DRMumbai: Revolutionary forms of transport, overtourism and digitalization in the tourism industry will be the key topics of discussion at ITB Berlin Convention 2018, the leading travel industry think tank. Held parallely with ITB Berlin 2018, one of the world’s leading travel shows to be held from March 7 to 11, the Convention scheduled from March 7 to 10 will also deliberate on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and its future prospects in the travel sector.
To be held from March 7 to 11, the leading travel show will discuss impact of Artificial Intelligence, digitalization and other technologies on tourism
Digitalization and AI are two topics virtually dominating society and business around the world. Tech giants and traditional industries are investing billions in improving manufacturing processes, products, on how to reach customers, and marketing and sales. ITB Future Day, on March 7, 2018, will examine how the travel industry is affected by these developments and in what specific ways tour operators can make use of AI.
The focus this year will be on personalising products and the individual customer experience. Keynote speakers will include Dr. Oliver Heckmann, Vice President, Engineering, Shopping and Travel, Google Inc. A CIOs’ panel of global pioneers in innovative hospitality technology will discuss prospects and challenges posed by digitalization in the hotel industry. Topics to be addressed by these well-known CIOs include devices, virtual reality, big data, the impact of chatbots and robots and how to personalise the customer experience. They will also offer an insight into how this will change market competition in the hospitality industry.
Tomorrow’s Transit Systems
The session – ‘The Revolution of Travel’ – will discuss groundbreaking forms of business and private transport such as electric automated flying taxis, flying cars, hyperloop transportation and supersonic flight that are currently being tested and will soon be reality. In his keynote speech, Dirk Ahlborn, Co-founder and CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), will discuss tomorrow’s transit systems and the role of Elon Musk’s hyperloop technology in the future.
For decades, tourism around the world has been growing at high rates. What is clear is that exponential growth cannot continue in finite spaces and that the environment, society and infrastructure all have natural limits. New measures for controlling tourism need to be developed and tested, ranging from limiting tourism numbers and pricing concepts to smart technology. New survey findings will provide the latest update on overtourism. Panel discussions and interviews will also look at some promising solutions.
On March 8, at the ITB Marketing & Distribution Day, high-ranking representatives of the international tourism industry will discuss future trends such as the sharing economy and big data. Delivering the keynote speech on ‘The Evolution of Airbnb and how Global Travel is Changing’, Nathan Blecharczyk, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Airbnb and Chairman of Airbnb China, will provide an insight into the changing travel market. In the previous edition of the event, a total of 10,000 companies and organisations from 184 countries exhibited their products and services to around 1,69,000 visitors, who included 1,09,000 trade visitors.
Focus on Zambia
Zambia, located in the heart of Southern Africa and which is still largely untouched by tourism exploits, will be the ‘Convention & Culture Partner’ of ITB Berlin 2018. The promotion of Zambia is in line with the country’s vision for 2030 which is, “A destination of choice with unique features thriving on well-conserved natural resources, cultural heritage and creative industries that significantly contribute to employment creation, sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.”
As the Convention & Cultural Partner of ITB Berlin 2018, Zambia will present its many natural and cultural attractions to the visitors of ITB Berlin in entrance area 21. Its culture is diverse and vibrant. With 72 different tribes living in harmony, the destination boasts of over 50 traditional ceremonies annually. While the global travel & tourism industry gears up for ITB Berlin, India Tourism aims to hold a strong presence in Hall 5.2b / 205, 205a
For more details, log on to: www.itb-berlin.com
