A friend reports to me via e-mail about the ITB, the biggest European tourism fair in Berlin, where he had landed a few contracts as a self-employed person. I'm publishing his short statement here unedited, so as not to run the risk of diminishing the intensity or directness.

“There was an opening ceremony on Tuesday night. About 3,000 people who feel important gather in a large hall and listen to a few speakers. A few remarks are called for here: I've been doing this for a few years now. Regarding the way ‘normal’ people present themselves, their charisma, their behavior and so on, some things have changed very negatively since last year and are drifting into arrogance. Of course not in all cases, but noticeably in many. And the change stands in stark contrast to all the political statements. Most people arrive in big cars. The headsets for the translation are sealed in plastic bags. Drinks are served in plastic cups. And so on. Among the speakers this time were the Governing Mayor of Berlin and Merkel's loyal stooge [and federal business secretary Peter] Altmaier. Whereas in the past the topic had been the general economic development of the industry and so on, this time it was all about ‘against the Right,’ for cosmopolitanism and so on. As if we were really all a bunch of xenophobes and could only become tolerant by traveling. What a load of BS. I could hardly believe it: From ‘tourism’ they (Müller and Altmaier) smoothly and easily transitioned to ‘reducing xenophobia’ and completely conflated these two things together. The watchword seemed to be: reducing xenophobia is only possible through ‘conscious tourism,’ only that would make us cosmopolitan. I really felt nauseous: The hall erupted with applause. I couldn’t help thinking of the well-known scene from the Berlin Sports Palace: ‘Do you want total war?’ Uttered in half sentences, Altmaier hinted at something stark: The word ‘overtourism’, which we have to come to grips with ecologically, was used strikingly often – in English –, and for which some freedoms will have to be restricted. Such allusions were repeatedly spoken into the mic. The applauders either didn't get it or drowned the contents of the words in the gin and tonic in their plastic cups. When, at the same time, you see how material is wasted completely senselessly and thrown away at such fairs, you become really aware of the crazy cognitive dissonance of the whole camarilla. Then in the evening I scan the headlines of the news pages and ask myself, what's going on, and come to the conclusion: We are lost, there is nothing left to save. The opening event of the current ITB could not have fitted better into the year 1938.”

Translated from eigentümlich frei, where the original article was published on March 15th 2019.