t's been four years too long, but ITB Berlin 2023 finally took place as a live event for the first time since the pandemic began.
With Asia now fully reopened, the region's destinations and countries also took the opportunity to put up a formidable presence at ITB Berlin 2023, which took place 7-9 March at Messe Berlin.
With the exception of China, many destinations and countries in Asia – from Thailand and Indonesia to South Korea – sought to make their presence felt at ITB Berlin with dazzling booth design and products. There was a distinctive buzz on the show floors of halls 25 and 26, with Asian exhibitions especially keen to reconnect and win back business.
The Philippines contingent at ITB Berlin 2023, led by Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, consisted of 27 co-exhibitors and 43 delegates attending the event. The country booth also featured the country’s rich culture and sustainable tourism, including the T’nalak weaving handicraft as well as Philippine street food, coffee and chocolates.
Other destination marketing organisations in Asia also took the opportunity to spotlight the latest experiences in their market. Singapore Tourism Board's chief executive Keith Tan unveiled the SingapoRewards programme while Sabah Tourism Board presented a new tourism tagline, 'Feel Sabah, North Borneo', at ITB Berlin to lure global and European visitors.
At ITB Berlin 2023, MATTA signed MOUs with travel associations in Finland, Poland and Estonia.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents signed MOUs with the Association of Finnish Travel Industry, Polish Chamber of Tourism, and Estonian Travel and Tourism Association at ITB Berlin to grow consumer awareness of Malaysia as a safe and attractive holiday destination to the Polish, Finnish and Estonian markets.
Themed ’Open for Change’, some 5,500 exhibitors from 150 countries gathered at ITB Berlin 2023, with Georgia as the host country of this year's edition.