Tourism is on track to achieve full recovery this year and ready to deliver on its potential as a pillar of peace and sustainability, UNWTO has told sector leaders at ITB in Berlin.
As the leading tourism trade fair celebrates its first in-person event since 2019, UNWTO data shows that more than twice as many people travelled internationally in January as they did at the start of last year. According to UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, the message is clear: “Tourism always comes back”, and the return of ITB, alongside the recent re-opening of China, is clear proof of renewed confidence in international travel.
Secretary-General Pololiksahvili was invited to be part of the official inauguration ceremony for ITB 2023, alongside Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey, and public and private sector leaders. While welcoming the positive data, he also stressed that tourism has a “responsibility to grow back better. We must speed up and scale up to a more sustainable and resilient tourism.”
