The world’s largest B2B travel trade fair, ITB Berlin, opened its 60th-anniversary edition on 3 March 2026, turning the Berlin Exhibition Grounds into a barometer for global mobility demand. After three years of hybrid formats, the show is fully physical again, drawing 10,000 exhibitors from 185 countries and an estimated 160,000 trade visitors. German federal tourism commissioner Sybille Röhrl used the ribbon-cutting to declare that "seamless, sustainable and secure cross-border mobility is back on the agenda—Germany intends to be Europe’s laboratory for it." Indonesia’s 441 m² pavilion and Nepal’s 31-company delegation headline a strong Asia-Pacific presence that highlights how relaxed visa regimes and new air links with Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin are reviving long-haul traffic into Germany. Lufthansa Group reported on-site that bookings from Southeast Asia for Q2 2026 are already 15 % above the same period in 2019. Messe Berlin data show corporate-travel buyers account for 42 % of registered participants—a sign that MICE and expatriate-assignment planning are accelerating.
A dedicated Global Mobility Hub in Hall 4.1—new for 2026—brings together German relocation providers, Ausländerbehörde digitisation start-ups and HR tech firms offering algorithmic visa-eligibility screening.
![ITB Berlin 2026 Opens: Germany Showcases as Gateway for Post-Pandemic Travel Revival]()
Professionals who need to turn these conference conversations into actual trips will find it useful to outsource the red tape: VisaHQ’s digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) assists with German visas, residence permits and passport services, providing live status tracking and expert checks that mesh neatly with the seamless-mobility narrative on show at ITB.
Panel sessions cover the upcoming EU Entry/Exit System, Germany’s Chancenkarte points-based job-seekers’ visa, and the government’s pilot "Work-and-Stay" digital agency. Exhibitors report brisk business: Frankfurt-based law firm VPM Legals signed 18 service mandates on opening day alone, mainly for U.S. scale-ups building engineering hubs in Bavaria and NRW. For German employers, ITB’s comeback is more than symbolism. Network Rail Europe, for example, announced a €12 million commuter-rail marketing campaign aimed at attracting tourists landing in Berlin to onward green-rail itineraries that will also ease pressure on domestic flights. Smaller Mittelstand exporters meanwhile use the fair to reassure overseas partners that Germany’s logistics chains have stabilised after the 2025 winter of strikes. Travel managers should watch for two practical outcomes: Lufthansa Group hinted at preferential ITB-brokered corporate fares that will be loaded in GDSs from 1 April, and the Federal Police confirmed that its pilot "EES Fast-Lane" e-gates at Berlin Brandenburg will be open to conference badge-holders this week, offering a real-world test of the new biometric system before nationwide rollout.
A dedicated Global Mobility Hub in Hall 4.1—new for 2026—brings together German relocation providers, Ausländerbehörde digitisation start-ups and HR tech firms offering algorithmic visa-eligibility screening.
Professionals who need to turn these conference conversations into actual trips will find it useful to outsource the red tape: VisaHQ’s digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) assists with German visas, residence permits and passport services, providing live status tracking and expert checks that mesh neatly with the seamless-mobility narrative on show at ITB.
Panel sessions cover the upcoming EU Entry/Exit System, Germany’s Chancenkarte points-based job-seekers’ visa, and the government’s pilot "Work-and-Stay" digital agency. Exhibitors report brisk business: Frankfurt-based law firm VPM Legals signed 18 service mandates on opening day alone, mainly for U.S. scale-ups building engineering hubs in Bavaria and NRW. For German employers, ITB’s comeback is more than symbolism. Network Rail Europe, for example, announced a €12 million commuter-rail marketing campaign aimed at attracting tourists landing in Berlin to onward green-rail itineraries that will also ease pressure on domestic flights. Smaller Mittelstand exporters meanwhile use the fair to reassure overseas partners that Germany’s logistics chains have stabilised after the 2025 winter of strikes. Travel managers should watch for two practical outcomes: Lufthansa Group hinted at preferential ITB-brokered corporate fares that will be loaded in GDSs from 1 April, and the Federal Police confirmed that its pilot "EES Fast-Lane" e-gates at Berlin Brandenburg will be open to conference badge-holders this week, offering a real-world test of the new biometric system before nationwide rollout.
