Papers and workshops on marketing strategies and tourism prospects for the countries on the Danube – free guided tours of exhibitors with a focus on the Danube – big competition with prizes on the weekend of ITB.
Once again, visitors to this year’s ITB Berlin will be able to obtain useful information about the Danube. The market for tourism on the river that has more countries bordering it than any other has grown enormously. Every year the regions on the Danube attract millions of tourists, from its source in Germany all the way to the Black Sea. Visitors will be able to find out more about the tourism products in the regions on the Danube from papers, workshops and guided tours. Members of the public who take part in the big competition will get a chance to win a trip to the countries on the Danube.
On Wednesday, 4 March, at 4.30 p.m. at the ITB Berlin Convention events will kick off with the Danube Forum on the topic of ’Cross-border tourism – best practices’. Gordana Plamenac, chair of the board of the Danube Competence Centre and managing director of Serbia’s National Tourist Board, will be speaking about the importance of establishing a common marketing position as well as a brand for the Danube. In order to further develop tourism on the Danube cross-border cooperation is required as regards marketing and product development. Panel guests Isabel Garaña, regional director for Europe UNWTO, Karmen Mentil, managing director, Alpine Pearls and members of IG River Cruise and Eurotours Austria will be discussing what steps can be taken to implement a common strategy.
On Friday, 6 March at 11 a.m. the River Cruise workshop of the Danube Competence Centre (DCC) will be taking place for the first time at ITB Berlin and will outline new market opportunities for river cruise operators. The workshop will also show ways in which this sector and the DCC can cooperate in order to bring even more innovative products onto the market. The findings of a study on river cruise tourism on the Danube in Bulgaria are also due to be presented at this event.
On 4, 5 and 6 March, in cooperation with the Danube Competence Centre, ITB Berlin will be organising guided tours of the exhibition grounds for journalists, tour operators and politicians who wish to establish contact with exhibitors from the countries on the Danube. The stands of Germany, Austria, Bratislava (Slovakia), Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria will be showcasing the tourism products these countries and cities on the Danube have to offer. The themed tours are free and will have information on ’enjoyment and culture’, ’nature and cycling’ and the ’new and creative Danube’. For those interested in taking part details and information on how to register are available online at www.danubecc.org/itb/guidedtours.
On 5 and 6 March at the ITB Blogger Speed Dating event the countries on the Danube will be able to make their case that they are destinations of interest to bloggers. At 4.30 p.m. respectively, over the course of 10-minute meetings, hand-picked travel bloggers will come together with tour operators, hotel managers and PR agencies to discuss their common aims and possibilities for collaboration.
On 7 and 8 March, on the weekend of ITB, members of the public will get a chance to win a trip to visit the Danube. They must obtain at least six stamps in their ’passport to the Danube’ from the stands of the countries on the Danube taking part in the competition: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. Prizes include a seven-day cruise on the Danube and other attractive prizes including a weekend trip with a hotel stay for two.
