by editorial office, mas

Dieter Ahrendt is retiring from active business participation at Intergerma and passes his post on to Markus Schmidt

After more than 25 years as founding member and managing director of Intergerma, Dieter Ahrendt is now retiring from active participation in business. In early 2009, he passed his post on to his successor Markus Schmidt and appointed Silke Offermann, his colleague of many years, to management.

Third MICE exhibition sees new state pavilions pledging support, with more hosted buyers coming from within the country

IT&CM (Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings) China returns to Shanghai in April for the third year with a bigger Chinese contingent. Show organizers – TTG Asia Media and MP International – have confirmed the participation of four of China’s tourism hotspots in the all-encompassing MICE tradeshow.

Themed as “Promoting China to the World and the World to China”, IT&CM China 2009 will be held from 15 to 17 April 2009 at the ShanghaiMart Expo. More than 2,000 leading industry professionals from China and the rest of the world will attend the event and experience the winning elements of China as “The Next MICE Powerhouse”.

It doesn’t always have to be the City of Love – lovers can find romantic hideaways in faraway countries, as well. The exotic towns of Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian part of Borneo, for example, await couples with fantastic hotels and quaint bays in their immediate vicinity. They are ideal starting points for exploring the natural beauty of Borneo, such as the Rafflesia (the world’s largest flower), ocean turtles, sun bears and wild orang-utans.

Carpe Diem – Carpe ITB-Cinema!

Top-class films of cities, countries, regions, hotels and the tourism industry will be shown at the international film competition Das Goldene Stadttor – The Golden City Gate at ITB-Cinema from March 11 to 15, 2009 during the ITB-Berlin.

The film competition The Golden City Gate brings together representatives, managers and marketing experts of the industry.

It’s time to ‘go for gold’ with the PATA Gold Awards 2009. Travel and tourism industry stakeholders who have made outstanding contributions to develop and promote travel and tourism across the Asia Pacific region in a responsible manner may now submit entries.

The awards, open to both PATA members and non-members, recognize exceptional achievement in six broad categories: Marketing Campaign, Environment, Heritage & Culture, Education & Training, Marketing Media and Travel Journalism. Deadline for entries is April 30th.

Strong inbound and outbound contraction from Q3 2008 to continue throughout 2009 despite positive ‘Obama’ effect

Berlin, 11 February 2009 – The global economic recession arrived on the US tourism scene in September 2008 like an abrupt cold weather front. The big chill will continue to bite at US outbound travel harder than inbound travel throughout 2009.

These are the conclusions of IPK International, which will release extensive details on America’s inbound and outbound travel performance during the ITB Future Day, March 11, at ITB Berlin, the world’s premier travel show.