Following its successful launch at last year’s ITB Berlin, this year the ITB Future and Innovation Forum will present forecasts of…
Following its successful launch at last year’s ITB Berlin, this year the ITB Future and Innovation Forum will present forecasts of future developments in the areas of business, society and travel behaviour. Participants in the event can obtain useful ideas to help them gain access to and address new target groups.
The highlights of the forum: Prof. Peter Wippermann of the Hamburg-based organisation trendburo will look at the future of travel; while IPK International will analyse some one million questionnaires and will use these figures to present an exclusive forecast during this event in the 40th anniversary year of the ITB Berlin.
Some of the leading and most influential names in the recent history of the tourism sector will be meeting at this review of the development of tourism over the past four decades. The ITB Future and Innovation Forum will take place on Friday, 10 March 2006.
From a review of the history of the ITB to the future of travel
The first part of this event, will be devoted to the fortieth anniversary of the ITB Berlin. Under the heading of “Forty years of the ITB Berlin – the tourism sector in changing times”, Prof. Karl Born of the Harz College and former member of the board of TUI AG will chair a discussion between Prof. Dr. Manfred Busche, former Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe Berlin and Honorary Professor at the Free University Berlin, Department of Economics, Dr. Gerhard Heine, former member of the board of TUI AG, Peter Landsberger, former General Manager of DER and Otto Schneider, former President of the German Travel Association (DRV). This review is also intended to provide findings for use in determining the future of the tourism sector.
The future will also form the focus of attention of the second event. Some renowned German researchers into future trends will present what are in some cases differing scenarios about the future of travel. Prof. Dr. Felizitas Romeiss-Stracke, proprietor of the research organisation BSF Buro fur Sozial- und Freizeitforschung, and Prof. Peter Wippermann, founder of the trendburo, both from Hamburg, will discuss: “What travel scenarios currently exist and which of them are particularly informative? How should the travel sector adapt in order to meet the demands of the future?” The panel will be chaired by Jurgen Drensek, President and Spokesman of the Vereinigung Deutscher Reisejournalisten e.V. (VDRJ), the association representing German travel journalists.
The event entitled “Customer relationship management based on customer values” will follow. Customer loyalty programmes are now widely used in the tourism sector. These discussions will examine whether the programmes are effective and of real economic value, and whether measures to promote customer relationships are really based on customer values.
A previously unresearched aspect will be investigated by the panel: “Tourists – the unknown consumers?” Three areas will be examined in more detail between 2 and 2.45 p.m. when Univ.-Prof. Dr. Josef Mazanec, member of the board of the Institute for Tourism and the Leisure Industry at the University of Economics in Vienna, will address the subject of “Research into consumer behaviour and marketing in tourism: unexplored treasures and opportunities for gaining a competitive edge.” This will be followed by a paper from Diana Jaffe, member of the board of Bluestone AG, on purchasing decision-makers in the travel sector. The paper is entitled “How travel decisions are really made and by whom: the role of women in making tourism purchasing decisions”. More insights into consumer behaviour will be provided by Gerhild Abler, Director Travel, Tourism and Transportation TNS Infratest GmbH and Michael Ehlting, Senior Consultant and Project Manager TNS Infratest GmbH, whose topic is: “Cheap flights at any price”.
Making its debut at the ITB Berlin: for the first time IPK International will be presenting the ITB World Travel Trend Report and the latest forecast data about worldwide travel behaviour during the fair. These figures provide an indispensable basis for decision-makers in the tourism sector. The data will be presented by Rolf Freitag, Chairman and CEO of IPK International. The session is entitled “ITB Berlin message in co-operation with IPK International”.
Subsequently the forum will examine travel behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region. Current forecast data will reveal where a potential for expansion exists and what are the factors that inhibit dynamic growth. The speaker at this event is John Koldowski, Managing Director Strategic Intelligence Centre PATA. The event is entitled “Focus on travel behaviour in the Asia/Pacific region”.
The partners in the ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations are Fachhochschule (Technical College) Worms and the market research organisation and consultancy PhoCusWright Inc. from the USA. The media partner is the trade publication Travel One. TNS Infratest is sponsoring the event “Tourists: the unknown consumers?” at the Future and Innovations Forum. The partners of the ITB Business Travel Days are Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V. (VDR), HSMA Deutschland e.V., Deutsche Bahn, hotel.de, OAG and Geschaftsreisekontakt. The media partners of the ITB Business Travel Days are Wirtschaftswoche, FVW International, Business Traveller Deutschland, Mobilitatsmanager and Tempra. The partner of the ITB Hospitality Day is hospitalityInside.com, and the partners of the Aviation Day are Booz Allen Hamilton, OAG and Flug Revue.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
