ITB Berlin offers buyers a chance to stay abreast of travel trends and find new offerings for their clients
ITB Berlin News caught up with Mariia Pliakova of Ukranian tour operator, ITravel, who shared her priorities at this year’s show.
Can you tell us about the company you work for? What are your goals at the show this year?
I’m here representing the Ukrainian tour operator, ITravel. We provide tours for Ukrainians from the Ukraine and from all over Europe. I’m looking for partners at ITB Berlin and I’m very satisfied with the results so far. There are so many destinations represented here. You can always find new places and new offerings and also see many of your existing partners. Today, for example, I went through many of Italy’s stands and chatted with a large number of Italian companies that I think will be a good fit for our clients this year.
Are there any particular trends you can see at ITB Berlin that are of interest to you as a buyer?
I can tell that there are some differences from last year. While there are many of the same exhibitors, I think that every country tends to provide a specific trend that represents it, so it’s always very interesting and there are always new things to discover. One trend I can identify this year is a focus on LGBT travel, which is a very good trend. There is also a big focus on adventure travel and a lot of companies are presenting options relating to this trend.
“We want to raise the number of destinations in our portfolio and ITB Berlin is definitely the best place to do that.”
Is there anything specific you are looking for this year?
We’re always looking for interesting new destinations for our tourists and particularly for more unusual places that are not very well known or at least lesser-known. We want to raise the number of destinations in our portfolio and ITB Berlin is definitely the best place to do that. This year we are especially interested in parks of all kinds, particularly theme parks, and national parks.
Why is ITB Berlin an important event for you?
It offers an opportunity to connect with people from all over the world, to network, and to meet colleagues from other companies. This year we have several meetings with providers we connected with last year and with whom we have been working throughout the year.
