The Code was once again present this year at the world’s largest travel and trade fair, ITB Berlin. The event is an annual gathering of the world’s leading stakeholders in the travel industry and is a crucial space for networking, knowledge-sharing and discussion of emerging travel trends.
A positive trend which is emerging in the sector is the move towards sustainability, while this is most often in terms of tourism’s effect on the environment or local communities, child protection is gradually gaining attention as an issue which necessitates action across the industry. For The Code, ITB represents a critical opportunity to engage the private sector, raise awareness of the issue and most importantly, recruit members and establish partnerships.
At this year’s ITB, The Code successfully signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Skål International, a professional association of tourism leaders around the world that works to promote responsible tourism.
The Code, represented by Damian Brosnan, programme manager, also took part in a panel discussion on child protection in voluntourism alongside Anita Dodds, a child rights consultant; Kersten Dohnal of ECPAT Austria, Theo Noten of ECPAT Netherlands/Defence for Children and Nikki White of the Association of British Travel Agents.
The Code also signed an agreement with TourCert, a sustainability consultancy that provides both advice and certification for companies allowing them to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable tourism.
ITB Berlin 2018 was indeed a successful event for The Code as three new members were signed.
Besides signing agreements and new members, The Code managed to take full advantage of the popularity and global reach of ITB Berlin with the use of promotional material and support from AccorHotels, namely stickers placed on towel dispensers in over 250 bathrooms across ITB. The Code’s booth received greater attention and positive feedback from those who had seen the stickers.
