BerliN Travel
Festival 2019
Travel & Tourism
Brands That Matter
2019 marked the second year of the entrepreneurial travel conference, Berlin Travel Festival. Once again, it coincided with its decidedly more corporate counterpart ITB, one of the largest Global Travel Trade Shows.
ITB is attended by ten thousand trade professionals from all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, as well as 160k public visitors. Exhibitors and the trade lean towards large companies and multinational brands, as opposed to niche entrepreneurial startups. The Berlin Travel Festival, held at Arena, a hip industrial complex is a perfect compliment and/or alternative to the huge ITB corporate conference held every Spring.
Travel Festival Overview
The Berlin Travel Festival is the brainchild of Bernd Neff, Bob Shahrestani and Gabor Thier of I LOVE TRAVEL Gmbh. They partnered with ITB to deliver an immersive and inspirational 3 day experience to help people travel differently and more responsibly. The event included eco-friendly and sustainable tourism agencies, gear and apparel, luxury hostels and innovative vehicles. Attended by the public and industry professionals, there were plenty of insights to be gained and unique business models to learn from. Everything from the selection of speakers to the niche exhibitors, film screenings and workshops, made for an exciting and inspiring event.
I personally discovered the event through a tremendous international travel community called Travel Massive. Founded in 2011 in Australia, they have since grown to nearly 50k members across 70 countries worldwide. As part of the free community, you can not only connect with other members, but you can also attend live and virtual events throughout the year. Berlin Travel Festival was my first Travel Massive event, and it certainly won’t be my last.
Georgia Tourism & Wine
Particularly relevant to me, were two talks concerning the Republic of Georgia. One was from Fabrika Hostel in Tbilisi, and the other a Georgian wine tour company, Trails and Wines, also based in Tbilisi.
Fabrika not only represented their hostel property, but more importantly they served as huge champions of Georgia tourism and culture. Since 2016, Fabrika has been revitalizing large portions of under developed areas of Tbilisi, literally paving the way for other new tourism related groups. They turned a derelict former sewing factory into a functional works of art. All associated buildings have been painstakingly restored to maintain the original style and historical significance of their original use.
Today Fabrika’s hostel and event spaces serve as community gathering places for locals and concert/event halls for locals and tourists alike. Achieving success in both the local community and tourist market is not easy, but when its done right its extremely impactful. The women present in Berlin did a great job representing Georgian culture and its hospitality, even hosting delicious wine and food tastings.
The second Georgian speaker was Daria Kholodilina from Wines and Trails tourism company. She and her colleagues specialize in boutique food, wine, trekking and culture tours in and around Tbilisi. Ukrainian by birth, Daria fell in love with Georgia and its wine, so much so that she’s written a book about this ancient (8 thousand year old) tradition.
Focusing on natural, organic and traditional winemakers, Daria aims to showcase true Georgian life on an authentic human level. During her talk we were able to taste 3 Georgian white wines from three different regions. All wines also came from small organic producers. Two were done in typical qveveri clay vessels buried underground, and the third done in stainless steel. These delicious wines included Alapiani’s pure Chinuri from Kartli, Baia’s Tsistka/Tsolikouri/Krakhuna blend from Imereti, and a Rkatsiteli and Kisi blend from Jakeli in the Kakheti region. While not yet widely distributed, I highly recommend asking your local wine shop for these or other small Georgian producers.
Azerbaijan Tourism & Wine
Prior to the travel festival, I was largely unfamiliar with the small nation of Azerbaijan. The little I did know was from a friend in Bologna who raved about it, even calling it her favorite country to visit.
The beautiful rugs and textiles in the Azerbaijan Tourism area did a great job showcasing the nation’s heritage and welcoming people into the space. Samples of wine were quickly offered by the warm staff eager to chat about the country and its tourism opportunities. In particular, I was very impressed by their advanced wine region website, azerbaijanwine.az. It details Azerbaijan’s long winemaking history, grapes, new trends and travel experiences currently available.
While the bulk of today’s production consists of large scale french varietals, small groups of winemakers are now returning to their roots to revive native grapes. An interesting aspect of Azerbaijan culture is that they also make many fruit based wines, in addition to grape wines. This follows along with their past of sweet wine production, as dictated by Russia’s former control.
Despite a long tradition, Azerbaijan’s recent winemaking history is short due to Gorbachev’s lethal anti-alcohol policy from 1985-1987. Vineyards were destroyed, infrastructure lost and trade relationships were ruined. Many vineyards were converted to various grains for survival, so restarting businesses post-communism was very challenging. Export to their primary market, Russia, was also difficult. Fortunately today, investments are being made and things are quickly improving. With help from German and Italian influence, Azerbaijan is slowly rebuilding its once thriving industry and finally doing so on its own terms.
Small Businesses Making A Big Local Impact
Other notable talks were from Kelly Galaski of Planeterra (a G Adventures company) and Kim Whitaker co-founder of Once Travel in Cape Town, South Africa. These two groups stood out as great examples of tourism creating sustainable, economic and social impact in local communities who need it most. Both travelers and locals benefit from these great companies that connect them and improve the lives of so many deserving people.
Planeterra has various models around the world that create jobs within all aspects of the tourism sector, from food to transportation. They train and empower women and communities to create businesses they love, while also providing unique, authentic experiences for travelers. Similarly, Once Travel employs locals to guide, teach and provide all aspects of hospitality to guests and locals. They educate underserved communities and provide training programs to create more proud leaders and further spread their ethos. With hostels in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and one in progress in Nairobi, they are reviving and improving South Africa one city at a time.
Travel & Camping Gear
The festival also featured interesting and independent travel gear and product companies. I was very excited to get my hands on Heimplanet’s lineup of outdoor adventure offerings. Listening to consumer desires and feedback, this group of German friends created durable, sustainable gear to carry you through any journey. From revolutionary inflatable geodesic tents, to rugged yet stylish backpacks, you can’t go wrong with their high quality products.
For exploring the land and the sea in comfort, look no further than the Sealander. This eco-friendly caravan easily transforms from camper to boat in minutes, with no extra operating license required. At 15.25 ft, the innovative fiberglass body can accommodate up to 6 people and is custom built with high end materials in Germany.
On the practical end of the spectrum, the simple yet effective LeStoff towels caught my attention. Made of fast-drying, 100% lightweight cotton, the beautiful Hammam (Turkish bath) towels are a must have for all travelers. Lastly, Dr. Bronner’s All-One Soaps were a longstanding part of my routine in the U.S., so I was pleasantly surprised to see them at Berlin Travel Fest! A Certified B Corporation, Dr. Bronner’s was founded in 1948 on Cosmic and Organic principles. Today, they continue to spread their social and environmentally responsible mission to help make a better world. For all travelers looking for the best all-purpose soap, I suggest you stock up on Dr. Bronner’s!
