BERLIN--(Business Wire/Korea Newswire) December 22, 2014 -- Booking levels are stable compared to 2014 as the world’s leading travel trade show prepares for the new year. Many of the halls have been booked up since early December. Demand by exhibitors from the Arab countries and Asia is particularly high. Africa will also be represented in large numbers at the upcoming ITB Berlin. However, Sierra Leone is taking a one-year break from the show due to events surrounding the Ebola outbreak. As a travel destination Iran has become more and more popular this year and will be occupying an entire hall on its own. Following an absence from the show, the Hilton and Hyatt hotels will again be exhibiting in Hall 9, where the hotel industry is on display. Mongolia is the partner country of ITB Berlin 2015.

The range of travel technology products and services continues to grow apace and at ITB Berlin this will be one of the largest and internationally most diverse displays anywhere in the world. For the first time the Chinese companies Baidu and Qunar and a joint display of Italian startups have announced they will be exhibiting at the show. Rounding off this segment will be the eTravel World, with displays devoted to digital marketing, social media and mobile travel services. Papers on current trends in the markets of Asia and South America will also be held there.

Accompanying the show will be the world’s largest travel industry convention whose focus in 2015 will be on the sharing economy and current forms of big data and ways to exploit it for marketing tourism. In 2015, for the first time and in partnership with National Geographic, ITB Berlin will present the World Legacy Awards in recognition of sustainable tourism projects.

With over 10,000 exhibitors from around 190 countries ITB Berlin is the shop window of the international travel industry. The turnover by exhibitors at the show of around 6.5 billion euros is proof of the economic boost that ITB Berlin provides in its role as the industry’s platform for conducting business and sales. A few years ago the introduction of the ITB Buyers Circle established an exclusive meeting place for around 850 handpicked senior buyers from the travel industry. www.itb-berlin.com.