Over 10,000 Exhibitors Expected to Attend the Berlin International Travel Market

Organizers of the Berlin International Travel Market (ITB) are hoping to welcome over 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries to the German capital.

Despite the absence of some of the local travel heavyweights, like Thomas Cook and Rewe, the level of application is similar to last year´s for a fair that´s scheduled to unfold from March 11 to 15.

The number of Asian exhibitors has once again leapfrogged, even amid the catastrophic tsunamis that ripped apart a considerable portion of South East Asia. Such giants as TUI, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn -operator of German railroads- will be at the Berlin fair.

Thomas Cook, the world´s second-largest tour operator, informed in a press release that the current financial overhaul the company is going through makes it impossible for the tour operator to attend the fair. Thomas Cook´s spokesman Rolf-Dieter Grass said that in light of recent budget cutbacks in promotion and advertisement, the company will rather be focusing on tradeshows for the general public.

For its part, a spokesperson for Rewe, Germany´s third-largest tour operator, pointed out his company prefers to draw a bead on downscaled regional fairs and related events.