The exhibition booth of Vietnam Airlines and Saigontourist at the ITB 2024. VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

BERLIN More than 70 Vietnamese travel agencies are introducing attractive tourism products and services at the world’s largest travel trade show – ITB 2024, which takes place in Berlin, Germany from March 5-7.

With the slogan Pioneer the Transition in Travel & Tourism. Together, ITB 2024 features over 5,500 booths from 170 countries and regions, including those of major Vietnamese tourism businesses like Vietnam Airlines (VNA), Saigontourist, Vidotour and Viettravel.

Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH, expressed optimism during the opening press conference on March 5, stating that the global tourism industry is experiencing stable growth.

The data presented by industry experts at ITB Berlin indicates that in 2023, the global tourism market not only recovered from the significant downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic but even surpassed the levels of 2019, reaching a revenue of nearly US$2 trillion, according to market research company Phocuswright.

However, the tourism industry still faces numerous difficulties. One of the biggest is climate change, leading to changes in the tourism environment, demanding proactive participation and action from the travel industry in all sustainable initiatives.

Cao Chinh Miên, Director of the Vietnam Airlines branch in Germany, said that Vietnam Airlines has participated in the annual event for years, seeing it as an opportunity to promote the image of Việt Nam and the national flag carrier in one of the most dynamic markets in the world.

The fair helps the carrier evaluate tourism trends in 2024 and 2025, he said.

According to him, tourism from Germany to Southeast Asia has recovered about 95 per cent compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Nguyễn Đông Hòa said that ITB is an important fair for the world tourism industry, and his company attends the event every year, not only ITB Berlin but also ITB Singapore.

“This year, the recovery of Europe has shown some improvement but has not met expectations, possibly due to objective reasons related to political factors,” he added.

He expected that Saigontourist's German market in particular and Europe in general will grow better in 2024.

Head of Marketing and Product Sales at VNA Phạm Thị Nguyệt (fourth from right), and Vice President in charge of development of Munich Airport (Munchen) Oliver Dersch (fifth from right) sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the opening of a direct flight route from Munich to Việt Nam. VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

On March 6, at ITB Berlin, head of Marketing and Product Sales at VNA Phạm Thị Nguyệt and Vice President in charge of development of Munich Airport (Munchen) Oliver Dersch signed a Memorandum of Understanding on opening a direct route between Munich and Việt Nam from October 1, with a frequency of three flights per week.

The number is targeted to increase to four by the end of this year.

According to Nguyệt, Europe is a potential market for Vietnamese tourism. The region has experienced the strongest recovery right after the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to early relaxed visa policies and travel encouragement.

“With the launch of the Munich route, VNA hopes to better serve the needs of people traveling between Việt Nam and Germany, as well as its neighbouring countries like Austria, Switzerland and Italy,” she said.

Nguyệt also believed that the demand for travel between Europe and Việt Nam would experience even stronger growth after more new flight routes open.

ITB stands for Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin, commonly known as ITB Berlin. It is the world's leading travel trade show and exhibition held annually in March in Berlin, Germany since 1966. The trade show brings together global tourism industry professionals, including travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, airlines and tourism organisations, to showcase their products and services, network, and discuss industry trends and developments. VNS