"Tourism always comes back": UNWTO celebrates official opening of ITB Berlin

08-03-23

As the leading tourism trade fair holds its first face-to-face event since 2019, UNWTO data shows that more than twice as many people travelled internationally in January than at the beginning of last year. According to UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, the message is clear: "Tourism always comes back", and the return of ITB, along with the recent reopening of China, is clear evidence of renewed confidence in international travel.

Building better tourism

Secretary General Pololiksahvili was invited to participate in the official opening ceremony of ITB 2023, along with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey, and leaders from the public and private sectors. While welcoming the positive data, he also stressed that tourism has a "responsibility to grow better again. We must accelerate and aim for more sustainable and resilient tourism".

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a specialised agency of the United Nations, is an international organisation with a central and decisive role in the promotion and development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It provides a global forum for tourism policy issues and a useful source of tourism knowledge. It currently comprises 159 countries, 6 territories, 2 permanent observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.