News & Stories
New Delhi. The Indian hospitality industry is likely to be granted an infrastructure status soon. The demand for this coveted status that would put the industry at par with other industries such as roads, railways, among others, has been a long one spanning over a decade. Now, it is believed that the file has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India and waiting for the Finance Ministry's final nod to be officially declared. Therefore, in all probability, it will happen "any day" soon.
Berne. In the Swiss hotel industry, the demand stabilised for the most in the first half of 2013. In the meantime, the booking figures range from good to very good according to the industry association hotelleriesuisse.
Wiesbaden. The travel behaviour of Italian visitors this summer clearly demonstrated the crisis of the Italian economy. This is registered both by Italy's neighbouring countries where many wealthy Italians preferably go on holiday in the summer, but also by Italy's domestic tourism. In contrast, Germany recorded a slight growth in Italian visitors. Taking stock after "Ferragosto" in Italy.
Paris. Summer 2013 was a disappointment for the French hotel industry. While Paris recovered in August, occupancy of hotels outside the capital grew only slightly.
Cairo. Egypt's tourism industry is facing another meltdown after six weeks of violent turnmoil in Cairo. Several countries advised against travel to Egypt meanwhile which will definitely slow down tourism. But Moevenpick Hotels and Orascom Hotel Development remain confident despite declining occupancy and RevPar figures. The hotel group, one of the first big hotel mover in the area does not consider a withdrawal from Egypt at all. "I can even tell you that we are currently considering two new projects in this country," says Alan O'Dea, Senior Vice President of Africa for Moevenpick hotel group. Samih Sawiris of Orascom, an Egyptain native himself is deeply convinced that Egyptians who will not accept a fundamentalist dictatorship. "The country will move faster than after the Arab Spring," he says.
Dubai. More than 5.5 million guests visited Dubai in the first half of 2013. At an increase of 11.1 percent compared to the previous year, Dubai remains on course with its defined goal to welcome 20 million guests every year by 2020, according to the tourism board.
Marrakesh. With the Arab Spring on one side and a European financial crisis on another side, the North Africa country of Morocco is trying to come up with a new strategy to attract more tourists and keep one of its foreign currency sources growing through new investments in hotels. Morocco attracted close to 10 million tourists in 2012, and is forecasting a 7 percent growth this year in the number of tourist arrivals to about 10.7 million. One of the fastest growing segments of Morocco, which traditionally relies on European tourists, has been from the Arab region. Unlike other countries in North Africa such as Egypt and Tunisia, the Arab Spring has not lead to a major political upheaval in Morocco, making it a safe destination compared to it neighbours and allowing it to benefit from an influx of Arab tourists who otherwise would have travelled to countries such as Egypt and other troubled destinations. The country is rather feeling the effect more of the financial crisis in Europe, which forms the majority of tourist arrival for the country.
Berlin. The positive trend on the accommodation market goes on in the German capital of Berlin. In 2012, the city recorded roughly 24 million room nights. Latest figures confirm the positive development to continue in 2013. According to Visit Berlin, Berlin's marketing company, despite the long and cold winter, more tourists than ever before visited the city in the first quarter. At the same time, supply keeps growing and the project pipeline is only slowly decreasing. One thing is clear: Berlin needs more business travel, and the MICE sector must not decrease. But the non-operational BER airport and recent conversion activities on the exhibition grounds might put that into question. Berlin insiders already see lots of dark clouds closing in on the city.
Istanbul. The continued protests against creeping islamisation by government in Turkish cities, in particular in Istanbul, are not affecting tourism and hotel projects in any way, two Turkey experts from Servus International and Istanbul-based PFD Consulting say. The country is still stable enough that the confidence of Turkish hotel investors has not been affected. They struggle more with land and construction costs than with finance. At the same time, international operators compete for their favour. Almost everyone wants a foothold in Turkey. Flexible credit terms and high GOP margins promise investors and operators alike a good life.
Peking. The western world is discussing the subject of luxury more and more often as an immaterial value; in China, currently materially defined luxury apparently serves as a welcomed adversarial subject. In any case, the new Chinese President Xi Jinping – who is at the same time a party leader and military chief – has his own image of what a luxury is and plans to rigorously tackle and curb the luxury gluttony of the party and state officials. The hotels in China and the suppliers are also being affected by this. A hotel manager from China reports observations from his everyday life.