ITB Berlin: great enthusiasm of tour operators for the interest in Argentina

Sent to Berlin, Germany – There ITB Berlin left high expectations in the delegation of Argentine private companies that participated in this influential event that brings together the main tour operators worldwide, and that this year it was again held in person after restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

To this logical post-COVID impulse is added in the Argentine case a fundamental factor, repeatedly mentioned by the participants: the “world effect”. There is renewed interest in Argentina, who rose to prominence on the world stage after securing the Qatar World Cup.

Just like what happened a few weeks ago at FITUR in Madrid (another of the important tourism fairs), the entrance to the Argentine stand at the ITB Berlin presented a replica of the World Cup, a real magnet , with which each visitor was photographed.

Regarding the commercial presence, more than 20 firms including tour operators, travel agencies, SMEs, hotels and gastronomic companies, were in attendance. And everyone agrees that taking part meant a further step towards consolidating the link with the European market.

For national representatives, two dozen work islands have been set up, with screens showing images of Argentina and its main destinations. There, throughout these three days, rounds of conversations will take place with local agents, from other European countries, but also from the Asian market, in search of new business opportunities.

This is the case of GOAT DMC, a company specializing in the MICE segment (acronym in English for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), a type of business tourism which consists of organizing and attending events such as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. , who participated for the first time in this event.

“We came looking for the German market, the ITB Berlin is a fair that brings together people from all over the world. In our case, we did quite well. Customers from Italy and Spain came, and we had many visits to the stand with people interested in traveling to Argentina,” he commented to GlobeLiveMedia, Augustine Rosesone of the founders of GOAT DMC., during an interview at the mega exhibition center Messe Berlin in the German capital.

Rosas also highlighted the large influx of Mexican tourists who choose Argentina as their destination, which they were able to discuss with the Minister of Tourism, Matias Lammens. “The Mexican market saw a large influx after the pandemic. We talked to the minister about it. It is always ready to listen to proposals from the private sector,” he summed up.

Daniel Girado from Helling’s Travel, another MICE tourism company with several years of participation in international fairs, spoke of the hope that the end of the pandemic entails and a return to normalcy. “We see that there is a certain interest in Argentina. A lot of people are informed and it’s very positive,” acknowledged the manager of the company, who has 30 years of experience in the receptive market in Argentina and great penetration in Europe.

MICE tourism is a segment of the tourism industry that grows and develops the economy of many tourist destinations.

Another booming segment is glamping, a tourism trend that has been gaining popularity in Argentina in recent years. The term is a contraction of the words “glamour” and “camping” and combines the comfort and luxury of a hotel with the experience of camping in the great outdoors.

Caroline Bernetch of Pristine Luxury Camps, defines his company as a triple impact business that seeks to “do tourism without harming the planet”. “We have luxury camps. In Salinas Grandes (Jujuy) we have four domes and we provide all the best services to our passengers”.

“Part of this has to do with the work we have done with the local community. They are a very important part of this project. We offer a different job opportunity and clients are amazed by such close contact with a rich culture,” Pristine CEO explained.

In July they will open a new space with the same green concept of sustainability, in a nature reserve in Iguazú. “We think it’s a super special product for foreign tourists, especially German and French, that’s why ITB Berlin is a great dissemination opportunity”, summarized Bernetch about this company Argentinian investors.

As, Pablo Almarsales director of the Hotel Madero Buenos Aires, that the airlines add more flights allowing them to attract a greater number of tourists, especially foreigners, would be essential to consolidate the recovery of the sector.

“We are surprised at the weight and the interest generated by the victory in the World Cup. We see it in many ways, but we have to make the most of it and the first step is to recover the air frequencies that we had before the pandemic,” he stressed.

Almar acknowledged there was a bottleneck there: “Many are interested in traveling to Argentina, but in many cases they have to take five flights and they don’t because of the cost.” Likewise, the executive highlighted the commitment and work carried out by the State and assured that “it is not only a problem in Argentina, all countries have it”.

In this sense, Lammens recognized that a certain percentage of incoming tourism from Europe must be recovered, but he reflected on the importance of having participated in the ITB Berlin to “strengthen and secure” the exchange with the European market.

“Today, Argentina has recovered 70 or 75% of tourism depending on the destination. In the case of Germany, there was a significant recovery in January and February with the arrival of over 25,000 Germans, 11,000 of them by air. This represents a recovery of 74% compared to the same month in 2022”, explained the minister in dialogue with GlobeLiveMedia.

He also explained the objective of the official strategy: “We came to ITB Berlin with the idea of ​​strengthening this, with the idea of ​​bringing the big operators from Argentina and also to meet here the big operators from Europe to show them what it could offer Argentina, to show them the different products that we had, not only the classics and the most historical ones, but also to present the new ones like La Ruta Natural,” explained Lammens.

“Tourism is experiencing a boom and a moment that is expressed when we go abroad to show the Argentine offer, with a virtuous work between the public and the private sector”, added the minister.

In this sense, during the three days of the show, this initiative was well received by all the operators. Lammens reaped the accolades and added: “Nature destinations are definitely the star of the moment in terms of tourism, they are the destinations that everyone is looking for, that people are looking for to go out after the pandemic and in that the Argentina I think opportunely created La Ruta Natural as a complete program that not only has a specific promotion program but works, training and all the aspects that make it a medium and long term project”, concluded the manager of the Tourism and Sport portfolio.

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