Virtual ITB Convention: New programme series kicks off with a one-on-one interview on the future of the travel industry on 2 July at itb.com

• First session features Philip Wolf, founder of PhoCusWright, and Prof. Roland Conrady science head of the ITB Berlin Convention
• Daily news section launches on itb.com

The range of digital services offered by the World's Leading Travel Trade Show continues to expand. Starting in early March, the new English-language website www.itb.com was able to offer the tourism community a new and wide-ranging programme of live sessions on the pressing issues of our times. Now, the virtual presence of the global brand that is ITB is about to move into its next phase. In addition to the first session on 2 July at 4 p.m. CET as well as other scheduled events, the industry can look forward to the free platform featuring daily news.

Kick-off session on 'The past is becoming an increasingly poor predictor of the future'
Under the heading 'Planning for what will come, not for what was', Prof. Dr. Roland Conrady, the science head of the ITB Berlin Convention, and Philip Wolf, the founder of PhoCusWright, will take a look at the future and examine what the far-reaching changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic mean for the 'new normal' of travel. "The past is becoming an increasingly poor predictor of the future", said Wolf. The session is the first in a series of various lectures and interviews in English over the weeks to come. As with all other content, after being streamed live the session can be accessed online as a video on demand: www.itb.com/VirtualConvention/

In the interview the two experts will discuss ways in which consumer behaviour is likely to change - in relation to sustainable tourism too. They will examine regional differences and the impact on operators such as airlines, hotels, the cruise industry and other parts of the tourism sector, and take a look at the business travel market and digitalisation.

"Not least because of the cancellation of ITB Berlin 2020, in March itb.com quickly established itself as an in-demand virtual platform for the global travel industry", said David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin. "Tomorrow signals the start of the second round, and at the sessions that we have scheduled we are looking optimistically towards the future of travel. We are confident that we can provide a valuable boost and make a constructive contribution to tomorrow's world of tourism. The industry will receive a constant flow of information offering valuable pointers."

Latest industry news in challenging times

In addition to the scheduled lectures taking place online, visitors to ITB.com can immediately look forward to a new category. Under the 'News' heading, visitors can find a daily selection of topical industry stories - including news about products from both large and small market players, sustainability projects and an interactive coronavirus travel map. Stories can be sorted by topic and region to obtain a better overview. Every news item is archived and can be accessed later at any time. There is also a separate category for podcasts.

The 'News' section at ITB.com rounds off the services currently offered by the virtual platform. In addition to news from the industry and the Virtual Convention, there is another new category available in the shape of a networking platform. Under 'Brand Events', the global ITB group has information on upcoming formats at the Berlin, Shanghai, Singapore and Mumbai editions of the show - including the recently announced pop-up event in Berlin: http://welovetravel.berlintravelfestival.com/

ITB.com - a 365-day virtual platform for a global industry

With its launch of ITB.com this March, ITB underlined its role as the World's Leading Travel Trade Show and created a comprehensive virtual platform. The aim is to ensure the industry can access a permanent information forum and constant supply of news and to give users the opportunity to network with each other regardless of their location 365 days a year.