Botswana, a country in southwest Africa and the partner country of this year’s ITB Berlin, has been described by Messe Berlin as ’Africa’s best-kept secret’. Indeed, the extent to which Botswana has adopted a pioneering role in nature conservation is not widely known. It is due to the sustainable management practised by the government and conservationists that wildlife abounds in this country. It is Botswana’s perfect investment in a future in which tourism plays an important part.

The Pure! Travel Group from Ecuador has great plans for its first appearance at ITB Berlin. The self-proclaimed leading boutique tour operator for the Andean countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia wants to highlight its unique qualities on its stand. That is why this steadily expanding enterprise from Quito has commissioned an interior designer who has never previously worked for a tourism company.

What are the challenges facing small and medium-sized tourism enterprises and what can travel agencies and tour operators do to overcome them? That is the key topic which the “thought factory“ will be examining on 13 June 2015 in Berlin. Its initiator is the Alliance of Independent Tour Operators (asr) which announced the interactive event at ITB Berlin 2015. asr developed the event concept in collaboration with the communications trainer Vivien Manzon, a member of the asr education committee.