Today is the opening of the International Tourist Exchange in Berlin (ITB), the largest tourism fair in the world, and German tour operators expressed optimism regarding the upcoming tourist season.
"Demand for travel is high despite inflation. German tour operators expect to achieve record traffic,” said the president of the German Association of Tour Operators (DRV), Norbert Fiebig.
And added "The chaos of 2021 is definitely behind us. We expect to achieve the figures from the record 2019," said Fiebig.
As Fiebig said, the recovery is visible from the trend of early booking of travel arrangements, already in January and February.
Experts associate the growing trend of users who book in advance and "go safe" with the change in citizens' behaviour after the pandemic, during which individual tourists in the event of cancellations or problems had a harder time accessing their rights than those who go through an agency.
The increase in early bookings reduces the number of packages that will remain available before the start of the season.
"Those who book at the last minute in the hope of going cheaper could be short-handed this year," said Ingo Burmester, director of DER Touristik.
For the first time since the pandemic, ITB will open its doors to the professional audience without restrictions.
At a press conference on Tuesday morning, the Croatian Tourist Board should present the Croatian tourism strategy for the current season with an emphasis on sustainable tourism. The Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia Nikolina Brnjac should also attend the conference.