A Condensed Guide to Getting The Most Out of ITB Berlin 2017

Check out the condensed guide to ITB Berlin 2019.

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ITB Berlin is BIG. So big in fact, it’s like an entire city representing every corner of the world is set up for 5 days and then, poof, it’s gone.

ITB stands for Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin. Börse is German for exchange. But unlike most travel and tourism conferences, ITB Berlin is more of a B2B convention.

Over 170,000 visitors, exhibitors, and journalists attend ITB Berlin. While there is ample opportunity to learn about the latest trends and technology in the travel and tourism industries, the biggest opportunity it presents is networking (and crashing parties, but you didn’t hear that from us).

Some of the most useful tips we’ve heard are:

• Dress business casual as business conduct is still rather formal in Germany.
• Buy your lunch early (or bring it) as the queues for food stretch on for days.
• After registering, be sure to fill our your profile and company details as other attendees use this information to plan their time and schedule meetings.
• Set up a meeting with those you are interested in meeting with as far ahead of time as possible. This event is less spontaneous than others.
• Learn the map of Messe Berlin and plan ahead of time your routes and timing to get to meetings, events, and speaking sessions. It can take over 30 minutes to get through halls at times. Bonus tip: use the Sommergarten park to cross over and avoid wading through crowds.
• Use the ITB Berlin app. Many folks report that while the app is lacking on some information, it is fairly helpful for navigating the convention.

Over 260 countries, cities, and regional destinations (tourism boards) are represented at ITB Berlin.

There are also over 10,000 tour operators, hotels and accommodation, airlines, cruises, online booking systems, and tourism technology companies exhibiting.

Use this list to prepare for ITB Berlin Exhibitors you’d like to visit.

Checkfront will be exhibiting in Convention Hall 6.1, Travel Technology Segment at Booth 130. So come by and say hi!

Date: March 8th to 12th, 2017

Location: Messe Berlin GmbH, Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin, Germany

Where to stay in Berlin and how to get around:

For easy travel to the Messe Berlin each morning, look for accommodations close to the S-Bahn underground lines, S41 and S42. They circle Berlin in each direction. Other suggestions would be to stay in the western part of the city close by Messe Berlin, such as in Schöneberg, Wilmersdorf, and Charlottenburg to use the S-Bahn lines S7, S75 or S5.

There are over 26 halls at Messe Berlin so study your map and get familiar with where you want to go ahead of time.

ITB Berlin Convention Areas and Segments:

• Asia-Pacific (5.2a, 5.2b, 3.1b, 7.2a, 26)
• Africa (4.2a, 20, 21a)
• Arabian Countries, Israel (2.2, 4.2b, 21b)
• Americas / Caribbean (3.1a, 22, 23)
• Germany (6.2, 7.2c, 8.2, 11.2, 12)
• Europe (1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 7.2b, 10.2, 15.1, 17, 18)
• Tourism Companies (8.1, 9, 10.1, 13, 14.1, 42, 25)
  • Carriers
  • Hotels
  • Tour Operators
• Segments
  • Medical Tourism (3.2)
  • Youth Travel, Adventure Travel, Responsible Tourism, Economy Accommodations (4.1)
  • ITB Travel Technology (5.1, 6.1, 7.1c, 8.1, 10.1, 11.1)
  • Culture Lounge (16)
  • Gay and Lesbian Travel – LGBT (21b)
  • Cruises (25)

ITB Berlin 2017 sessions – speakers and panels:

There are over 200 events and workshops taking place and over 400 speakers and panelists at ITB Berlin. To make it easier to plan, we comprised a list of recommended sessions for tour and adventure travel operators. If you want to see the complete listing with session descriptions, download the ITB Berlin Detailed Program PDF.

You can also download a PDF of Checkfront’s suggested sessions seen below to print or view on your mobile device.

ITB Berlin Wednesday, March 8th, 2017

Connecting Tour Operators With OTAs
Speaker: Hernán García, CEO – Operadores, TravelPAQ
Time: 10:30-11:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Showroom

Best Practices (And Things To Avoid) For Using Traveler Photos In Your Marketing
Speaker: Jody Farrar, VP of Marketing, Chute
Time: 11:30-12:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Showroom

How To Reach And Address Millennials?
Moderated by: Catharina Fischer, Strategic Consultant Digital Marketing, Tourismuszukunft
Panel guests: Mike Corey, Travel videographer; Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk, Travel Blogger, Designer, Illustrato
Time: 13:00-14:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Effectively Showcasing and Communicating Events, Conferences, and Incentives
Speaker: Günter Mainka, Managing Director, Twilight Events Deutschland GmbH
Time: 14:15-15:00
Location: Hall 7.1a, Auditorium New York 3

World Tourism Economy Trends 2017 & Chinese Outbound Tourism
Moderated by: Richard Matuzevich, Senior Manager, Secretariat of WTCF
Panel guests: Miodrag Popovic, Acting Director, Tourist Organization of Belgrade; Wu Qingsong, Deputy Director, General Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality; Gonzalo Robredo, Director, Buenos Aires Tourism; Dr. Song Rui, Director, Tourism Research Centre, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; He Shengkang, Counselor, WTCF
Speaker: Wu Qingsong, Deputy Director, General Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality
Time: 14:30-16:00
Location: Convention Hall, 7.1a, Auditorium New York 1

