News & Stories

Viersen. Attracting short-trip holiday makers to the German-Dutch border is the goal of the "Cool Breaks" tourism project. The European Union just approved its funding.

Vienna. Tyrol's hotel industry should not lose its competitiveness and be prepared to invest three billion Euros in the future, Manfred Furtner, Tyrol Chairman in the Austrian Hotelier Association made a projection. An OEHV survey of Austrians and Germans on their travel planning gives business in the Germany-dependent Austrian states cause for concern.

Frankfurt. Green living and environmental awareness - last year these were a mere fringe topics. This year, however, the three day MICE trade fair event taking place in Frankfurt placed the topic of environment squarely in focus.  One chain presented its first global programme in this area. From the event news, here are a few more examples of how trends can be set in the MICE business. This year, the fair was attended by almost 9,000 visitors, among these, over 3,700 hosted buyers. The 3,500 companies exhibiting at the trade fair came from 157 countries - a new record.

Wiesbaden. Switzerland is currently advertising its travel offers with eight-column ads in daily newspapers and magazines in neighbouring countries. Austrians are trying to win guests more offensively than ever, granting special investment conditions to hoteliers as well. Not before 2010 will Germany provide additional - minimal - means for tourism advertising. Potential economic stimulation methods such as reduced value added tax are still undecided.

Frankfurt. In the first half of 2008, the MICE business was similarly positive to the same period of the previous year, but it looked already significantly worse in the second half of 2008. All in all, the German business travel industry generated 64.7 billion euros last year compared to 66.7 billion euros in 2007. About 39 billion euros resulted from domestic business travels. Last Tuesday, the German National Tourist Board, the European Association of Event Centres and the German Convention Bureau in collaboration with the European Institute for the Conference Industry presented their common industry survey at the IMEX in Frankfurt for the third time in a row.

Munich. The first space hotel is still pure fantasy, but the way to it is taking shape: Virgin Galactic founded by the British multi-entrepreneur Richard Branson will probably transport ordinary people on a weekly and later on, a daily basis into space from 2011. 110 kilometres above the Earth, these first "space tourists" will experience zero gravity and unforgettable views of the planet Earth. Last Tuesday, Will Whitehorn, President Virgin Galactic, presented the details in Munich. At his side: the first German tourist willing to pay 200,000 dollars for her childhood dream. Space flights for tourists can be regularly booked from July 1, 2009. There will only be one single travel agency per country selling these flights. The travel agencies have to apply for an "Accredited Space Agent" licence. This is a new era of tourism. It is getting serious.

Linz. At present, the slump in business travel has impacted on the City of Culture effect of "Linz 09". Now, it's hoped that a culinary festival will attract guests and help keep the results high.

Dubai. The brand new Ibis Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express standing amidst the unfinished office buildings on Dubai's famous Sheik Zayed Road seem a little lost and alone. The entire neighbourhood remains one huge building site with no business in sight. Only the sticker "Now Open" and the bright lighting in the lobby give any indication that the hotel is open for business. Hoteliers overseeing openings this month in Dubai face - like in anywhere else in the world - quite a problem. Nevertheless, Dubai's hoteliers are hoping to pull through the crisis comfortably and are optimistic that the high yields seen in previous years will return as of 2011. This year's "Arabian Travel Market" saw much fewer announcements for new hotel projects. All the same, Dubai and surrounding regions will continue to grow.

Frankfurt. In 2010, the German Centre for Tourism will concentrate on culture and event tourism with its project year "Culture Capital RUHR 2010" and "Creative Germany". In 2011, the motto will be "Health Holiday and Wellness" supplemented by the event FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011. DZT Director, Petra Hedorfer, forecast that the travel land Germany will "take a break from growth in 2009".

Dubai. The new Dubai Mall is strikingly empty and unfinished. With 1,200 shops, it was to be the biggest in the world. As it stands now, only 600 to 800 shops have taken up residence. The state of the mall is a reflection of Dubai's current situation, almost a symbol: The shops are interspersed by the large stickers on empty shop windows advertising their availability for rent. In certain wings, shoppers are completely lacking. The global economic crisis has slowed the momentum of Dubai's youngest superlative considerably, even when a promotion video shown by Emirates Airlines encourages new arrivals "Forget the credit crunch. Shop." The new mall stands ready for the airbuses and cruise ships which still haven't arrived. Nevertheless, the mood at the "Arabian Travel Market" 2009 was good. The extravagance and euphoria of recent years is admittedly absent this year. Like the ITB, this year's ATM was a much quieter event. The huge wave of announcements for new hotel projects is also over. Projects already begun will be completed - though everything else will be halted or postponed. Now, results - the measure of success of recent years - are spoken of with less enthusiasm. And those figures bandied around are best treated with caution.