Tourism has returned in a big way, but Berlin has also opened uncomfortable questions
The sixtieth anniversary of the ITB Berlin trade fair, held from 3 to 5 March 2026, was meant above all to confirm that the global tourism sector had returned to levels that only a few years ago seemed difficult to reach. Representatives of countries, tourism boards, airlines, hotel groups, technology companies and investors gathered in Berlin, and the event itself once again showed why it is considered the world’s most important B2B meeting of the tourism industry. The organizers state that 5,601 exhibitors from 166 countries and territories took part in the fair, along with almost 97 thousand participants, while the convention program brought together more than 24 thousand visitors. In business terms, it is a huge gathering at which, according to the organizers’ estimate, deals and purchasing decisions worth 47 billion euros are concluded. But beneath the optimistic picture of recovery ran a far more serious debate: can tourism continue to grow at its current pace without deeper social, climate and logistical consequences.
This year, ITB Berlin placed particular emphasis on the theme of balance, and the convention itself carried the slogan
Leading Tourism into Balance. This is not a marketing gimmick, but a summary of the state of the industry. In one place, two powerful but mutually tense facts meet. On the one hand, international travel is growing again, and tourism demand remains exceptionally strong. On the other hand, pressure on infrastructure, local communities, climate goals and travel safety is becoming increasingly visible. That is precisely why this year’s fair did not remain a celebration of recovery, but turned into a kind of diagnosis of a sector that is economically strong, yet at the same time increasingly exposed to crises that are no longer an exception, but the new working environment.
The figures confirm recovery, but also rising expectations of the sector
The global context gave the Berlin gathering additional weight. According to UN Tourism, international tourist arrivals in 2025 increased by 4 percent and reached around 1.52 billion travelers, which means that world tourism not only made up for the pandemic decline, but also returned to the pattern of pre-pandemic growth. Data for 2024 had already shown an almost complete recovery to 99 percent of the 2019 level, and 2025 further consolidated that return. In Berlin, the discussion was therefore not about whether tourism would recover, but about how to manage a sector that is strong again, but can no longer count on old assumptions of stability.
This was highlighted by the fair organizers themselves. In the final statement, they emphasized that this year’s ITB Berlin took place under the sign of adaptation and innovation in an increasingly uncertain world, marked by geopolitical tensions, climate risks and economic uncertainty. The summary of the convention’s key messages states that resilience, crisis preparedness and early warning systems have become central topics, while at the same time destinations and companies are expected to respond to the spread of overtourism, the growing gap between the premium and mass markets, and the changes brought by artificial intelligence. In other words, it is no longer enough to have strong demand. The ability to manage the consequences of growth is required.
That is why this year’s Berlin was important as a political signal as well. On the sidelines of the fair, a meeting of tourism ministers was also held, where sustainable growth, governance, skills development and social responsibility were discussed. The very fact that the discussion on tourism is increasingly moving from the domain of promotion into the area of public policy shows that the sector is entering a new phase. Travel is no longer only a question of hotel occupancy, airline capacity and seasonal earnings, but also a question of urban planning, energy transition, social balance and resilience to disruptions.
Climate pressure is no longer an abstract topic, but a business problem
One of the most serious issues accompanying the fair concerns the climate footprint of tourism, especially aviation. The International Energy Agency states that aviation accounted for 2.5 percent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 and that emissions from the sector reached almost 950 million tonnes of CO2, or more than 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level. This is important data because it shows that traffic is recovering faster than the industry’s ability to reduce its own carbon footprint. In practice, this means that tourism finds itself between two demands that are not easy to reconcile: demand for travel is growing, but at the same time pressure is growing to make mobility more climate-friendly.
At ITB, sustainability was therefore not discussed only as a reputational add-on, but as a condition for the long-term sustainability of the business model. In the official fair materials, emphasis was placed on sustainable business models, responsible destination management and the application of technology that can improve efficiency. The problem, however, is deeper than technological optimization alone. Sustainable aviation fuels, more efficient engines, better operational systems and digital planning can alleviate part of the pressure, but they cannot overnight neutralize the fact that the number of flights is increasing. Even when the industry advances in efficiency, total emissions remain high if traffic growth outpaces the speed of transition.
