
Speaker 2:I love that idea.
Speaker 2:I definitely need that after recording podcast, so I'm definitely going to find that park and make my way there or, at the end of the day, um, and then clearly, people can make their decision whether they come in a few days earlier or a few days afterwards, but nevertheless make the most of coming all the way to Berlin and and stay on and experience the city. But, yeah, so in terms of the planning for this year, um, we've talked a bit about 2025, but I'm sure you have a longer term view for ITB and, uh, I don't know if it's a 2030 plan or a 2050 plan, but I'd love to hear where you see the event, like, what is your kind of longer term vision? I mean, as you highlighted, the event's been around for 60 years and so, yeah, what does the next five years look like for ITB? You mentioned, of course you have ITB, india and China and Asia. Is it the idea to expand to other markets? Is the USA on the table, or North America, or South America, for that matter? Yeah, what's the long-term view for ITBs?
Speaker 1:Interesting idea is coming for me. No, of course, for the brand itself to start like a more overlooking perspective. Like a more overlooking perspective, we will bring ITB definitely to new key markets, such as we did with Shanghai and with Mumbai and Singapore. So there will be new markets around the world and, of course, we want to strengthen our position as a leading platform for the global travel industry. I think in the next five to 10 years, we definitely will remain a powerful catalyst for change, encouraging collaboration, promoting innovation and addressing the industry's most pressing challenges, because I think the best that we can do is talk about the challenges, talk about also the chances of the industry. So this is what we definitely want to facilitate also in the future.
Speaker 1:As I just mentioned, sustainable sustainability is becoming more and more a top priority, so we will definitely have that on on our stages much more. Also in the future, we will have more spaces for sustainability topics, so this is definitely one of the major topics that we will have. Also, with technology evolving rapidly, we will remain a central hub for showcasing new travel tech, AI driven solutions. Everyone is talking about AI, not only these days. I mean, it's a discussion that is going on like for so many years already, and digital platforms as well.
Speaker 1:So we will support the industry shifting toward more personalized and tech-driven seamless travel experiences, which is very important and, yeah, as travel becomes much more interconnected, we will also strengthen our role as a bridge between emerging markets and established travel hubs, facilitating partnerships that also expand global access to new destinations, experiences and services. I mean, for example, with the host country having on stage during ITB Berlin every year. We also want to showcase destinations that are not on the travel plan so far. For so many travelers. It's not only talking about the already famous destinations that everyone is traveling to. It's also promoting destinations that are like coming up on the map, and we want to give them the opportunity to provide that wide range of yeah services that they are providing.
Speaker 2:It will be interesting to see how AI impacts our industry. You highlighted that and that's why we're very intrigued to see that session, because I think it is going to be the biggest transformations we're going to see in our lifetime. We had the internet wave, we had mobile, but I think this has the potential to be much more significant because it's an agent and it can start to handle bookings on your behalf and it's going to change the consumer journey. So I'm very excited to see how that's presented this year and how that's going to change our industry in the years ahead, Because sometimes, as fast as things change, there's still travel agents that have brochures and people walk in and say I want a trip to Europe and they start flicking through brochures. So, as much as we think we're in 2025 and our world has changed so much, but certain things remain the same and I always I love to highlight that as well.
Speaker 1:And I think that's something that you will address during your session at ITP Berlin as well. It's also because we're like in the middle of the generation shift and uh, so we have to provide like both ways like the modern way, with uh, tech driven technologies and, and you know, online booking platforms and so on, but you also have like the, the, the traditional generation, who's still going uh to to um, to tour operator, like a traditional tour operator or travel agency, and want to get like personal, hands-on information from someone like sitting next to you. You know, this is like both ways we need to offer these days. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's why I'm excited about the session. So I appreciate mentioning that. I just want to highlight it to our listeners to make sure that everyone is planning to attend ITB, and I'm going to ask you in a moment for the information that they need. But I'm going to ask you in a moment for the information that they need, but I just wanted to highlight that March 5th, 1130, hidden Gems we're going to be doing an amazing session. To the point we were just discussing, debbie and I, about how our industry evolves but stays the same. Everyone wants to have an authentic, unique experience. They want to go to a hidden gem.
