On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, the best of the best Asian travel providers will be awarded at ITB.
During a festive gala performance at Viethaus in Berlin-Mitte, Leipziger Straße 55, the „Go Asia Award 2009“ will be awarded in six categories:
Best Asian air carrier, best tourist board, best tour operator for Asian destinations and most popular destination in Asia. The categories of „best Asian hotel/ hotel chain“ and „most innovative trip“ will be newly introduced this year.

The Shangri-La hotel in Harbin has again opened its Ice Palace restaurant on the occasion of the Ice and Snow Festival in Northeast China, and just in time for the Chinese new year. An experienced ice sculptor and his team built it in the hotel garden in 20 days. The experts formed a dining hall and four rooms for private events from 700 large cubic blocks of the freezing construction material. So long as the weather stays favorable, the sparkling ice restaurant will keep operating until end of February.

The Work Experience Travel Market and International Au Pair Association Annual Conference have contracted Marcom Consulting to provide the joint trade event with its eSchedule PRO business appointment scheduling system.

The One-on-One appointment scheduling solution will be used to manage the event’s 3300-plus pre-scheduled business appointments. This marks a first time cooperation between the two organizations.

Air Berlin are expanding their long-haul program and will again be offering flights to China by the beginning of the Chinese new year. This allows for the cooperation with Hainan Airlines, the fourth largest air carrier of China. Both companies agreed on the joint marketing of flights between Berlin and Beijing starting from January 25, 2009.

Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) announced the closing of a management contract with Primrose Capital (UK) involving the first newly built Waldorf Astoria hotel in Europe. The Waldorf Astoria Berlin will presumably open in 2011 and comprise 242 luxurious rooms and suites. It will be built in the so-called „Zoofenster“.

The conclusion of the contract is an example of HCC’s growth in the luxury segment. Not long ago, the Rome Cavalieri and the Trianon Palace Versailles became part of the Waldorf Astoria collection. The collection will grow further with The Bentley in London in 2009 and The Palace Jerusalem, scheduled to open in 2010.

Berlin presents itself as partner state of the German Pavilion for Children’s and Youth Travel

Jubilees in the youth travel segment will be celebrated at ITB Berlin: 20 years fall of the wall, ten years Youth Travel Center, five years „YIG-Deutschland-Pavillon“. YIG is an abbreviation for Youth Incoming Germany. The governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, acts as this year’s patron. He will open up the special exhibition area in hall 4.1 on March 11. The YIG Germany Pavilion will present its partner state Berlin inside the Youth Travel Center. The German capital seeks to attract more visitors with their offers of children’s and youth travel to German and international experts.