A first time beginners guide to the ITB Berlin: 10 tips to help you not to lose your mind!

OMG!

I’m enormously excited!

And why?

The ITB travel trade fair is going to be in town.

Yeeeeeeeees!

Before I became the awesome travel blogger that I am today, I used to attend the ITB as an ordinary member of the public. It was one of the highlights of my year!

And let me tell you, it still is!

I mean, thousands of international travel organisations and travel destinations are going to be in the city, looking to present the best parts of their country, or industry.

And yours truly will be among them.

Last year, was pretty tight, so I had to see all my contacts in just 24 hours!

And why was that?

Because I needed to fly back to England for the dignified graduation ceremony of my MA – Masters of Art Degree, which I had obtained from the University of Chester!

In fact, I had to cancel the Bloggers Speed Dating networking event that I had originally booked months before.

I had to cancel the personal appointments that I had with Marketing & Tourism officials.

I had to forgo all the Berlin parties that were set to burn each night on fire!

Mind you, I didn’t do too badly in 2016 regardless..!

This year, I’m here, and I’m all ready and organised.

Now that I’m a professional blogger don’t you know, I get to have internal access to all that the travel industry has to offer.

If you’re reading about the ITB for the first time, here’s what I previously wrote:

• My first introduction to the ITB Berlin: the international tourism trade fair
• 10 things to do if you’re a new blogger and what I learnt – ITB Berlin
• I went to the ITB in Berlin, so am I a professional travel blogger?
• And here: How to be a savvy travel blogger with 10 tips to help you prepare, and find your way around! – ITB Berlin

But it doesn’t hurt to reiterate the facts:

WHAT IS THE ITB?

The ITB Berlin stands for the Internationale Tourismus-Börse or in English, the international tourism trade fair.

The ITB represents B2B, hotels, tourists boards, tour operators and providers, airlines, transport operators, responsible travel organisers, information technology experts, social media bloggers, and anybody else interested in travel and tourism.

It’s also the world’s leading travel industry think tank, in which the convention trade fair establishes itself as the industry’s main knowledge platform, with top-notch presentations on global trends, travel innovations and path-breaking events for the entire tourism industry!

Phew!

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT THEN?

Well, the ITB Berlin is the foremost business platform for the global tourism business. We’re talking:

• 5 continents
• 187 Countries
• 200 trendsetting events
• 400 speakers
• 1,000 Qualified Top Buyers
• 10,000 Exhibitors
• 26,000 Convention Visitors and Participants attending lectures, discussions, and workshops
• 60,000 Private Visitors
• 120,000 Trade Visitors
• 160,000 Square meters
• Bloggers from 25 countries all over the world
• Over 5 days within 8^th March – 12^th March, 2017
• Bringing in a €7 billion turnover to Germany!

Omigosh!

The ITB Berlin is a huge deal and the partner country for 2017 is Botswana with the motto: – #ilovebotswana.

Wow!

ITB BERLIN IS 51 YEARS OLD!

The name ITB Berlin stands for a unique success story and things that are made in Berlin.

What began in 1966, as a small overseas import trade show, has developed into a true global success.

What originally, was only an event of five (5) participating countries and regions, has grown to over 180 with an exhibition space expanding from 580 m² to 160,000 m² today!

In more than five (5) decades, so many societal and political changes have taken place.  As far as the tourism industry is concerned, Germany has developed into one of the world’s most important economic factors!

Book your hotel here!

However, it’s a huge venue and there have been incidents of people wandering around and not actually getting to where they wanted to go! Not naming names or anything, so here’s a few tips on how to navigate your way around!

WHEN CAN YOU VISIT?

OPENING HOURS.

ADMISSION.

You can buy tickets at the Exhibition Grounds – or save time and money and buy them in advance at the Online Ticket Shop. Entrance for Trade Visitors / Press to the ITB Berlin Convention is included in the price of your trade fair ticket.

Trade Fair Visitors:

• One Day ticket: Online in advance – €35.00. On the day – €52.00
• A Five Day ticket: Online in advance – €50.00. On the day – €75.00
• Accredited press / bloggers: Free of charge, in advance. If not accredited, as above

The General Public.

• One Day ticket: Online in advance – €12.00. On the day – €15.00
• Reduced priced tickets – students / retired /unemployed etc. On the day – €8.00
• Last Minute tickets (only valid on March 12th, from 14:00) – On the day – €8.00
• All children under the age of fourteen (14) if accompanied by an adult, are totally free of charge!

p.s. You should also be able to buy a €12.00 ticket from any BVG/Sbahn ticket machine. And if you live in Berlin, watch out for the free voucher that sometimes comes, via a free delivery of the weekend edition of the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper!

HOW CAN I GET TO THE ITB?

