ITB 2026 Recap: Regenerative by design – Stories from Practitioners
Panel explores how tourism businesses can shift from growth-focused to ecosystem-health focused models, with community-led stewardship replacing reactive destination management.
Photo by ITB Berlin
The opening panel asked the question: What does regeneration actually demand ? Now comes the harder part: what does that actually look like in practice? The answer isn't "best practices" you can copy to your destination. In this session two practitioners bring different lenses to the same challenge. We examine regeneration through the business ecosystem: how tourism businesses shift from asking "How does my business grow?" to "How does the ecosystem I depend on stay healthy?" and we approach it through place: how stewardship replaces reactivity, and how communities, not developers or tourism boards, lead the design of their own futures. Together, they show why mindset, and design must come before action. Supported by a short film that shows what this looks like when people work with a place rather than imposing solutions upon it.
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Willy Legrand, Professor, IU International University of Applied Sciences
Panel:
- Ásta Kristín Sigurjónsdóttir, CEO, Iceland Tourism
- Elke Dens, Founder, Place Generation
- Rob Holmes, Founder & Chief Strategist, GLP Films
About ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention and ITB 360°
ITB Berlin 2026 took place from Tuesday, 3 to Thursday, 5 March as a B2B event. Since 1966, ITB Berlin has been the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show, and taking as its slogan ’Discover the stories behind 60 years of legacy’, this year celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. 5,601 exhibitors from 166 countries and territories displayed their products and services to nearly 97,000 attendees. At the ITB Berlin Convention, under the heading ’Leading Tourism into Balance’, 400 leading speakers from business, science and politics discussed current and future industry challenges on four stages featuring 17 theme tracks. More than 24,000 visitors attended the convention. With ITB 360°, the 365-day global innovation hub that is ITB Berlin now offers the worldwide tourism community year-round insights in the shape of specialist articles, podcasts and other innovative formats.