The ITB Berlin 2020 International Tourism Fair, one of the most important world events in the sector, was canceled due to the threat of the Covid-19 Coronavirus.
Messe Berlin, the organization that organizes the event, announced yesterday, Friday, the cancellation of the fair, which was to take place between 4 and 8 March, following the indications given by the German Health and Economy Ministries. On the other hand, says the organization, it has become "impossible" to comply with the impositions of local health authorities.
“The Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf health authorities in Berlin imposed significantly tighter restrictions on the event to take place. Among these requirements, the authorities determined that each participant would have to prove to Messe Berlin that he did not come from an area at risk of contagion and that he had not been in contact with people from areas at risk. It is not possible for Messe Berlin to meet all the requirements", reads a publicized statement on the official website of the Fair.
This cancellation takes place days after the fair's organizers guaranteed that they had taken all precautions to allow the fair to take place, namely the reinforcement of health professionals.
“With more than 10 exhibitors from more than 180 countries, ITB Berlin is of extraordinary importance to the world tourism industry,” illustrated Christian Goke, director Messe Berlin. This was, moreover, the first time that the fair was canceled in 54 years of history.
The Algarve's tourism sector, which would be strongly represented at this important fair, is thus prevented from promoting itself within the second largest source of tourists to the region, Germany.
In statements to the Sul Informação, João Fernandes, president of ATA and the Algarve Tourism Region, does not hide the importance of the event, but de-dramatizes the consequences that the cancellation could have for Algarve tourism.
«Obviously, a big fair is an important meeting point and it's also a good way of learning, because it has seminars and workshops. It's also a good opportunity for us to do benchmarking and see how other destinations are drawing their bets», he considered.
“There are many relationships, including commercial ones, that are established at a fair like this, mainly in terms of Bussinnes to Bussinnes (B2B), between our offer and international tour operators and airlines,” he added.
“But, fortunately, nowadays there are other means of communication, which makes it possible to establish these relationships more directly, at a distance. Today we have many ways to reach these great players", said.
João Fernandes also pointed out that, at this time of year, the main businesses are already lined up. “Many of the contacts with operators and airlines are established in the W, in the last quarter of the previous year. ITB is, of course, a very important fair, but it does not mark the beginning of the reservation period».
As for the component of direct contact with the public, «this time, we won't have that opportunity. But we have many actions that make up for this gap, namely the fact that we have Family Trips e Press Trips, aimed at international operators and press, to publicize the destination to the final consumer», he concluded.
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