ITB BERLIN 2025 - DAY 2: THE SHOW ANNOUNCES ITS NEW MARKET FOR NOVEMBER 2026 (Allemagne)
And the Journal des Palaces team continues its quest for new experiences . |
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ITB BERLIN 2025 - DAY 2: THE SHOW ANNOUNCES ITS NEW MARKET FOR NOVEMBER 2026 (Allemagne)
And the Journal des Palaces team continues its quest for new experiences . |
Catégorie : Europe - Allemagne - Économie du secteur
- Expériences exclusives
- Tourisme - Événements
Article rédigé par Asia Abadie le 05-03-2025
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
While Sylvie and I headed for the press area to finalise our plan of attack for the day, Vanessa was attending a conference on wellness tourism for Generation Z.
"Health Tourism Management: How to meet the needs of Gen Z as travellers&employees"
Alongside the stands, the ITB is punctuated by educational conferences dedicated to developments in the sector. Visitors can find out about the latest developments at destinations or learn more about trends in tourism, as was the case this morning at the Medical and Tourism Health stage. Anke-Andrea Sponer, a tourism researcher at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, launched the roundtable entitled "Well-being tourism management: how to meet the expectations of Gen Z travellers and employees". With several studies in hand, the audience was able to discover the profiles and expectations of this new generation of travellers, for whom a balanced life is the number one priority, and 31% of whom have already travelled as part of wellness tourism.
Growing up with pandemics, climate change and war playing in the background, this generation responds to codes and dynamics that are often different from those of other generations. With an average of 12.3 days' travel per year, Germany's Gen Z travel less than other generations but spend more than others. The criteria they use to choose their wellness destinations are relaxation, a healthy climate, value for money, a quest for nature and healthy restaurants. They are also sensitive to cultural offerings, the diversity of sporting activities, particularly group sports activities, and, of course, the image of the destination.
For Csilla Mezösi, International Secretary of ESPA - European Spa Association, the key to attracting this generation to wellness destinations is digital communication. This view is confirmed by Vincent Beckman, a representative of Gen Z. However, in his view, there should be no gap between the digital marketing campaigns and the experience once in the establishment. For him, health is not the objective of travel but a consequence of it. So Vincent prefers to talk about active tourism, which expresses more the desire of Gen Z to give meaning to their trip, to enjoy immersive experiences, to practise sport in the great outdoors... before taking time out to regenerate.
ITB unveils its new market
It's the news of the day: "ITB goes West", the launch of ITB Americas in Mexico in 2026. Mark your calendars! ITB crosses the Atlantic to cover the American continent.
This new edition will take place on the Pacific coast in Guadalajara from 10 to 12 November 2026. ITB Americas will be the only show to cover North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. On the programme: responsible tourism, experiences, business travel, technology... with 80% of exhibitors from the Americas and 20% from the rest of the world.
As at previous editions in Berlin and in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore and Mumbai, the show will also feature parallel conference sessions on a variety of themes.
Thailand focuses on sports tourism
At the far end of Messe Berlin, which is hosting ITB Berlin, another of the day's highlights took place in the CityCube, with a speech by Thailand's Prime Minister, who came to talk about the initiatives being taken in the Land of Smiles to boost the country's appeal as a tourist destination.
While tourism already accounts for 14% of the country's GDP, with 35 million international travellers expected by 2024, the Prime Minister's ambition is to reach 39 million international tourists by 2025 and to generate 98 billion in revenue from this activity. To achieve this, the authorities are working in particular on the country's transport offer and accessibility, renovating, extending, and even building airports and improving the rail network. The aim? To make it easier for foreigners to enter the country, and it is in this same vein that the government is working on simplifying visas, a process that has already begun with the digitisation of airport controls.
Thailand also wants to present a multi-faceted image, and in 2025, it will celebrate the "Grand Tourism and Sports Year", a year punctuated by events and festivals across the country.
Meetingleaders
In the afternoon, we headed for Hall 9, which houses the hotel and tourism groups. On the way, I scouted out the Egyptian stand, and we took a photo of ourselves with a grumpy Smurf that made passers-by smile. On the Philippine stand, we saw a pottery-turning presentation.
Vanessa joined us after her conference on Thailand in Hall 9 for an impromptu meeting with the CEO of IHCL, Puneet Chhatwal. This year, among the 5,800 exhibitors from the four corners of the globe, some of the world's leading luxury brands made the trip. During a discussion on the stand of The Lux Collective, CEO Olivier Chavy, told us about current projects in Africa and the Middle East, while Anna Nash, CEO of Explora Journeys, reminded us how essential shows like ITB Berlin are as part of a strategy to develop brand awareness.
This sentiment was echoed by Puneet Chhatwal, who was present in the Global Village to present the Indian group's brands to the many buyers in attendance.
A busy second day
I then ventured to the Eastern and Northern Europe halls, and in particular to the Hungary stand, where visitors could paint themselves on Paintillio canvas of Lake Balaton. My journey then took me to the Iceland stand to talk to the tourist office about the growth of luxury tourism in the country.
On my way to the Caribbean, the Namibia stand piqued my curiosity, and I chatted with their tourism board to find out more about their latest immersive experiences.
On the Jalisco stand, I met Gustavo Staufert, Director and CEO of the Guadalajara Visitors and Convention Bureau, to talk about the ITB Americas announcement and the unique experiences of the Jalisco region. He introduced me to the history of the birthplace of tequila and the mariachi bands. He opened our conversation with the phrase "Jalisco is Mexico" to illustrate the involvement of this Mexican state in the country's history.
After a brief organic chat with a minister counsellor from the Venezuelan embassy in Germany about the state of tourism in the country and our respective travels, I met up with Vanessa and Sylvie to head to the Home of Luxury, an exclusive meeting point where 12 luxury brands meet the buyers invited by ITB.
And that was the end of our penultimate day at ITB Berlin. Until tomorrow!
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
 Crédit photo © Journal des Palaces
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