Despite growing global tensions, Germans are spending more on travel than ever before. At the opening of ITB Berlin 2026 on Monday, Albin Loidl, President of the German Travel Association (DRV), gave a positive assessment of 2025 in travel. He also looked ahead to the coming summer with optimism. Holidaymakers were booking earlier and placing greater emphasis on safety and quality, said Loidl. With regard to the current developments in Iran, he stated that the situation was being monitored with great concern.

The ITB Travel & Tourism Report 2026/2027 shows that the mood in the industry is optimistic, but that strategic preparation often lags behind the challenges of an increasingly complex world. According to data from the market research institute Phocuswright, the European and US travel markets are largely saturated. Speaking at the opening of ITB Berlin 2026 on Monday, Mitra Sorrells, CEO of the US institute said that despite this, she expected global annual growth of around 5.3 per cent until at least 2027. The driving forces were India and Latin America.

Six months after launch, Travalyst — the independent not-for-profit coalition of leading travel and technology companies founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex — has accelerated the development of its Data Hub from foundational phase to readying for global deployment.

This week in Berlin, as the vast halls of ITB pulse with the energy of the global travel industry, Saint Lucia is asserting its presence with quiet confidence. Against the backdrop of the world’s leading travel trade show, the island is sharing a story that goes far beyond sun‑drenched beaches—one rooted in nature, culture and a clear vision for the future of tourism. “ITB Berlin gives us a powerful platform to connect, to listen and to share who we are as a destination,” said an SLTA spokesperson. “Saint Lucia is not just a place to visit—it’s a place to feel, and that’s a message that resonates strongly with today’s travellers.”

There are destinations that sell holidays, and then there are destinations that sell dreams. The Maldives has long belonged to the latter category—an archipelago of imagination where turquoise lagoons meet powder‑white sands and time seems to slow to the rhythm of the tides. This year, that dream is making a confident appearance in the heart of Europe as Maldives Tourism takes centre stage at ITB Berlin, the world’s most influential travel trade show.

As the doors open this week at Messe Berlin, the familiar early‑March ritual returns: thousands of travel professionals converging on the German capital for ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show. This year’s edition feels especially charged. ITB Berlin 2026 not only marks the fair’s 60th anniversary, but arrives at a moment when global travel is buoyant yet uneasy—growing strongly, while navigating geopolitical tension, technological disruption and a renewed debate about tourism’s role in the world. For three days, from 3–5 March, Berlin becomes a microcosm of the travel industry at large: hopeful, innovative and pragmatic in equal measure. Breaking Travel News and its team will be there across all three days covering the latest stories as they happen and conducting live interviews across every sector.