If you’re a trade visitor or a member of the press, then there is a free ITB shuttle service that will take you from the airport, from selected hotels and from various stops around the city to the ITB Exhibition Ground. If you’re using the city shuttle line service, please note that the stops are not marked as ITB Berlin stops, but are selected buses at the regular bus stops of the Berlin Public Transport System, otherwise known as the BVG!

You can find bus stops at:

Line A

• Bus-Stop 1: Unter den Linden / Friedrichstraße
• Bus-Stop 2: Train Station Potsdamer Platz (on Leipziger Platz)

Line B

• Bus-Stop 1: Underground Station U Wittenbergplatz
• Bus-Stop 2: Underground Station U Kurfürstendamm (Kranzlereck)
• Bus-Stop 3: Olivaer Platz (Kurfürstendamm 61)
• Bus-Stop 4: Underground Station U Adenauerplatz
• Bus-Stop 5: Sbahn Train Station S Halensee

HOW TO NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND THE ITB VENUE.

There are seven (7) entrances, but to give you a better insight you can download a map of the exhibition ground:

• Entrance South / Halls 1/2 (Jafféstrasse)
• Hall 7.2a (opposite to CityCubeBerlin)
• Hall 9 (Messedamm)
• Entrance East (Hall 14.1, opposite the ICC Berlin)
• Entrance North (Hall 19, Hammarskjöldplatz)
• Hall 25
• City Cube Berlin

The ITB venue is pretty huge so within the exhibition ground itself, you can use the free ITB fairground shuttles that will transport you from hall to hall!

• Messe Süd – Sbahn Train S5
• Messe Nord /ICC  – Ring Train S41 or S42
• Kaiserdamm – Underground Station U2
• Westkreuz  – Sbahn Train S75, S7, S5, Ring Train S41 or S42. You ought to change to Messe Süd (one stop), or go for a little stroll instead, but it’s a bit of a walk!

A FIRST TIME BEGINNERS GUIDE TO THE ITB BERLIN: 10 TIPS TO HELP YOU NOT TO LOSE YOUR MIND!

1. Book: Are you flying, taking the train, hustling in the coach-bus or car-sharing? Book your hotel here!
2. Focus: Define what you want to accomplish and whom you want to contact
3. Plan: Set up meetings and appointments
4. Do research: Get information about the industry’s latest trends and use the Virtual Market Place® catalogue to find out who’s there!
5. Learn: Go to presentations, workshops, conferences and talks. I learnt all about Twitter for the first time at ITB and then the next day, I went live and never looked back!
6. Save: Buy your Visitor Ticket in advance at the Online Ticket Shop
7. Navigate: Use the Map of the Exhibition Grounds for your personal orientation
8. Download: The  ITB App with maps, lists, and services for free. Available for iOS and Android systems too
9. Network: The ITB Berlin offers networking events of a special kind – ITB Blogger Speed Dating and the ITB Speed Networking event. However, it doesn’t matter if you’ve not made an appointment previously, although it helps if you do. Nevertheless, you’re at the largest travel trade fair in the world, so go and explore!
10. Enjoy: You’re in one of the finest cities in the world. Have fun!

DON’T FORGET!

• Business Cards – Check!
• Business Card Folder or File, so that you don’t lose the ones that you’ve collected – Check!
• Map – Check!
• ITB Berlin App Guide – Check!
• Mobile or Cell Phone, plus charger – Check!
• Bottle of Water – Check!
• Smart clothing – Check!
• Exude confidence – Check!
• Smile – Check!

See you at the ITB!

This article is isn’t sponsored and the marvellous time that I’m going to have at the ITB Berlin, is my very own!

In March and April, I’ll be on the road again to Austria & Croatia!

On 07.03.17, I’ll be at the Travel Massive ITB 2017 Opening Party! It’s always a lot of fun, so if you’re in town, come and join us!

On 08.03.17, I’ll be participating in the iambassador – Traveldudes – ITB Travel Tweet-Up event.

And of course, on 08.03.17 – 12.03.17, the world’s leading travel trade show – the ITB will be in action, and everyone who is anyone in the travel industry, will be here!

On 15.03.17, I’ll be at the Spring Reception for the British Community at the British Embassy in Berlin.

From 07.03.17 – 09.03.17, our friends – the British musical and comedy duo – Carrington Brown – will be performing Germany’s premiere of Carrington-Brown feat. The Swonderful Orchestra: Comedy meets Classics at Tipi!

I’ll be there. Will you?

If you’re not in Berlin in March, I can’t even!

Watch this space!

Note! I never travel without insurance as you never know what might happen.

I learnt my lesson in Spain. And obviously, in countries like Qatar, where technically the risk is higher, I can’t imagine going that far beyond, WITHOUT INSURANCE. No siree! You can get yours here, at World Nomads!

Please note that there are now affiliate links (for the very first time) connected to this post. Please consider using the links, because every time some sort of accommodation or travel insurance is booked via my links I get a little percentage, but at no extra cost to yourself!

A win-win for all!

Thanks a million!