Germany: ITB Berlin Now exhibition attracts 65,700 online participants

 Germany: ITB Berlin Now exhibition attracts 65,700 online participants

The world's leading travel trade show - ITB Berlin has just taken place in Germany, bringing together many voices in the tourism industry to join the ITB Berlin Now online forum with about 65,700 visitors, including about 64.5% of people come from other countries.

The exhibition offers participants a unique virtual encounter that is suitable for these difficult epidemic times. At the exhibition, thousands of people representing destinations, hotel chains and technology companies from 120 countries used this new way to present their products and services and attract more 1,000 media representatives and travel bloggers from 54 countries.

In the current context, UNWTO has outlined a positive story for the tourism industry, highlighting its historic ability to lead and adapt to new challenges.

In it, the "Global Tourism Plastics Initiative" jointly organized by UNWTO, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, introduces ways to tackle plastic waste and pollution in the tourism sector to support tourism. support a sustainable post-pandemic recovery of the industry, noting the progress made and the challenges facing.

Along with UNWTO's commitment to sustainability, commitment to gender equality is also a top priority. On the second day of ITB Berlin, in the context of International Women's Day (March 8, 2021), UNWTO organized a special workshop on “Gamechangers” with the participation of female entrepreneurs working in the industry. tourism sector. The event featured presentations by five female entrepreneurs who won the UNWTO SDGs Startup competition, outlining how their businesses can contribute to addressing key issues such as gender equality, poverty alleviation and empowerment. work for everyone.

Also at ITB Berlin, UNWTO brought together prominent media to learn about the need to restart tourism with the aim of promoting sustainability and responsibility. The event "Media for Recovery" has the participation of experts from Google Arts & Culture, BBC, Euronews, Voyages Afrique...

Currently, the covid epidemic has changed the way the media introduces tourism and promotes destinations, but members around the globe also express their optimism because tourism is not only growing again, but tourists themselves as well as stakeholders across the industry are more concerned with the impact of tourism on communities, people and the world.

Besides organizing events, UNWTO also contributes expert knowledge to the discussion on Tourism for Sustainable Development, which is organized by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). ) and the German International Development Corporation (GIZ).