ITB Berlin Expo Ready to Make Strong Comeback
With the slogan “Open for Change”, the ITB Berlin travel trade show in Germany will open its doors on March 7 as an in-person event and welcome domestic and international exhibitors.
Running until March 9, this year’s ITB Berlin will for the first time take place for trade visitors only. The leading travel trade show will be accompanied by the prestigious ITB Berlin Convention on the Berlin exhibition grounds with selected sessions to be streamed on the supporting online platform at ITBxplore.
According to organizers Messe Berlin, ITB Berlin 2023 will see high participation as around 90 percent of the available display area is already booked.
New multi-purpose hall – hub27
At ITB Berlin 2023 the destination hot spot will be hub27, the new multi-purpose hall, which is fully booked.
Georgia, the official host country of ITB Berlin, will be strongly represented, as will Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Poland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Berlin, Brandenburg and Deutsche Bahn, along with various airports from around Germany. The ITB Blogger Base, the place for all international travel bloggers to head, will also be located in hub27.
High international participation
Demand for places is high among Greek exhibitors, who will be represented in Hall 1.1. Italy, Croatia, Macedonia, Malta and Bosnia, all located in Hall 1.2, will also be represented in large numbers again. Albania, whose exhibitors will be spread over three halls (including Hall 1.1), will also be present in large numbers. In Hall 2.1, participation by Spain’s tourism industry will be also impressive and feature the large stands of Turespaña and the Costa del Sol. Turkey will present its tourism products in Halls 3.1b and 3.2a.
In Halls 22 and 23 visitors can also expect large representations from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Colombia, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, Cuba, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.
This year, Hall 21 will be completely devoted to sub-Saharan countries while a number of African countries, among them Ethiopia, Rwanda, Guinea and Senegal, will be located in Hall 22.
Representations from the USA and Canada will be exhibiting in Hall 3.1, along with Israel.
As in previous years, Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East will be strongly represented, with Egypt, Morocco, Qatar and Oman located in Hall 4.2, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and newcomer Saudi Arabia in Hall 3.2b.
As in previous years, the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as Ireland will be strongly represented in Hall 20. The UK will also have a large stand again.
In the Asia Hall (26a/b), the destinations that will await visitors include Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, Tokyo, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. China will be represented by the provinces Zhejiang and Huangshan.
Airlines, cruise liners
International airlines, cruise liners and tour operators will be represented with their products in Hall 25. Exhibitors from the resurgent cruise sector in particular will be represented in record numbers at ITB Berlin 2023. MSC Cruises, Explorer Journeys, VIVA Cruises and United Rivers will be taking part for the first time with their own stands, while regular exhibitors such as Holland America Line, nicko cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines will be well represented again.
Luxury travel segment HOME of LUXURY by ITB
Twenty-three exhibitors from the luxury travel market will be represented at the Marshall Haus on the exhibition grounds, including Serverin’s Resort & Spa, FUORITINERARIO and Quark Expeditions, along with media members from Luxus Insider and Connoisseur Circle.
Medical Tourism has its own hall
A large number of exhibitors in the Medical & Health Tourism Hall (26c) will be from Turkey. Numerous new clinics as well as medical hotels and destinations will be represented there.
Culture Lounge
Hall 6.2 is where the Culture Lounge, a large display area for cultural tourism organisers, can be found. Among the close to 50 co-exhibitors will be several European museums, festivals, cultural regions and trusts.
Travel Technology and Mobility segments
The Travel Technology and Mobility segments will be back with large numbers of exhibitors. All the Travel Technology halls are fully booked. This is where exhibitors such as GIATA, Sabre, Amadeus and Peakwork will combine proven concepts with innovative ideas – true to the slogan “Open for Change”.
Innovations
The new ITB Lighthouse Stage in Hall 4.1b will be hosting presentations, discussions and networking events under the headings Adventure Travel, Responsible Tourism and Tourism Careers.
Another innovation in Hall 4.1 will be the LGBTQ+ Pavilion. Exhibitors there will include Visit Malta, which will present this year’s Europride, and Communitat Valenciana, which will be represented at the Gay Games 2026.
Also, a new feature this year at ITB will be the Street Food Market in Hall 7.2c where visitors can take a culinary tour and fully enjoy international cuisine.
Newcomers
This year newcomers to ITB Berlin include the European Capital of Smart Tourism, an initiative of the European Commission and the Hyatt Inclusive Collection (Hall 22).
In addition, a German marketplace will mark its debut in Hall 6.2.
Since 1966, ITB Berlin has been the world’s leading travel trade show. The expo’s 2023 edition will take place from Tuesday, March 7, to Thursday, March 9, as a pure B2B event. In 2022 ITB Berlin took place as a virtual event on the brand’s website itb.com and registered 60,700 attendees from 125 countries who took part in more than 100 sessions featuring 223 speakers.
Before the pandemic at ITB Berlin 2019, around 10,000 exhibitors from 181 countries displayed their products and services to some 160,000 visitors, including 113,500 trade visitors.