Day 3 at ITB

Today was the last day for businesses and media at ITB Berlin. Less people than in the other days, maybe also because I was a bite late and my enthusiasm to run from a Pavilion to another decreased significantly.  

Most events I saw on the run today were somehow related to eating. In most cases, the spaces between pavilions is too small for a big number of guests. It is hard to socialize in peace with a glass of wine and a small sandwich without bothering those coming and going.

I visited the Asian section, with a look at the Indonesian Pavilion, where there were a lot of actions and prizes were given. I loved Thailand for the design and Japan - where regularly classes on Japan culture and civilization are held. Exhausted after so many hours and days of intensive walking and writing, I ordered a smoothie with banana, orange and kiwi and got the super powers to go back home. 

Tomorrow I am busy with my personal life, but I plan to return on Sunday, for more pictures and some fresh insights about how the general public is welcoming the tempting offers from the fair.

Till then, more pictures and the promise of new posts soon!

The feeling of spring at Japan Pavilion

The Indonesian boat is ready to conquer the German tourists

Events at the Indonesian Pavilion

The heart beating of Thailand

Attracted by the spices, I entered a small room where I discovered amazing things about the Indonesian art of massage and the amazing ingredients used

Hello from Papua!

ITB Berlin, here I am!

I celebrate my 4-year anniversary since moving to the city of Berlin, with a little treat: this week I will be busy covering the most interesting news from the Tourism Fair. This is part of my larger professional project to dedicate more time to travel and travel writing in general. The good news, besides the lot of work that I will have to deal with in the next 5 days, is that I will be more than a crazy visitor running to gather leaflets: I am covering the seminaries, press conferences and news from the world of tourism as a journalist.Was so proud to wave my accreditation around!

Today was the day of the official press conference, and a lot of work of preparations of the pavilions. There were a couple of media events, among others an excellent presentation of the Hungarian Tourism Board, that I will extensively present on my dedicated travel blog: http://ilanaontheroad.wordpress.com. Tomorrow, will run to cover some nice events that most likely will be presented also on the wordpress blog.

Working hard to finish the work

For now, a couple of snapshots of the day, in a simpler way, just to be sure that my readers will return when my posts will be more developed.

- The word of the day was: 'sun', as everyone was surprised that after so many days and months of darkness, some wonders are still possible, also in Berlin.

- The site of the fair is still in construction and moving from a part to another is difficult, if not dangerous, as there are many trucks and hard work in process. Today, everything was fully experimental, with a lot of work and rock music to keep the right pace.

A short break of the Indonesian representatives

- The accreditation of bloggers was possible only online. The print and video media can do it still on the spot. Maybe there were not too many journalists yet, but everything was extremely fast. The media center is clean, with many facilities - wifi, computers, cloakroom, various publications and updates to be delivered soon. The transportation from the media center to the location of the press conferences is made with a special media shuttle bus, operating almost every 10 minutes. 

- Everyone is nice, talking English and ready to help the journalists. Quite a normal attitude, isn't it?

- The special guest this year is Indonesia. The video clip outlines the wonders that the visitor can encounter in such a diverse country that does not mean only 'Bali'. Personally, I was not impressed by the clip and found it quite common for many Asian countries. However, the minister for Tourism and Creativity, Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, was very spontaneous and created the impression of hospitality and friendliness. More about Indonesia, later, when I will see the Pavilion and, eventually, I will benefit of the feet massage promised to the exhausted visitors. Politically speaking, there may be a new stage in the relations between Germany and Indonesia, a high level delegation visiting Berlin those days. 

Keep in touch!!