News & Stories

Athens. Greece is leaving corona behind and is strongly pushing tourism now, with hospitality investments apparently impaired only slightly at the moment. The travel industry is heading the country’s economic recovery path. The EU already agreed on the Greek resilience plan last June, chains and investors are coming in now, and Foreign Direct Investment has increased massively. Only 50,000 jobs are missing in the travel industry.

Parma. Tourism was the first industry to be caught up in the pandemic storm, and it will probably be the last one to exit. Travel is slowly starting up again. The first signals for next summer are promising. So much so that the Italian hospitality industry is already seeing a return to pre-Covid levels. But there are setbacks: In Rome, about 180 hotels have not yet re-opened their doors. And Italy is also afraid of impacts caused by the Ukraine crisis. While EU funds promise new financial support, local hoteliers are challenging national bureaucracies.

Vienna. The Austrians already talk of post-corona. The war in Ukraine is also receding into the distance, and climate change is seen as by far the biggest challenge. The longing for normality is omnipresent, as was clear at the Austrian Tourism Days. There, Fred Fettner also asked the new head of the Austria Tourism Board, Lisa Weddig, a few questions.

Vienna. The new CEO of the Austrian National Tourist Office wants to have more benchmarks and campaigns in future to be able to compete internationally – even when it comes to bookings. This year alone, the ANTO is pushing its attractiveness with 22 million euros concerning the city and MICE tourism as well as sustainability. In the resort hotel industry, the gap is widening, according to a future researcher. And there, content-strong hotel products count and not numbers.

Frankfurt/Main. Corona has clearly consolidated the trend towards camping and the purchase of motorhomes in recent months. But now the industry, like many others, is suffering from supply bottlenecks. New registrations in Germany are down, but the desire to buy remains strong.

Dubai. Yesterday, March 31st, after six months of events and more than 20.3 million visitors, Expo 2020 closed its doors "Dubai style", with glitz and glam, American superstars and lots of fireworks. A total of 192 countries gathered in the Emirate for the occasion, showcasing what they can bring to the table in order to find solutions to pressing challenges of today's world. Our correspondent Sarah Douag witnessed in situ what ambition, dedication, creativity, vision, teamwork…and lots of cash can achieve!

Innsbruck. 77% of the stakeholders are satisfied with the corona winter 2021/22 which is fast coming to an end. This was revealed by a survey conducted by the lobby group "Dein Winter, Dein Sport"; in this group, nearly all important winter sports players are represented with their respective organisations. The sales figures of the sports equipment manufacturers reflect this increase; however, the destinations and tourism companies are staggering due to the ups and downs of the restrictions.

Wiesbaden. Corona has become a minor matter, overshadowed by the Ukraine war. This has far-reaching consequences for the economy and once again also for the German hospitality industry, which is only groaning under the strain of both crises. At the same time, hoteliers are informally and quickly making tens of thousands of rooms available for refugees from Ukraine.

Augsburg. The Balearic Islands want to become a fully sustainable destination under the circular economy as part of its new tourism strategy. The government has already passed a corresponding law with far-reaching obligations.

Kiev/Moscow. War has been raging between Russia and Ukraine since 24 February, and the rest of the world is reacting with great willingness to help, but also with tough economic sanctions against aggressor Russia. In the hotel industry of the countries concerned, crisis management is in full swing. We asked international chains about this; the renowned hotel security expert Paul Moxness gives advice here and in a video. Consultants, tourism experts and data researchers indicate in initial comparisons of figures that the setback will also be massive for Europe's tourism.