BERLIN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- This year's ITB Berlin, a tourism trade show, focuses on future topics of artificial intelligence (AI) and green transformation as the industry is set to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Running from Tuesday to Thursday, the 2024 edition of the trade show in the German capital featured a total of 5,500 exhibitors from around 170 countries and regions, according to the organizer.
"ITB Berlin is and remains the most important platform for the travel industry," said Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, adding that the fair provided "groundbreaking impulses and trends for the whole world, leading to innovations in the international tourism industry."
Among the key innovations in the industry, the use of generative artificial intelligence in areas such as customer advice or smart payment was discussed at the ITB.
"The effect of AI on travel and tourism will be more profound than any technological development since the invention of the World Wide Web," said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
As the travel industry has recognized its responsibility in the fight against climate change, the participants also discussed solutions such as bicycles, electric cars or climate-friendly management of accommodation.
"We must allow the environmentally friendly areas to expand, and restrict those that harm the environment," said Jeremy Sampson, CEO of the UK-based tourism organization Travel Foundation.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel industry "continued the trend of rapid recovery at a remarkable pace," with the Asia-Pacific region returning to a "positive balance once again," a spokesperson for the ITB Berlin's organizers told Xinhua on Thursday.
More than 40 exhibitors from China participated in the trade show.
The UN tourism agency believes that international travel will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Last year, the industry's global revenue reached 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars, around 93 percent of the level in 2019, according to initial estimates.
