March 9, 2021

Daily briefing – by David Ruetz – Head of ITB Berlin NOW

A very good morning to one and all. In this first daily briefing for 2021, I must first thank all our teams who have been working tirelessly in order to make this event a success for all those participating.

Each morning, I will bring you an outline of key events throughout the day.

I should underline the fact that there are way too many singular events throughout the day to be able to list them all. I strongly suggest to take some time to go through the lists of events that may be of interest and select those that are pertinent to your business.

Today, after the official opening conference at 9am, the ITB Future Track will see interviews with leading CEOs from every walk of the industry. A morning keynote interview with Richard Holden, vice president, Product Management, Google – will give an up-to-the-minute and qualified view of the challenges the tourism industry is having to confront during the coronavirus pandemic.

High-ranking representatives of Emirates, Air France KLM and Ryanair will have their say on the situation in the airline industry. The CEOs of the TUI Group and DER Touristik Group will each explain how tour operators can successfully emerge from the crisis. Leading figures representing Hyatt, Accor and Deutsche Hospitality will outline solutions for the hotel industry. The CEOs of MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and TUI Cruises will talk about the trends and challenges in the cruise market.

Convention stage two will see the TTA Forum, hosted by Charlotte Lamp Davies. Highlights will include appearances from Lukas C C. Hempel, CEO Bookingkit; Patrick Mendes, CCO, Accor, Stephen Kaufer, CEO, Tripadvisor, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber, and Sean Menke, CEO, Sabre Corp.

This afternoon, ITB’s CSR Commissioner, Rika Jean-François will be hosting “SheTrades: Women in Tourism Building Back Better”, with a number of speakers, including H.E. D Sarangerel, the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Mongolia.

AWARDS CEREMONIES NOT TO BE MISSED 

A highlight of the afternoon will be at 2pm, with the TO DO Award 2020/21 & TO DO Human Rights Award 2020/21, while at 3pm, we will most importantly see the ITB Awards – “Celebrating Her Awards 2021” – Honouring extraordinary women in tourism, organised in cooperation with the International Institute of Peace in Tourism (IIPT), Indian branch. Winners will be announced live on stage, following greetings by Taleb Rifai, former UNWTO secretary-general and Louis D’Amore, founder IIPT. This is definitely a moment not to be missed!

Full programme details and tickets for the virtual show are available online.

Hold on to your hats… it’s going to be a rip-roaring ride!