ITB Berlin was one of the first and biggest exhibition casualties of the coronavirus outbreak this March.
Launched in 1966, the event brings together decision-makers, experts, buyers and professionals from across the travel industry. It prides itself on helping their attendees โbuild up the strongest business and customer relations through face-to-faceโ.
In excess of 130,000 people were scheduled to arrive in Berlin for the event which was thrown into doubt and then cancelled fully after the first cases of COVID-19 in the German capital were announced.
But with the imminent challenges facing the travel industry in the wake of the virus, Messe Berlin knew that now, more than ever, it was vital to connect the industry despite not being able to meet face-to-face.
In the space of two days, the tech provider for the show-โGripโ had adapted its platform to allow event attendees to still hold meetings despite the event cancellation.
Around 300-500 virtual meetings took place after the cancellation of ITB Berlin and across the Grip platform throughout March.
Tim Groot, CEO, Grip said: โThe travel and events industry are incredibly robust and resilient and ITB Berlin was a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate how technology can play its part in helping individuals come together and supporting their industries.
โAt Grip, our mission is to bring the business world together through AI-powered interactions and now more than ever, it is vital for technology to empower organisers and attendees to continue.
โIโm incredibly proud of the Grip team for pulling together in such a short period of time. We look forward to continuing to offer this service, along with our already very well-established platform in the future.โ
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