ITB overshadowed by severe crisis and the threat of a new war

The Berlin International Tourism Marketplace (ITB) –ranked as the world’s largest tradeshow of its kind- had its turnstiles turning last Friday amid one of the sourest crises the industry has ever gone through in its entire history and dampened by a looming U.S. war in Iraq.

Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said in his opening-ceremony remarks that the sector “has truly hit bedrock bottom. This is the worst crisis in the history of world tourism.”

This worst-case scenario could get even harsher, at least temporarily, in case of a war against Iraq. “If it comes to war, all we can do is hope it’ll be a short conflict limited to a very narrow geographical region,” the WTO chief told tourism experts from 180 countries.

War threats have already made a dent in the leisure industry, so Mr. Frangialli called for clear-cut results one way or the other, though nobody wants a war to break out right now. In the face of the nearest future, however, the WTO Secretary-general said to be upbeat about tourism walking out of this crisis stronger than ever before. Mr. Frangialli reminded the audience of what happened after the 1991 Persian Gulf, Spanish publication Hoteltur commented.

“A year after the Persian Gulf, the sector took a dramatic jump forward and grew by 8.3 percent,” Mr. Frangialli pointed out. In addition to the Iraqi upcoming showdown, the world’s grim situation is equally playing havoc with the sector. A case in point is Germany, where the Start Amadeus booking system informed a 14.4 percent drop in travel sales and an 8.8 percent plunge in plane ticket sales during the ITB opening day.

Germany’s minister of labor and economy Wolfgang Clement urged the leisure industry to bring back safety lust to travel. “This is a challenge in the worst of times everywhere in the world,” Mr. Clement stated during the ITB opening session.

As to the situation in Iraq, the German Minister underscored the fact that any conflict could have serious ripple effects for the industry, yet he’s hopeful that war can be prevented in the nick of time. Furthermore, Mr. Clement highlighted tourism’s major importance for Germany where the industry generates 2.8 million jobs. An outstanding role in this job creation process is played by Germany-based companies selling tourist destinations overseas.

Mr. Clement trumpeted his country’s intentions to take advantage of ITB to convince the tourist industry about the way the nation’s economy is bouncing back. In this year’s edition, there are 9,971 expositors from 181 countries, up by 0.2 percent compared to 2002. Tourism authorities expect the attendance of 60,000 professionals from the sector.

Some top-of-the-line exhibitors such as Thomas Cook and Lufthansa –that last year had decided not to attend ITB on the heels of the crisis sparked off by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.- are now back this time around. According to a poll taken by ITB officials, the main reasons that drive exhibitors and visitors to turn up at the tradeshow in Berlin is the pursuit of new contacts, as well as the possibility of taking a firsthand look at the tourist market and cutting concrete deals.