ITB Berlin March 2013 -021

I was in Berlin to attend ITB for the second time. ITB stands for International Travel Exchange Berlin and it’s the largest travel trade show in the world. I wanted to go because pretty much every country on Earth is there promoting itself and, like the first time, I thought for sure I would make some great connections and come home with a pile of business cards, but that didn’t happen.

FYI: The show is held for four days every March; the first two days are by invitation only – mostly media, buyers, and sellers. The last two days are open to the public and it’s just a grab fest for information.

ITB Berlin March 2013 -024

ITB is a complete zoo and more than overwhelming. There are 26-plus buildings the size of aircraft hangars, and almost every country, hotel, airline, and car rental company in the world has a booth. The place is like a maze and there are multiple levels. They do have information points set up everywhere, but most of the workers are pretty clueless. It’s just too big.

ITB Berlin March 2013 -020

I didn’t think I would ever go back but I did to attend the first ever blogger speed dating. Unfortunately, that didn’t go too well as a bunch of my scheduled appointments didn’t show up and the ones that did I already had contacts with. The best part was visiting Berlin again and seeing friends from around the world.

ITB Berlin March 2013 -003

For those that do want to go my advice is to wear comfortable shoes and bring gum and hand sanitizer. Try and make appointments in advance, because at most booths I walked up to the people weren’t that friendly. The majority of the dealmakers seemed to be German, but there are folks literally from all corners of the earth.

ITB Berlin March 2013 -022

I didn’t see every hall but out of all the ones I did I would say Emirates Airlines had the most impressive booth. It must have cost millions.

Signing up for ITB is easy: The organizers are on the ball and I received my badge in the mail about a week later (it’s free for journalists).

FYI: The press center sells food that’s 1/4 of the price of what’s sold in the show. i.e. One euro for water.

Outside of ITB
Outside of ITB
Inside ITB
Inside ITB
Going between halls
Going between halls
They even have booths between buildings
They even have booths between buildings
Escalators
Escalators
Lufthansa's booth at ITB
Lufthansa's booth at ITB
Egypt's booth
Egypt's booth
Friendly worker
Friendly worker
ITB Press Center
ITB Press Center
German hot dog
German hot dog
Of course, he's coming from America's hall
Of course, he's coming from America's hall
California!
California!
Belarus treats
Belarus treats
My name was on a booth!
My name was on a booth!
ITB Blogger Speed Dating
ITB Blogger Speed Dating
ITB Speed Dating
ITB Speed Dating
Speed Dating
Speed Dating
Sponsor of Speed Dating
Sponsor of Speed Dating
Munich Airport booth at ITB
Munich Airport booth at ITB
Munich Airport Booth at ITB
Munich Airport Booth at ITB
Munich Airport Booth at ITB
Munich Airport Booth at ITB
Tnooz panel at ITB
Tnooz panel at ITB
Uzbekistan's booth
Uzbekistan's booth
One of Germany's relaxing booths
One of Germany's relaxing booths
London's booth with Obama
London's booth with Obama
Air Baltic
Air Baltic
Nigeria
Nigeria
Burundi at ITB
Burundi at ITB
Burundi at ITB
Burundi at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Emirates Airlines' booth at ITB
Accor Hotels VIP Dinner
Accor Hotels VIP Dinner

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