News & Stories

Palma de Mallorca. 10,900 selected German package holidaymakers have been testing Mallorca's Corona ripening since this week. The Spanish island actually wanted to switch to quality tourism. But the cruise terminal remains under construction. And the Ballermann remains too. The German Björn Spaude, hotelier on Mallorca for seven years, about Corona findings shortly before the official restart.

Madrid. The first 10,900 tourists from Germany have arrived this week on Mallorca, backed by coordinated flights from Germany starting on June 15. The test tourists will be gradually distributed over four Balearic Islands.Officially, tourists are allowed to enter Spain on 1 July. The expectations for the summer season are high.

Munich. Expo Real 2020 changes its date and format this year: Europe's largest real estate and investment trade fair in Munich is going hybrid – reacting to the current situation. The date was shifted from October 5 to 7 to October 14 and 15. Messe Muenchen expects the green light from the Bavarian government on June 20. They were already familiar with the new concept and had basically approved it at the core.

Berlin. Germany's hotel industry can now open again, also for tourists. The same applies to restaurants, while bars are still closed in about half of the federal states, wellness remains critical. Anyone travelling through the country should therefore, if possible, check the homepages of the respective federal states or contact their hotel for information on what is permitted and how.

Vienna. In the interest of domestic tourism, Austria takes the risk: Yesterday, Thursday, 4 June, border controls and health restrictions were ended for seven neighbouring countries. The removal of restriction for Italy remains an unresolved issue though. Will the move mean a second wave? The big experiment begins.

Madrid. Spain is making progress in its coronavirus de-escalation. All provinces of the country are now allocated to phase 1 or 2 according to the government's official plan. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, already said two weeks ago that "there will be a tourist season this year." International tourists are welcome from 1 July.

Madrid. Three percent of all global destinations have now taken steps to ease travel restrictions. But 75% continue to have their borders completely closed for international tourism, the World Tourism Organization reported in its recent report.

Munich. Business travel is dead, long live the new business travel. But how soon will the change be and how different? Three business travel experts look ahead to the next few weeks. The future of this segment, especially in hotels, will depend on the confidence that guests have that hotels are safe thanks to their new hygiene standards. This is because, quite apart from international travel warnings, people everywhere are still using an avoidance strategy, that is: no travel, no risk. The German Travel Management Association believes renegotiating contracts with hotels to be unethical - in contrast to the OTAs.

Berlin. The political tug-of-war over the lifting of the travel warning on the part of Germany does not abate. The Chancellor does not intend to express a final statement on the matter until 3 June. This means that it is still open whether there will be summer business in Europe this year. Other countries - such as Croatia - are preparing carefully. An overview.

Madrid. Spain's Ministry of Industry and Tourism has published a guide with recommendations to reduce Covid-19 infections in hotels. The month of March saw a strong decline in occupancy. Still, experts predict occupancy of up to 17% in August.