Adventure and Sustainable Tourism @ ITB Berlin

Adventure travel is a rapidly expanding sector of the travel industry. Hall 4.1 at ITB Berlin features Trends & Events, giving trade visitors and the general public some insights into the various forms of adventure travel that are currently available. Tour operators, tourism offices and organisations from virtually every continent will be providing details about expeditions, individual sports and nature holidays, as well as sustainability in tourism and the eco-travel sector too.

All five days at the fair will be focusing on “Experience Adventure, ECOtourism & Expeditions”. Tourism offers, destinations and services for eco-oriented adventure travel are being presented by more than 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, USA, and South Africa, as well as countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, North Africa and other parts of Africa, along with the alternative travel organisation Forum anders reisen and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Haiti, Ecuador, Senegal, Papua, Kenya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Benin are represented here for the first time.

On Wednesday, 10 March trade visitors can get in the mood for the 5th Pow-Wow at the opening ceremonies with the original inhabitants of North America, the Cherokee Indians. The three day event, one of whose presenters is the globetrotter and well-known TV journalist Mary Amiri, will focus on “Dancing on Volcanoes”.

 Internationally renowned speakers will discuss the tourism potential of volcanic regions. The presentations will also feature geoparks and geotourism. The Messel Pit and the Spanish Pyrenees, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, will be showing how they set about attracting geo-tourists. This year, for the first time, the project entitled “Forming partnerships to promote sustainable tourism” will introduce products with the emphasis on sustainable tourism. A number of events will be staged after the presentations and discussions to provide networking opportunities.

“Let’s go green” is the message at the weekend, when the general public are also admitted. Visitors can obtain a foretaste of their next destination as well as information about a wide range of travel products which have been designed to help protect the environment and the well-being of the inhabitants of host countries, as well as learning more about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and eco-tourism.

The large stage will provide a lively focal point in the Trends & Events hall and a colourful venue for performances by international music and dance groups. The programme will include mariachi music and Mexican dancers, merengue and bachata from the Dominican Republic, an Indian dance show with the Queen of Bollywood and many other cultural highlights.

There will be many opportunities for the public to get actively involved, with a taste of adventure. Adventure football and high ropes as well as a massive volcanic landscape promise exciting experiences and discoveries. The more daring visitors can walk or surf on the red and orange City Wave, which simulates a downhill lava flow. And for those who can handle heights there is a climbing tower leading to the volcano, which will be bubbling, smoking, flashing and spitting in the most realistic way, to the accompaniment of loud thunder, to complete the experience.

ITB Berlin 2010 will take place from Wednesday, 10 to Sunday, 14 March. ITB Berlin will be open to trade visitors only from Wednesday to Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB Berlin Convention will be held from Wednesday to Friday, 10 to 12 March 2010.

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