The 48th Berlin International Tourism Fair (ITB), the world's leading travel trade fair, was opened here on Tuesday, with a ceremony featuring high-ranking speakers.

ITB Berlin is more international than ever this year, as some 10,147 exhibitors from 189 countries and regions will present their products and services on a display area covering 160,000 square meters from March 5-9.

The number of international visitors will also grow significantly this year, with a total of 110,000 trade visitors to be expected by organizers.

"The ITB Berlin represents the entire value chain of the industry and offers the most balanced and most international portfolio of exhibitors," said Christian Goeke, chief operating officer of Trade Fair Berlin.

"Exhibitors and visitors will receive a current and representative overview of trends and innovations, information on the development of new markets and suggestions on current issues," Goeke said.

New events at the fair this year include the ITB Summit, which takes place on Tuesday evening involving 600 invited participants, as well as the ITB Innovators, which will show 100 product demonstrations in the coming days.

Known for its focus on travel technology products over the years, ITB gathers around 170 exhibitors worldwide this year to exhibit their IT-related services and product innovations in the travel industry, while 30 new exhibitors will be present at the event for the first time.

Meanwhile, this year's fair also sees strong growth in segments of Youth Travel, Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism, as 130 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions are represented in total.