ITB Virtual Convention addresses changes in global travel demand in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic

Virtual sessions featuring experts from Statista, the German Business Travel Association (VDR) and Destination Capacity – 15 September 2020 from 2 to 4 p.m. CET – includes networking options for users of the ITB Travel Network.

Travellers around the world are facing huge change and new conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 September 2020 from 2 to 4 p.m. CET the itb.com/virtualconvention will take a close look at changing tourist flows, customer preferences and potential growth markets. Experienced experts will present the latest findings and provide participants with valuable information on topics such as the business travel market and the shift in consumers’ choices of destinations for their next holidays. At a subsequent networking session, participants following the live-streamed event on the ITB Travel Network will be able to exchange their views on the insights they have gained.

The ITB Virtual Convention will kick off at 2 p.m. with a keynote speech by Statista, the leading global market research company and statistics portal. Claudia Cramer, director of Market Research at Statista GmbH, will present the latest findings, on which she will base helpful forecasts for future tourism demand. Participants can find out the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic has changed consumer travel habits and preferences around the world, and which market segments can expect a boom as a result.

ITB Travel Network lets users share insights on topics
During the following 30-minute break, visitors taking part in the event on the ITB Travel Network can get to know other network users and discuss the presentation. In order for them to network, all they need to do is register beforehand with the ITB Travel Network, the B2B platform for the global travel industry. After registering with the Travel Network users must store the ITB Virtual Convention on their personal agenda, after which they can make their choice of partner from a list of participants. After signing in at precisely 2 p.m. on 15 September, users can receive up to three five-minute appointments based on their own profile in the ITB Travel Network. After the first session, access will be enabled for these meetings in the Virtual Rooms.

After the networking session, at 3 p.m. participants can focus on the business travel market. Christoph Carnier, president of the German Business Travel Association (VDR), will talk about whether this market can recover, and if so how it can succeed. As a result of home working, an increase in videoconferences, as well as companies coming under pressure to reduce costs, the business travel market has completely collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic. At a Deep Dive session with Charlotte Lamp Davies, the founder of A Bright Approach, participants can find out what tour operators can do now, and how companies can use business trips as a secure and efficient means to achieve future success.

Afterwards, Dr. David Ermen, managing director of Destination Capacity, will analyse the shift taking place in the conditions for consumers making holiday destination choices. Rather than customer demand and tour operators determining one’s choice of destination, it is travel restrictions as a consequence of the pandemic that are doing so instead. At the Deep Dive session with Prof. Dr. Roland Conrady, science head of the ITB Berlin Convention, Hochschule Worms, discussion will focus on whether the latest travel patterns will endure, and what destinations must do in order to reverse the economic downturn.