Tourism summit 2025: Top politicians discuss economic issues in Berlin!

Tourism summit 2025: Top politicians discuss economic issues in Berlin!

On Monday morning, June 2, 2025, the 26th tourism summit took place in the Hotel Adlon in Berlin. This important event was organized by Sören Hartmann and Sven Liebert, the leadership duo of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW). With 400 registered guests, the summit offered a platform for the exchange between politics and the tourism industry.

Stefan Evers, the finance senator of Berlin, welcomed the participants instead of the governing mayor Kai Wegner. The occasion took place exactly 99 days after the Bundestag election and fell one month after the formation of the new federal government, which offered additional political context.

program and highlights

The summit started accrediting the participants at 9:45 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. Sven Liebert and the moderator Katie Gallus took over the greeting. A highlight of the morning was the keynote by Kai Wegner, followed by impulses by Sören Hartmann and Gitta Connemann, the Parliamentary State Secretary. An exciting Q&A session followed this pulse department.

A central topic was the discussion about the needs of the business location, in which, among other things, important representatives of the tourism industry took part, including Stefanie Berk from DB Fernverkehr AG and Christoph Debus from the Dertour Group. This discussion laid the foundation for the further consideration of the challenges and opportunities of the industry.

further discussions and end

After lunch that was sponsored by the GetaWay Group, Anja Karliczek, the chairwoman of the tourism committee, continued the discussions with her keynote speech. The subsequent discussion about the coalition agreement was particularly interesting, in which experts such as Benedikt Esser from the RDA International Bustouristics Association and Anja Karliczek himself exchanged.

The challenges for the tourism industry in a globalized world were in an extensive discussion, moderated by Dr. Marie-Egnes Strack-Zimmermann, addressed. The afternoon ended with a last discussion about the role of tourism as an innovation engine in Germany, in which prominent personalities from the industry took part.

The event closed with a closing word from Sören Hartmann and then offered an aperitivo and networking opportunities. The successful organization and the broad participant base underline the relevance of the tourism summit as an important meeting point for actors from politics and business. Further information is on the websites FVW and Tourismus summit to be found.