Tell Me More! Emotional Storytelling And Content Marketing In The Tourism Industry
Speakers: Jyrki Oksanen, Director, Central Europe, Visit Finland; Joachim Schmidt, Owner, Intensive Senses | Manufaktur für digitales Marketing
Time: 15:00 – 15:30
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Snapchat & Instagram Stories: The Power War Of Live Updates
Speaker: Petra Vorackova, Freelance YouTuber & Photographer, Snapchat Expert, Influencer
Time: 16:30 – 17:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Travel Content Personalization On Mobile Devices With Artificial Intelligence
Speaker: Tymon Wiedemair, Co-Founder & CEO, Ulmon GmbH
Time: 16:30 – 17:00
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Secrets Of Search Engine Rankings
Speaker: Fili Wiese, SEO Consultant, SearchBrothers.com, former Google Search Quality Team Member
Time: 17:00 – 17:30
Location: Hall 4.1, Room Regensburg

Make Your Website Load Really Really Fast!
Speaker: Fili Wiese, SEO Consultant, SearchBrothers.com, former Google Search Quality Team Member
Time: 17:00 – 17:30
Location: Hall 4.1, Room Regensburg

The Great Tourism Debate
Stephen Taylor, SVP Enterprise Solutions, Sojern
Time: 17:00-17:45
Location: Hall 7.1b, Auditorium London

ITB Berlin Thursday, March 9th, 2017

Social Media As A Sales Channel: Chatbots, Messengers, Customer Loyalty And The Law
Speakers: Peter Hense, Lawyer, Spirit Legal LLP; Katja Rengers, Lawyer, Spirit Legal LLP
Time: 11:00-11:30
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Story And Transformational Travel In The Digital World
Speaker: Daniel Noll; Audrey Scott
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Delivering Outstanding Guest Experiences – The Key to Success
Speaker: RJ Friedlander, CEO & Founder, ReviewPro
Time: 12:00-12:30
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Showroom

Online Marketing Insights 2017: Best Practices From 500 German Travel Websites
Speaker: Christian B. Schmidt, Managing Partner, Digitaleffects GmbH
Time: 12:30 – 13:00
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Virtual Reality In The Tourism Industry – Tour Operators’ And Travel Agencies’ Experiences
Speaker: Andreas Weigel, Managing Director, diginetmedia
Time: 15:00-15:30
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

The Future Of Travel Booking
Speaker: Georg Sobczak, Commercial Director Germany, Criteo
Time: 16:30-17:00
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Cooperating With Bloggers For Place And Product Marketing – Case Study Of Travel Blogger
Speakers: Matt Gibson, President Elect, Professional Travel Bloggers Association; Dileep Mudadeniya, Head of Brand Marketing, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
Time: 16:30 – 17:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

ITB Berlin Friday, March 10th, 2017

How To Work With Travel Bloggers And Influencers
Speaker: Kashyap Bhattacharya, Travel Blogger, Toposophy
Time: 10:30 – 11:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

ROI Of Story Telling: Keys To Successful Content Marketing Campaigns (Digital Storytelling, Distribution, Case Studies & Beyond)
Speaker: Rob Holmes, Founder and Chief Strategist, GLP Films
Time: 11:00 – 11:30
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Smart Tourism: Knowing What Customers Want Before They Do
Speaker: Arnaud Masson, Chief Operations Officer Europe, Voyages-sncf.com
Time: 13:00-13:30
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Brexit And The USA: Tourism In Times Of Political Disruptions
Introductory presentation: Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel, Euromonitor International Chris Gottlieb, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, London & Partners
Panel guests: Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel, Euromonitor International Chris Gottlieb, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, London & Partners
Time: 13:30 – 14:30
Location: Hall 4.1, Room Regensburg

Digital Rockstars In Tourism: How Do They Do It?
Speaker: Toni Stork, Founder & CEO, OMMAX
Time: 14:30-15:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Talkin’ About My Generation: Transgenerational Marketing – 3 Key Digital Influencers On Purchasing Decisions
Speaker: Torsten Sabel, COO, CA Customer Alliance GmbH
Time: 14:30 – 15:00
Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Lab

Snack-Content
Speaker: Franz-Josef Baldus, CEO, koelnkomm kommunikationswerkstatt Gmbh
Time: 16:00 – 16:30
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Travel Marketing: Learnings Of A Social Media Agency
Speaker: Anthony Rawlins, Managing Director, Digital Visitor
Time: 16:30-17:00
Location: Hall 6.1, eTravel Stage

Summary of helpful ITB Berlin links:

• Messe Berlin Ground Map
• ITB Berlin App
• ITB Berlin Exhibitor List
• ITB Berlin Convention Program
• Links to Hotel Shuttles and Fairground Shuttle Lines
• Checkfront’s PDF of Suggested Sessions

Want to get a little taste of what you’ll learn from us?