ITB Buyers’ Circle Stimulates Follow-up Business

Satisfied buyers and contracts with a value in individual cases of as much as five million euros marked the successful start of the ITB Buyers’ Circle. Some 500 leading buyers representing small and medium-sized companies as well as some of the major groups in the worldwide travel industry made use of the services provided by the first ITB Buyers’ Circle at ITB Berlin 2012.

According to a recent survey 85 percent of participants valued this opportunity to obtain free admission to this event and 82 percent were satisfied with the arrangement granting them access to the Exhibition Grounds from 9 a.m. onwards. Buyers also responded positively to the travel service provided by Deutsche Bahn with its Event-Ticket, and to the free W-LAN access at the ITB Buyers’ Circle Lounge.

ITB Berlin was used by 92 per cent of buyers to assist them in finalizing contracts or to sign deals during the fair itself. For 23 per cent the contracts had a value in the range from 200,000 to one million euros, while 19 per cent were able to prepare or sign contracts worth between one and five million euros. David Ruetz, Head of ITB Berlin, is very satisfied with the launch of the first ITB Buyers Circle: “The new platform met with an excellent response among leading buyers. According to our survey, the strength of the network, the many useful services and the way in which it helps to disseminate the latest knowledge about the industry have convinced 90 percent of participants to return next year.

ITB Berlin 2013 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 6 to 10 March. From the Wednesday to the Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. The ITB Berlin Convention is held parallel with the trade fair, from Wednesday to Friday, 6 to 8 March 2013. It is the world’s largest specialist convention for the industry.

ITB Berlin is the leading trade fair for the worldwide travel industry. In 2012 a total of 10,644 companies and organizations from 187 countries exhibited their products and services to 172,000 visitors, who included 113,006 trade visitors.