Exclusive from ITB: The visitors have left, already mined the colorful stands, artificial life disappears after five busy days just as fast as it moved into the exhibition halls.

What remains is the impression of a vital industry, that even crises and paradigm shift can not harm permanently.

And once again the outcome is: The ITB is only as good as the season after which it takes place. The year 2012 was a difficult year in Europe, at least privately some dared to mention the word 'crisis'. Others suggested only that the hope of the industry due to the battered markets of the West, would turn from the old world to the new tourism markets of the East.

And all this indeed the ITB did reflect: Fewer visitors from Italy, Spain and Greece attended the show, but there were more professional audience from Arabia, India, and China. Overall, the trade fair company let it be known that the number of visitors increased slightly.

Not surprising: The economies of the Eastern countries grow, discover the tourism increasingly and even more professional as ever as a source of income as well as the growing prosperity residents who want to become acquainted with the world.

The importance of the ITB Berlin to the source market of Central Europe continues, in Germany alone are predicted for the year 2013 as high tourism spendings like never before. This comes just to the right time for the travel industry, because in southern Europe currently leisure trips may not necessarily the best topics to talk about.

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