That is precisely why the climate debate in Berlin was no longer separate from the debate on resilience. Destinations facing heatwaves, water shortages, coastal erosion or extreme weather events cannot count on sustainability being reduced to just a promotional slogan. Climate risk increasingly determines the season, insurance, infrastructure costs and the very attractiveness of certain destinations. Tourism thus simultaneously has to adapt to its own contribution to climate change and to the consequences those changes are already creating. That is one of the reasons why the fair is talking more and more about resilience, and less and less only about growth.
Overtourism is growing from local discontent into a European political issue
If climate is a long-term pressure, overtourism is perhaps an even more visible short-term problem. In Berlin, this topic was present even before the main panels began, because the European public has for months already been confronted with protests and increasingly fierce political debates about how much tourism can burden cities and regions. The final ITB statement explicitly states that overtourism requires new forms of destination management. This is an important formulation, because it comes from the center of an industry that for decades almost automatically regarded growth in the number of arrivals as a desirable outcome.
The reason for the change in tone is not hard to find. During 2025, protests against mass tourism were held in several southern European cities and regions, and powerful images from Barcelona and Mallorca resonated far beyond Spain. The Associated Press reported that protesters in Barcelona and Mallorca in June 2025 symbolically sprayed tourists with water pistols to warn about a development model they believe fuels the housing crisis and erases the identity of local neighborhoods. According to the same report, the protests were part of a coordinated wave of actions by people concerned about the consequences of overtourism in a series of southern European destinations, and Barcelona had received 15.5 million visitors the previous year. In such an environment, the question is no longer whether protests are a marginal phenomenon, but whether they can become a lasting political factor.
It is important to note that discontent is not reduced only to the number of tourists. At the center of the criticism are housing, rental prices, the transformation of neighborhoods, traffic congestion and the feeling that everyday life is being subordinated to the visitor economy. When local residents conclude that they no longer derive proportional benefit from tourism, while at the same time bearing an ever greater cost through housing, коммунal strain and the loss of public space, then the political legitimacy of tourism growth also begins to erode. For the sector, this means that the old formulas about records and growth are no longer enough. Destinations will increasingly have to prove that tourism is not only profitable, but also socially tolerable.
That is precisely why the discussion in Berlin acquired a broader meaning. It is not only about how to avoid negative publicity, but about whether European tourism can retain the social license for further growth. Otherwise, more and more cities will resort to stricter restrictions, tighter rules for short-term rentals, higher levies, cruise regulation or changes in the management of public space. The industry is clearly aware of this, because there is increasingly frequent talk of managing visitor flows, dispersing demand throughout the year, strengthening less burdened locations and more precise monitoring of tourism’s effect on local life.
Geopolitics once again showed how sensitive travel is to disruptions
This year’s ITB also gained particular weight from instability in the Middle East. Already at the opening of the fair, representatives of the organizers and the industry expressed concern about developments in Iran and the wider region. That concern did not remain at the level of a political remark. Because of disruptions in the region, some flights were restricted, and the fair’s final statement directly states that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East in some cases reduced flight availability to Berlin. This showed how contemporary tourism, despite all the talk of digitalization and diversification, still remains extremely sensitive to air corridors and political security.
Additional context is provided by an analysis by the British Guardian, according to which almost 300 thousand passengers pass daily through three major Gulf hubs, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, of whom around two thirds are transfer passengers. When airspace closures or larger disruptions occur in that zone, the effect does not remain confined to the region, but spills over to connections between Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. This is especially important at a time when earlier disruptions, including the closure of Russian and Ukrainian airspace for some European carriers, have already redirected a large share of traffic toward southern corridors. Berlin was therefore this year a reminder that tourism depends not only on people’s desire to travel, but also on the very fragile infrastructure of global connectivity.
