(L-R) Sebastian Reddeker, CEO of Luxembourg for Tourism; Lex Delles, Luxembourg's Minister of Tourism; Burkhard Kieker, CEO of Visit Berlin; Julie Jacobs, Luxembourg Ambassador to Germany (in Berlin);
Credit: MECO
Luxembourg's Minister of Tourism, Lex Delles, recently attended the International Tourism Fair (ITB) in Berlin as part of a tourism mission aiming to promote the Grand Duchy's tourism assets and to exchange views on trends and future challenges of tourism fairs and events.
On the first day of this tourism mission, which took place from Tuesday 7 to Wednesday 8 March 2023, Minister Delles met with Dieter Janecek, the German government's tourism coordinator. Their discussions focused on the importance of sustainable tourism, which, according to the General Directorate for Tourism, is a priority for Luxembourg's tourism strategy.
Minister Delles discussed best sustainability practices with the organisers of the "Messe Berlin" exhibition. He highlighted the Luxembourg stand, which was built with reusable materials.
The Tourism Minister then attended the official presentation of the certification "Leading Quality Region - Best of Europe", which was awarded to the "Visit Éislek" Regional Tourist Board Tourism Office last year. Certified by experienced hikers from the European Hikers' Ramblers Association, the Oesling (Éislek) is the first region in Europe to receive this certification for its high quality hiking trails.
The first day of this tourism mission concluded with the opening of the Luxembourg stand at the ITB, in the presence of Minister Delles and a delegation of various tourism partners and the national tourism promotion agency, Luxembourg for Tourism. This stand is said to highlight Luxembourg's tourism assets; it offers a B2B platform and networking opportunities for its partners.
Minister Delles said: "Looking to the future, the ITB highlights the challenges, opportunities and trends in the tourism sector and is thus an important platform for exchange for the General Directorate for Tourism and its partners. Fully in line with international trends, our Luxembourg tourism strategy pays great attention to sustainable development and digitalisation, themes that clearly stood out at the ITB."
On the second day, Minister Delles discussed the latest trends in the tourism industry with Burkhard Kieker, CEO of VisitBerlin, Birgit Grauvogel, Managing Director of the Deutschen Zentrale für Tourismus/Saarland, and Luis Araújo, Managing Director of Visit Portugal.
In addition to the tourism component, Minister Delles talked to representatives of the German SMEs sector at a networking event organised by New Mittelstand GmbH and Internationale Wirtschaftsrat eV on the challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises today, including digitalisation and the shortage of skilled labour. In this context, the minister also highlighted the support programmes implemented by Luxembourg's General Directorate for SMEs, including the "SME Packages", which are aimed at SMEs wishing to meet the challenges of energy transition, digital transformation and customer relationship optimisation.
In addition, the minister visited the EUREF-Campus Berlin, which hosts over 150 companies and startups working on green ideas.
The mission concluded with a dinner in the presence of various tourism stakeholders.
