A total of 11,163 exhibiting companies and organizations from 188 countries will be presenting their products and the latest travel trends at the 45th ITB Berlin this week.

All available space has again been booked up at the world’s leading travel trade show, which is expecting some 100,000 trade visitors and 60,000 members of the general public to attend.

They will be able to obtain details about the entire range of the value-added chain in tourism in 26 halls covering an area of 160,000 square metres.

Egypt and Tunisia will also be present at ITB Berlin, to enable their own tourism industries to make their preparations following the recent political turmoil.

The consequences for tourism of the political unrest in the Arab world will also be discussed at the ITB Berlin Convention.

Christian Göke, chief operating officer of Messe Berlin said: “Once again the demand from exhibitors has exceeded the area available at ITB Berlin.

“All the leading market contributors are meeting on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds.

“The international travel industry is expecting some record figures at 2011.”

New eTravel World forum

Technology and innovative processes are becoming increasingly important for the travel industry, which is why ITB Berlin has created a new forum.

In Hall 7.1c the Mobile Travel Services section is being merged with a successful introduction from last year, the ITB Social Media Lounge, to create the eTravel World.

The papers being given on the eTravel Stage will provide details about current developments in mobile computing, augmented reality and social media.

At the eTravel Lab the opinion-formers and practitioners attending the workshops and seminars will invite participants to an in-depth discussion about the mobile solutions of tomorrow.

Partner country Poland

A 1,600 square metre display will feature the diversity of all of Poland’s regions, with the whole of Hall 15.1 used to present natural and cultural treasures as well as the venues for Euro 2012 and the new stadia.

There are also lounges and conference rooms for trade visitors in Hall 14.2.

Poland is aiming to entertain the public with thrilling dance shows from the world-famous choreographer Agustin Egurrola, with hit music and a presentation of the best of the country’s range of spas and wellness attractions.

Expanding sectors and emerging tourism countries

The Travel Technology sector continues to enjoy vigorous expansion. This part of ITB Berlin has definitely acquired a more international dimension and is welcoming ten new exhibitors, including Fact-Finder Travel, Multicom, Peakwork, Accovia, Vilauma, Lufthansa Systems, and Oléry from France.

There is a considerable demand for niche products too, such as the Gay and Lesbian Travel lsection, which was first introduced last year.

It has undergone further successful development and is now located outside the USA stand for the first time.

The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) has expanded and now includes contributions from Zurich, Antwerp, Vienna, Tel Aviv, Brazil and Argentina.

The markets in Asia, Central America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are undergoing a particularly dynamic expansion.

All available space has already been booked in the India Hall (5.2b), while suppliers from the Far East and South East Asia are erecting numerous two-storey stands in Hall 26. In the hall occupied by the Pacific Region (5.2a), both Fiji and Papua New Guinea have increased their display areas.

In Hall 3.1 the combined Central America stand is now 40 per cent larger, and Colombia has also reserved over one-third more floor space. Zagreb is exhibiting for the first time in the Eastern Europe Hall (1.2), and the Croatia Tourism Board has increased the size of its participation. Serbia, in Hall 2.1, is also staging a significantly larger display.

Other new exhibitors, stands and locations

Visitors to this year’s ITB Berlin will find the entire Spanish display under one roof in Hall 4.2.

Wolfsburg, the centre of car-making, is represented for the first time with its own stand in Hall 6.2, next to the state of Lower Saxony.

Hamburg has a new stand, befitting its role as Europe’s Green Capital.

The new exhibitors in the passageway leading to Hall 24 are McArthur Glen Outlets Europe, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the AIDS charity Aidshilfe.

A number of countries are returning to Halls 20 and 21, the Africa halls, and they include São Tomé & Príncipe, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, last seen on the Exhibition Grounds in 1993.

Visitors will find plenty of new exhibitors in Hall 25: TripAdvisor, Holland-America-Line, Spar Mit!, ETI, TSI Mondial Travel GmbH and EGT Tour are all represented at ITB Berlin for the first time. Among the returnees are AGA International, formerly Mondial Reiseversicherung.

Getting to ITB Berlin

Admission to the ITB Berlin Convention is included in the price of trade visitor and exhibitor tickets.

For the first time trade visitors and exhibitors can also attend PhoCusWright@ITB at no additional cost. This year PhoCusWright, the internationally recognised American market research organization and consultancy specializing in the travel sector, will be dealing with the subject of Marketplace Chaos: Spotlight on Technology and Innovation.

A new addition to the programme will be the New Media Summit in Hall 7.1c on March 10th 2011. Bloggers from all over the world will be joining with PhoCusWright analysts to discuss current trends on the travel market.