News & Stories
Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has raised its hotel guest projections for the coming five years from the original targets set in 2004. The upgrade, revealed in the authority's five-year plan 2008-2012 unveiled this week, puts projected annual hotel guests at 2.7 million by the end of 2012 - 12.5% more than initially envisaged.
Hanover. As TUI plc announced the division of its container shipping business from tourism, its hotel department TUI Hotels & Resorts also moved into the spotlight. TUI plc board chairman, Dr Michael Frenzel, several times stressed the significance of this highly profitable field of business for the future of the company. According to a recent ranking undertaken the US magazine ”Hotels”, with 288 hotels in 29 countries, TUI Hotels is the eleventh biggest hotel group in the world. And as the company claims, the portfolio will soon grow further - incorporating new brands. Karl J. Pojer, Head of TUI Hotels & Resorts with TUI plc, refused to either confirm or deny current information received by hospitalityInside.com with regard to the alledged planning of two new brands. Insiders know, however, that a concrete announcement of new brands is imminent.
All's well
Istanbul. Istanbul, the Turkish metropolis, is booming. Amongst the businessmen and developers in the 14 million strong city on the Bosporus, the gold-digger mood is showing no signs of waning. On the hotel market too, the stream of development has swelled to a river. Currently, alone in Istanbul, 70 new hotels with 50,000 beds are in the process of construction. Renowned chains are already represented on site and new ones are arriving all the time. The Arabs are also very much present in Turkey - Emaar, for example, with a huge residence project. Where the bed-giants are though, there are also alternatives: cosy little boutique hotels.
Frankfurt. With respect to conference and congress meetings, Germany is market leader in Europe, as a recent study once again underlined. For the fourth time in succession, Germany attained first place in a European wide comparison and was placed second in the world. Spain, last year in fifth position, climbed up the ladder this year displacing England and France to take third place.
Salzburg. The annual Elvia Mystery Check this time not only undertook its holiday accommodation search in writing, but also tested tourist information services by means of anonymous call - sometimes with mysterious results. Elvia Versicherung and IRS Consult employed a call centre worker to call 300 tourist destinations. Results ranged from good, through middle to poor quality in all three German speaking countries, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. One third of all calls received no answer, a clear case of "no holiday at this number".
Madrid. So what, if anything, is true of the rumours of Hesperia`s takeover of NH Hoteles? What countries are the Spanish chains attempting to conquer? Their advance into Europe and Asia is slowly becoming obvious; the times when Spanish chains concentrated foreign activity on South America are finally over. The most recent strategies and news were to be heard at the FITUR tourism fair in Madrid. A summary of the current activities of the Spanish chains.