At the opening of the International Tourism Exchange, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) called for more sustainable and resilient tourism. “The freedom to explore the world is no justification for destroying it,” he said in English at the opening ceremony of the leading trade fair for the international travel industry in Berlin. However, CO2 compensation is not enough to change course. Further measures are necessary.
Previously, Habeck had emphasized the importance of international tourism for economic prosperity in numerous national economies. “Globally, one in ten jobs depends on tourism,” he said. “The pandemic has made that painfully clear to us.” But the climate crisis is threatening this basis in many countries: Ski areas without snow, dying coral reefs, forest fires, droughts and floods are signs of this.
Berlin’s current mayor, Franziska Giffey (SPD), also attended the opening ceremony. “Tourism has recovered significantly in the past year,” she said on Monday evening. Berlin also benefited from this. “The tourists from Germany and other countries are back,” said Giffey. In Berlin, like in other cities, it was pretty quiet during the pandemic. “We are very happy that these days are behind us.”
This year, the trade fair is all about the boom in tourism after the Corona crisis. “The bottom of the valley from 2021 has finally been passed,” said the President of the German Travel Association DRV, Norbert Fiebig. “We expect to close at the sales level of the record year 2019 (…).”
It is the travel industry’s first post-pandemic gathering. In contrast to the pre-Corona years, the ITB (March 7th to 9th) is now only open to trade visitors. Guest country this year is Georgia.
Number of overnight stays 2022 BAT Foundation for Future Questions ITB program Announcement ITB opening
