It is a tale of two Americas where travel trends are concerned. In 2011 the South American market remained buoyant, whereas international arrivals in North America rose only slightly and US travel abroad was weak.

The number of Asians who travelled abroad rose by six per cent in 2011, with next year’s figure forecast to rise by a further five percent, according to findings of the latest ITB World Travel Trends Report.

Ground-breaking topics will be on the agenda of tourism’s leading think tank. Next year, from 7 to 9 March, the ITB Berlin Convention will once again be taking a look at the most important trends in the international travel industry.

An exclusive Buyers’ Circle will soon ease the workload of the tourism industry’s leading buyers at ITB Berlin. As of now, buyers involved in the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises and of larger companies from the global travel industry can apply for membership of this circle.

Over the coming six months the volume of business travel in Germany will remain high or may even increase. This is the view of 70 per cent of the business travel managers who in October 2011 were questioned by Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V. (VDR) on the prospects for the economy.

High charges, safety concerns and the lack of a suitable device discourage European travellers from making use of local services, according to the findings of a recent study.