Newly appointed German chancellor Angela Merkel will this year open ITB Berlin.

On the eve of the show, ITB Berlin and this year’s partner region, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, will be extending an invitation to the opening ceremony in Hall B at the CityCube Berlin.

For the first time the event, which is by special invitation only, will leave a zero-carbon footprint.

Taking as its slogan, The Spirit of Nature, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the official partner region of ITB Berlin, will be fascinating guests with an impressive programme of shows, where tradition will inspire modernity and vice versa.

Some 80 performing artists from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern who are directly associated with the federal state that is Germany’s most popular holiday destination will be taking part.

In the Modern Beach Life show a historical beach armchair, surfboards and a beach volleyball will meet each other.

The Sound of Silence will highlight the unique landscape of the Mecklenburg Lakeland region to the musical accompaniment of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic Ensemble.

ITB Berlin 2018 will be taking place from Wednesday-Sunday.

In 2017 a total of 10,000 companies and organizations from 184 countries exhibited their products and services to around 169,000 visitors, who included 109,000 trade visitors.