News & Stories

Cologne. The hotel portal HRS will as of immediately offer small and medium-sized companies in German-speaking Europe a free-of-charge booking system. It is the only hotel portal to offer such a service. As well as hotels, HRS also offersc"SmartTrip" flights, rail tickets and rental cars.

Madrid. Thanks to strong performance growth in several markets, Spain's hotel industry has seen a surge in investment interest despite the political situation in Barcelona. After all, both the cities and the resort markets have developed excellently in recent years. But the return of tourists to countries such as Turkey or Egypt is already casting the first shadows on market developments.

Alexandria/New York. A sharp rise in travel costs is to be expected in the coming year. Hotel prices are rising significantly almost everywhere in the world – also in Europe. This is due to the expected global economic upturn and rising oil prices. This is confirmed by two market analyses of major international travel service providers.

Doha. The world celebrates France as FIFA World Cup champions 2018. The tournament in Russia is now over and all eyes are fixed on the FIFA Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar – another country looked at with suspicion due to the mysterious processes behind the FIFA decision. Qatar is also under persistent pressure due to the "dispute" with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. At the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai in May of this year, there was a deathly silence when it came to Qatar. In the country itself, tourism and the hotel industry have suffered considerably over the past year. But the Qatar Tourism Authority is working to counter this: with a long-term strategy in which the FIFA World Cup 2022 is just one building block; with the establishment of a diversified, eco-oriented hotel supply and cruise travel programme which is not to lead to overtourism. Maria Puetz-Willems was unable to meet Hassan Al-Ibrahim, Acting Chairman of QTA, at the ATM Dubai, as has usually been the case. For this reason, he has conceded an interview now.

Rome. The Italian congress industry is still in good shape and hotels are the segment most benefitting from increasing demand. However, the southern European Peninsula is losing appeal among international organizers, due to the rising competition from other countries.

Vienna/Berlin. The EU Travel Directive has given rise to similar discussions in both Germany and Austria as regards protection from insolvency. The directive enters into force on 1 July 2018 in the EU, though Austria has not yet managed to implement the directive. Tourism companies there are annoyed.

Frankfurt/M. In 2017, German companies spent more money than ever before for their business trips. Expenditure increased by 1.7% compared to the previous year, reaching a new record value of 52.5 billion euros. Overall, there were more business trips last year, but fewer travellers.

Porto Cervo. Taxes, infrastructures and sharing economy, but also with an eye cast on overtourism and emerging outbound markets. Exactly one year after Rapallo, Italian hoteliers gathered in Porto Cervo for the 2018 Federalberghi general assembly and partly struggled with the same matters, such as the reluctance of short-term rental platforms to cooperate with national institutions. Pressure on hoteliers increases as taxes imposed upon them now add up to almost 70% of their taxable income. Regulating overtourism in Venice saw first negative reactions of guests seeking luxury. Nevertheless, the industry mood is very positive: In terms of performance, the hoteliers would be simply happy to repeat the results of 2017.

Palma de Mallorca. Overtourism is driving the popular Mediterranean island of Mallorca in a new direction: the efforts towards more luxury and quality tourism are bearing initial fruits. Fine, high-quality and individual hotel concepts are attracting a clientele to the island that is not looking for golden taps, but a very special lifestyle. That is why more and more old-town villas are turning into charming hotel gems, as well as finca hotels luring with a special experience. At the same time the island is managing to entice more and more business travellers and congress participants to stay longer.

Berlin/Moscow. Hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg have increased their turnover for the third consecutive year according to Colliers International. Meanwhile, STR in London compared its data with those of former World Cup host destinations.