Speaker 2:It's very difficult for travel companies to keep gems hidden because obviously, travel can quickly become a well-worn path and none of us want that experience. And so the question that we're going to be asking we rode impulse travel with locals and South Africa tourism on this panel is how they uncover the hidden gems, how they bring travelers to have these often life-changing experiences. Not to be overdramatic, but people go away on a trip because they want to come back changed and have an impact, and a lot of times those hidden gems are connecting with locals, going into a local's home, making a meal, um and their experiences that they'll they'll cherish for a lifetime. So it is so important to the traveler journey. So we're going to be showcasing hidden gems. So I'm excited. The session's not about technology or marketing. It's literally about the uh, the great experience we're all seeking when we're traveling. But, uh, but, debbie, I've really enjoyed this conversation.
Speaker 2:I want to make sure that all of our listeners are there at ITB this year, as many that are able to attend. And for those that are not, please know that I'm going to be showcasing highlights from the event afterwards and doing interviews while I was there. So I will be bringing ITB to life for many of our listeners post the event. But let's try and make sure as many people can be there to enjoy it for themselves in person. So tell us please, debbie, how people can register. What are some of the key dates they need to be mindful of to get their tickets and book accommodation? What are all the things they need to know and get prepared?
Speaker 1:Sure. So I think the most important date you have to keep in mind is the 4th of March, so you have to be there, definitely, because it's just three days. You're going to have the chance to kind of explore everything, which will be fully packed, I assure you. So what you have to do is just to go on our website, at itbcom, get your ticket and be ready in Berlin. So this is actually the only thing you need to do and be ready in Berlin. So this is actually the only thing you need to do and definitely book your hotel as soon as possible that you can do, because Berlin will be fully packed as well. And, yes, be there ready at 9.30 at the entrance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's fantastic. Well, I look forward to meeting you there. Thank you so much for making the time for this. I certainly wish you and the team all the best in the next few weeks getting ready for the big event, because I'm sure it's going to be hectic, and I guess maybe, debbie, I'll finish with one last question. You're clearly an avid traveler as well, and I'm assuming you're probably going to need a little bit of time off after this. So what do you have planned as your trip for 2025? Are you going to Albania? What's on your list for your own personal travel this year? What's on your list for your own personal travel this year?
Speaker 1:So I've been around a lot the last years and I actually have to admit that there's still so much that you can see and I'm so eager on traveling a lot this year. But I think my highlight will be going to Alaska, because I've never been there and I definitely want to go there. I'm an outdoorsy, I love to travel around and, you know, do everything that I can do to get an authentic travel experience. So Alaska will be definitely my highlight this year. I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's fantastic Good for you, and please try and stop in Canada on your journey if it's in Vancouver.
Speaker 1:Oh, I will. I love Canada. It's one of my favorite countries in the world.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. Thank you, Debbie, and if people want to follow or connect with you, obviously Deborah Roth with R-O-T-H-E is your full name and I'm sure people can find that in the notes. But if people want to connect with you, LinkedIn is obviously one place to do that for partnerships or other opportunities. And, as you mentioned otherwise, ITB and check out, get your ticket and make sure that you're booked in to join us. And definitely I've booked my hotels and I guess that was one thing everyone reminded me of is like just get your hotels booked, get a ticket, get your hotels and everything else you can will fall into place. But yes, good luck with the event this year. Debbie, I look forward to meeting you there and thanks again for making the time for us on Travel Trends.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, dan, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for joining us on this latest episode of Travel Trends, the special event spotlight. As we talked about ITB Berlin with Debbie Roth, we're actually going to continue doing more spotlight episodes in 2025. There'll be another event spotlight coming up from Le Grand Remus in Quebec City, so look out for that. Launching shortly. We're also going to be doing destination features, startup spotlights and executive spotlights, so keep an eye out. Wherever you get your podcasts, make sure you are subscribed for Travel Trends to get the latest updates. And, of course, we post highlights and clips on our social channels, which is YouTube, linkedin and Instagram, all of which are at Travel Trends Podcast. So look out for sneak peeks and highlights. And then we also summarize all of our episodes and upcoming travels in a monthly newsletter which you can register for at TravelTrendsPodcastcom. Thanks again for joining us for this special feature. We look forward to having you join us on our next episode and, until then, safe travels.
