News & Stories
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.
Berlin. The Dutchman Joost Heymeijer, who has been at Emirates Hotels & Resorts since 2005, will open the group's next green destination resort on October 1 this year. The Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa will be erected at the Greater Blue Mountains in the Australian federal state of New South Wales. As was the case with the Al Maha desert resort in Dubai, the hotel group committed itself to reviving a nature reserve. Preparations for this took one and a half years longer than expected.
Munich. An Expo Real survey on the outlook for the property market in 2009 showed that experts believe the bottom of the cycle is yet to come. It also revealed that the German property market is generally thought to have the best prospects for a fast recovery. The survey was conducted by Expo Real among industry experts and trade journalists from Germany and abroad who were accredited for the last event. This year´s Expo Real, taking place in Munich from 5 to 7 October 2009, is the 12th International Commercial Property Exposition.
Cologne/Berlin. inspire announces about two dozen workshops, speeches and panels to be staged at its first special real estate conference in Berlin in September. inspire stands for "international special purpose real estate" focusing on real estate in the field of lifestyle + leisure, health + care, infrastructure + logistics, and education + culture.
Vienna. With combined powers, Austria intends to win back lost market share in the face of globally declining tourism rates. Austria's provincial tourism organisations have for the first time pooled their funds in order to increase the efficacy of their campaigns.
Berlin. This year, two of Aldiana's three new openings are in line with the 2009 trend of "close to earth" travels: Aldiana Clubs are opening in Bad Griesbach and in the Salzkammergut. The other Aldiana destinations belong to the most preferred destinations of the German population too. Therefore, Volker Schwarz, Managing Director of Aldiana, showed no signs of pessimism at the ITB press conference the week before last.