Key Takeaways from ITB Berlin 2025 — Rupp Public Relations

ITB Berlin 2025 was full of learning, creating connections, and enjoying the best of the travel industry. This year, we came away from the travel trade show with one major announcement and a ton of insights into where travel is headed in the coming years.

There was a strong focus on the rise of luxury and the importance of hidden gems in destinations. Sustainable innovation was another major talking point, and we discovered exciting new developments. On the topic of sustainability, the new EU greenwashing rules were center stage, with the effects of these clear that the travel industry must demonstrate authentic environmental responsibility.

ITB Berlin never fails to disappoint us, and, while we are already looking forward to next year, we are thrilled to share with you our favorite insights from this year’s show.

Major Updates

There are two major announcements that we’ve taken away from ITB Berlin 2025. Firstly, the launch of ITB Americas, and secondly, the new EU greenwashing ban.

ITB Americas Launch

ITB is coming to the Americas in 2026! This is major news. The travel trade show will be expanding to another part of the world, hosting their first ever event in Mexico – one of the top ten most popular countries right now. This event will serve the B2B tourism industry within the entire American continent, hosting over 35 different markets and countries.

This announcement is a response by ITB to the growing market across The Americas. The continent is becoming a more popular and important part in the world of travel, with ITB reporting that outbound trips have exceeded 2019 levels. According to ITB, North America is driving travel growth with 120 million trips abroad last year.

This is an unmissable opportunity to grow roots within the American travel industry, providing companies with a platform to network with each other and learn about travel innovation, while exploring and sharing ideas.

EU Greenwashing Ban

The new EU greenwashing initiative is aimed at creating transparency and trust between companies and consumers. This ban ensures that the information provided by a brand about their environmental action is accurate, forcing brands to hold themselves accountable for sustainable initiatives.

The ban removes all sustainability labels that have not been approved by certain certifications or public authorities. All claims that a product is climate neutral or positive as well as the use of any sustainable terminology must be supported by evidence. This includes terms such as environmentally or eco friendly, sustainable, climate neutral, and natural. This initiative will guarantee that information on the sustainability of a brand is visible, recognizable, and understandable.

Other Insights

We’ve collected our favorite smaller insights to learn from and incorporate into marketing strategies.

Hidden Gems are the Beating Heart of Travel

The Insight: The conference stressed how important hidden travel gems are to the industry, deeming them the “beating heart” of why travelers choose to explore different destinations. These gems create strong connections between tourists and the destination, which is emphasized by meaningful interactions with local culture and communities.

How to Use: The best way to incorporate hidden gems into your marketing strategy is to become one. Engage in local activities, buy from local vendors, recruit local hosts for activities and experiences.

It is essential that guests feel connected with the destination to make repeat travelers out of them and the best way to foster connection is through locality. Highlight the hidden gems within your destination and build your brand, hotel, and itinerary around the hidden gem through a combination of history, food, culture, and sustainability.

Impactful Luxury Hoteliers are More Sought After than Ever Before

The Insight: There is a rising desire for luxurious experiences from tourists, and with this comes the increasing demand for more sustainability.

Balancing luxury with sustainability can be difficult, but hoteliers must focus on creating mindful ways for guests to experience their surroundings that actively engage their understanding in what makes the destination special. Hoteliers must provide their guests with roots to slowly experience the destination and understand exactly where they are.

How to Use: Sustainability needs to come from the top of the business, meaning that founders and directors must have it in their ethos. This requires a full commitment to sustainable initiatives, and it is essential that employees that direct these initiatives are hired.

We’ve seen many interesting ways that hotels have incorporated sustainability: from renting or buying more property to conserve their surroundings, to creating zero waste kitchens where hotels produce, use, and preserve everything themselves – an approach that guests love. Whatever your sustainable initiatives are, one element is essential, measure everything to hold your business accountable as well as those around you.

Very Few Venture Beyond the Original Destination

The Insight: We learned that 90% of travelers who visit a destination, only go within 100km of where they stay. A single destination has so much to offer a tourist and most of them never get to see it all, let alone explore the wider surroundings. With overtourism creating a huge threat to many popular travel locations, inspiring tourists to discover uncovered areas is more important than ever.

How to Use: To engage in this insight, it is essential to invest in the local destination. Hire guides and offer activities in different places around your destination or excursions to unique, hidden areas. Partner with hotels or brands in another part of your destination and help your guests branch out of their comfort zone through better exploration.

The First Zero Emission Cruise Ship in Underway

The Insight: Hurtigruten’s Sea Zero initiative is in the process of developing the world’s first zero emissions cruise ship. Partnering with SINTEF, one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations, their aim is to create a ship that can operate with zero emissions by 2023. Hurtigruten is investing 100 million euros into ship upgrades.

These upgrades include installing battery packs and utilizing hybrid electricity, creating energy efficient engines and waste management systems, using biofuels, and designing better propulsion technology and hull designs. They will create shore-power connectivity, allowing ships to be charged while they are docked. The ship also plans to partner with Norway’s local farmers and get rid of single-use plastic. Ultimately, Hurtigruten plans to reduce their C02 emissions by 25% at the end of this year and reduce energy by 50% compared to their other ships.

How to Use: Whether a hotel, a cruise ship, or another business within the tourist industry, the innovation that Hurtigruten is pioneering is an inspiration for all companies willing to go the extra step for truly sustainable experiences.

Buy from local farmers. Invest in good waste management systems and infrastructure. Find other, sustainable sources of energy. Partner with research centers to understand your location better. These are some of many steps that Hurtigurten is implementing, and things your brand can incorporate as well.

Final Thoughts

ITB Berlin 2025 had so many insights and helpful tips for us to discover. As usual, the travel trade show and convention confirms the importance of travel as well as the power and responsibility that the industry holds. We must keep exploring, communicating, and adopting sustainable solutions to ensure our actions create a meaningful global impact.

We are so excited for the year to come, and we expect to continue discovering innovations within our industry. We can’t wait for ITB 2026 with the official countdown to ITB Berlin’s 60th anniversary starting now!