Next year, from 5 to 8 March 2014 at the ITB Berlin Convention, the event that examines forward-looking global tourism issues, visitors will again be offered strategic input and the latest information on important topics. Malaysia is the official Convention & Culture Partner in 2014. One of the key topics for discussion at the international travel industry’s leading think tank will be the luxury tourism sector, with a number of sessions examining this subject. The use of new technologies in the travel industry is another topic that will be widely discussed at the ITB Berlin Convention. Following the eTravel World’s successful debut on the Saturday of the show the programme will once again extend into the weekend, to 8 March 2014. Admission to the ITB Berlin Convention is free for visitors to ITB Berlin.

At the ITB Global Future and Trends Summit Day, the opening event of the ITB Berlin Convention, Lee McCabe, Head of Travel Facebook, will deliver a keynote speech on the prospects for social media securing new customers. Afterwards, Nils Müller, CEO of TrendONE, will follow with a second keynote speech on “The world in 2025 – a journey into the future” and will demonstrate multimedia innovations. At the ITB Future Days Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK International, will present the ITB World Travel Trends Report with the latest data on global and European tourism. The Airline CEO panel will feature senior CEOs from international airlines discussing how low-cost carriers are impacting on the tour operator industry.

At the ITB Destination Days Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, the world’s largest cruise association, will deliver a keynote speech and provide an economic outlook. Both the ITB Asia Panel and the Latin America Forum will be examining the current challenges facing tourism. Delegates attending the Africa Forum will be looking at the prospects for the luxury tourism sector. The Progress in Tourism Research of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tourismuswissenschaft (DGT) will be examining what makes people relax when they are on holiday. At the ITB Berlin Convention the travel book author Doug Lansky will deliver a paper on how innovative technology can provide solutions for managing overcrowded destinations, of which there will be more and more in the future. In 2014 gay and lesbian tourism will again be a key topic, with papers and discussions due to be held at the ITB Berlin Convention.

Visitors to the ITB Marketing and Distribution Day will be able to receive practical tips and find out the latest marketing and sales survey information. Thus, GfK will be presenting its survey of 17,000 interviewees on the topic of the “customer journey.“ TV journalist Percy von Lipinski will deliver a keynote speech explaining how to organise a successful press trip. Next year’s ITB Media Summit will focus on new business models and niches in the media market. The Open Innovations session will be examining innovations in the tourism industry. Once again the topics of sustainability and corporate social responsibility will play a major role at the ITB Berlin Convention. At the ITB CSR Day experts and decision-makers will be discussing human rights and the Green Leaders Program of TripAdvisor, the portal for travel reviews. The Studiosus discussion round, a popular event, will again be devoting time to a topical CSR theme.

Once again the programme of the ITB Berlin Convention is scheduled to include workshops, on South America for example, or on the right procedure for applying for EU funding for tourism projects. In 2014 the slogan of the DGT Speed Dating event is “Science meets the Tourism Industry.“ Career starters in the tourism industry will receive a valuable boost to their prospects at the ITB Berlin Convention. At the ITB Young Professional Day the DGT will be reporting on the current situation regarding tourism studies. At a podium discussion the DGT and Verband Internet Reisevertrieb (VIR) will be exploring the technological expertise that tourism students need to acquire. In cooperation with the trade publication FVW the DGT will be presenting the results of its latest survey. Together with ITB Berlin the DGT will be honouring students for outstanding achievements and presenting them with the ITB Science Award. Next year at the ITB Business Travel Days the focus will be on the latest developments in the business travel sector.