There will be much to learn from the prominent figures in politics, business and the tourism industry attending this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. From 7 to 9 March 2012 more than 200 leading experts and well known entrepreneurs will gather at the world’s largest tourism convention to highlight new trends and show examples of best practices. Visitors to the ITB Berlin Convention will benefit from first-hand expert information and orientation on topical subjects such as the crisis in the Middle East, sustainability, transport, and developments on the internet, in social media and mobile technologies.

Representing this year’s partner country, Egypt’s minister of tourism H.E. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour is expected to attend. Together with other members of the ITB Future Day discussion round, including Dr. Michael Frenzel, CEO TUI AG, he will be debating tourism trends in the Mediterranean. On 8 March at the ITB CSR Day Ulrich Homburg, head of Public Transport, Deutsche Bahn AG, will be discussing the market prospects of barrier-free tourism in Europe. On 9 March the focus will be on taxes, charges and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Among those debating the consequences for European airlines will be Klaus-Peter Siegloch, the president of the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry (BDL).

Job training and the “war for talent” will be among the key topics at this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. On 7 March, in his keynote speech, Christoph von Knobelsdorff, State Secretary for Economics, Technology and Research from the Berlin Senate, will highlight the importance of professional training and advanced training in business and tourism. On the same day Alexander Brochier, senior vice-president, Group Human Resources, Kuoni Reisen Holding AG, will talk about the “’war for talent’: will the travel industry win or lose?“.

Once again, the ITB Destination Days programme features a wide range of topics. Prof. Dr. Volker Perthes of the Humboldt University Berlin, the Free University Berlin, director of Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik and author of a book on the Arab revolution, will be guesting on a panel entitled ”The Arab rebellion: an Arab Spring or tourism ice age “. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Reinhard F.J. Hüttl, science chair and board chairman of Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, will talk about “natural disasters and tourism“, and whether early warning systems can reduce the effects of tsunamis and earthquakes. Martin Craigs, CEO PATA, and Declan Hurley, vice president, International Sales Offices Europe, the Middle East & Asia Pacific, the Ritz-Carlton, will be among those discussing “Asia as an answer to the crisis in Europe and America“.

Other well known speakers at the ITB Berlin Convention include:

-  Dr. Bernd Fauser, head of Global Top Accounts Travel, Google
-  Felix Finkbeiner, 14 year-old member of the global board of the children’s initiative “Plant for the Planet”   
-  Matthias Hartmann, CEO, GfK Gruppe
-  Dominic Paul, vice president and group managing director for Europe, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
-  Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Hans-Werner Sinn, president of the ifo Institute, München
-  Jochen Zeitz, founder of the Zeitz Foundation, executive chairman of PUMA and CSO of PPR

A trade visitor pass to ITB Berlin is valid for admission to the ITB Berlin Convention.