Large U.S. Delegation Expected to Attend ITB Berlin 2007

Exhibitors from the United States and Canada are moving to a new location next year at ITB Berlin. This will occupy more than half of Hall 2.1, “thereby making it the largest North American and U.S. participation since 2001,” according to Björn Bieneck from B-FOR International, organizers of the Discover America Pavilion.

This new-found enthusiasm of U.S. companies and organizations, exhibiting at ITB 2007 for the first time under the new Discover America brand created by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), clearly shows the U.S. is back in business, eager to welcome international visitors after a long period of fairly stagnant growth and declining market share.

The USA’s share of world receipts fell from 17.9 percent in 1993 to 12 percent in 2005, while its share of arrivals dropped from a high of 9.4 percent in 1992 to 6.1 percent last year.

Although 2005 marked the start of the USA’s recovery in inbound tourism, with international arrivals up 7 percent over the previous year, the total 49 million arrivals achieved fell well short of the country’s 51.2 million peak achieved in 2000.

However, as TIA’s Laura Mandala reported at the recent Pisa Forum, an annual meeting between world tourism experts organized by IPK International and sponsored by ITB Berlin, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is expecting a record 2006 – both in terms of international arrivals and tourism receipts.

U.S. inbound tourism performance varies sharply from one source market and region to another. While arrivals from Canada rose by 7 percent in the first eight months of 2006, and Mexican arrivals (to the US interior only) increased by a massive 26 percent, overseas markets were still down (-1 percent) on the same period in 2005. Some markets are nonetheless showing very impressive growth, including Brazil, China, South Korea and Australia.

Most US exhibitors from this year’s ITB are returning in 2007, says Björn Bieneck –many with bigger booths and more co-exhibitors. The need to improve the USA’s image among international travelers has resulted in increased budgets for international marketing, enabling them to attend ITB.

Among exhibitors who are upgrading their ITB presence are states such as Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. Tourism to New Orleans is rebounding after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, and at ITB 2007 Louisiana will share its success story with the media and trade and public visitors.

Among other exhibitors from the USA, the U.S. Government will demonstrate its US-VISIT program to show potential travelers that the U.S. immigration process is as simple as ever.

The Rocky Mountain states will show what they have to offer in terms of breathtaking nature and adventure activities, as well as genuine Western culture and hospitality. And many airlines, including British Airways, will tell ITB 2007 visitors about their improved U.S. services, which are becoming more and more attractive in terms of price, more convenient and more direct to more U.S. cities.