The program of this year's annual conference of the German Travel Association (DRV) will focus on the Spanish host region Andalusia as well as industry policy issues and important trends and major challenges that will have an impact on the future of the travel industry.

The program with speakers has now been published on drv-jahrestagung.de. Detailed information on the conference, which will be hosted by TV presenter Andrea Grießmann, can be found there - and participation in the travel industry meeting can also still be booked there.

When the industry meets in Malaga from March 30 to April 2, the congress day (Monday, March 31) will focus on the future of the travel industry with these topics:

The industry policy challenges: DRV President Norbert Fiebig looks at challenges and political framework conditions as well as the current government formation. Prof. Ansgar Staudinger (University of Bielefeld) explains what travel agencies and tour operators need to prepare for in terms of the EU Package Travel Directive. Prof. Stephan A. Jansen (Berlin University of the Arts) brings exciting ideas for dealing with the mobility and visitor guidance of tourists in conurbations.

The megatrends of digitalization with the possibilities and opportunities of using artificial intelligence (AI): Author and AI consultant Marco Ryan uncovers hidden AI potential. Anke Hsu (Chain4Travel) and Alexander Albert (BCD Travel) take a practical look at tourism and business travel. Henrike Lewerenz from Google presents developments and concepts. Joe Dreixler (ConversionWerk) will show how psychology contributes to website success and thus to increasing sales with astonishing insights.

 The new challenges of climate protection, traveling with sustainable fuels and selling travel services: ARD TV weather expert and qualified meteorologist Karsten Schwanke illustrates how weather extremes affect the travel industry and destinations.

Niels Anspach from BP Europe explains the need for sustainable fuels for travel and what sustainable fuels are all about, followed by a discussion with Felix Eichhorn from Aida and Lars Kröplin from Lufthansa on the framework conditions and challenges in air and cruise travel. Nora Schweika and Rainer Hageloch from the AER Group will show how sustainability can become a success factor in travel distribution.

The young talents will take center stage with new ideas for the future of recruiting young talent and skilled workers when the Young Talents who have come along have their say - together with the DRV Education Committee and the DRV Network Workshop.

The tourism strategy of the destination Andalusia and the destination in figures: Our hosts will have the floor - Spain's tourism minister has announced his attendance, among others - and Christoph Zeh (Yougov) will take a look at Spain as the top travel destination for Germans based on market research - who is already traveling to Spain and Malaga today and what trends are emerging.

Discover the region at the destination workshops

The varied exploration and excursion program on Tuesday, 1 April enables participants to experience the special features of the destination up close. In a total of eleven destination workshops, they will gain exciting insights into various facets of Andalusia - from impressive sights to lively cities such as Málaga, Ronda, Marbella, Puerto Banús, Córdoba or Granada with the famous Alhambra. A hiking, cycling and golf tour are also on the program.

In addition to the congress and exploration program, three varied evening events round off the stay in Malaga.

The congress partners and supporters of the DRV Annual Conference:

Hosts: Turespaña, Turismo y Deporte de Andalucía, Turismo y Planificación Costa del Sol and the Málaga Tourist Board.

Congress partners: Lufthansa Group, ADAC Reisen, AIDA Cruises, Allianz Travel, Alltours, Deutsche Bahn, Drive&Park, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Düsseldorf Airport, Munich Airport, HanseMerkur, Infox, ITB Berlin, Orascom, RateHawk, Ströer, URV, visit QATAR.

Distribution partners: AER Kooperation, DER Touristik Partner-Service, DER Touristik partner companies, Deutscher Reisering, Lufthansa City Center, Pro Tours, TourContact.

Media partners: fvw|TravelTalk, Radio Holiday, Reise vor9, touristik aktuell, TN Deutschland, TRVLCOUNTER.

Young Talents partners: Allianz Travel, BDC Travel, DRV, Munich Airport, Lufthansa Group, Olimar Reisen.