For tourism companies, this has very concrete consequences. Geopolitical shocks increase costs, complicate route planning, reduce schedule reliability and create pressure on fuel prices. For travelers, this means more expensive tickets, longer journeys, more layovers and less predictability. For destinations, especially those that receive a large share of guests through long-haul connections, it means an increased risk of a sudden drop in accessibility. In such a context, resilience is no longer an abstract term from conference stages, but a key operational category. Whoever does not have alternative links, crisis protocols and flexible business models is more vulnerable than the good demand figures suggest.
Resilience is becoming the new central word of tourism policy
Perhaps the most important shift visible at ITB Berlin 2026 is the fact that resilience is no longer viewed as an additional topic for times of crisis, but as a framework for the future management of tourism. The convention’s final conclusions explicitly state that crisis preparedness, early warning systems and data-based decision-making were in focus. Such a shift is not accidental. After the pandemic, climate extremes, wars, supply chain disruptions and increasingly pronounced social tensions in tourism cities, the industry is clearly accepting that stability is no longer a given condition.
It is interesting that this change is also visible in new partnerships. ITB Berlin and the organization Green Destinations announced a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening sustainability, responsible tourism and the long-term development of destinations. According to the organizers’ statement, the goal of the partnership is stronger integration of sustainability principles into the fair’s programs and host country initiatives, and support for destinations in developing credible and market-relevant strategies. This does not mean that all problems have been solved, but it shows that the focus is shifting from short-term marketing to longer-term management.
Other examples of this turn also appeared at the fair. Public reports from ITB also highlighted Jamaica, which in Berlin further promoted its own tourism resilience agenda through talks on recovery after natural disasters, sustainability, air links and global cooperation. Although some such appearances also have a strong promotional dimension, it is important that the concept of resilience in tourism today is increasingly connected with very concrete questions: how to rebuild a destination after a natural disaster, how to preserve jobs, how to ensure continuity of air links and how to reduce dependence on one market, one carrier or one season.
Berlin showed that the future of tourism will no longer be determined only by demand
This year’s ITB Berlin thus offered two truths that are valid at the same time. The first is that tourism remains among the most resilient branches of the global economy. Travel is growing, business interest is strong, international demand shows no signs of serious weakening, and the industry continues to attract investment, technological innovation and political attention. The second is that this growth can no longer be viewed in isolation from the consequences it produces. The climate cost of air traffic, social pressure in overloaded destinations, the sensitivity of global air corridors and the need for crisis management are now integral parts of the same story.
That is precisely why the main message from Berlin was not that tourism had successfully returned, but that it had entered a more demanding phase of development. In that phase, it will no longer be only those who attract the most guests who win, but also those who show that they know how to reconcile economic interest with the quality of life of the local population, climate commitments and travel safety. A fair that once primarily measured the pulse of the market is now increasingly measuring the sector’s ability to confront its own limits. And that is perhaps the most important change that the sixtieth anniversary of ITB Berlin revealed this year.
Sources:- ITB Berlin – final statement on the 60th anniversary of the fair, the number of exhibitors, participants, business results and the main conclusions of the convention (link)
- ITB Berlin – introductory statement on the 2026 fair, international representation and growing interest in sustainability, technology and market trend topics (link)
- ITB Berlin Convention – official program description under the motto “Leading Tourism into Balance”, with data on more than 400 speakers, 200 sessions and 17 thematic segments (link)
- ITB Berlin – text from the opening of the fair on stability, innovation, international cooperation and concern over developments in the Middle East (link)
- UN Tourism – world tourism barometer with data on the growth of international arrivals in 2025 and reaching around 1.52 billion travelers (link)
- International Energy Agency (IEA) – overview of the state of aviation and data on the share of air transport in global energy-related CO2 emissions (link)
- Associated Press – report on protests against overtourism in Barcelona and Mallorca and the pressures tourism creates on housing and local communities (link)
- The Guardian – analysis of disruptions at Gulf air hubs and the consequences of airspace closures for global passenger flows (link)
- EU Tourism Platform – overview of the European debate on overtourism and new approaches to destination management (link)
Find accommodation nearby
Creation time: 2 hours ago