News & Stories

Frankfurt/M. With its "Business Trips 2012", the German Centre for Tourism is hoping to give one of German tourism's biggest revenue-providers a further boost. And this appears to be working. Speaking at the IMEX in Frankfurt, Petra Hedorfer, DZT Board Chairwoman, provides new figures on the tourism market, both generally, on added value and specifically for the business travel market. Germany has become one of the most popular business travel destinations for European travellers. Business travel is an important source of revenue for the hotel industry and demand from Chinese tour operators is strong.

Frankfurt/M. Over the past year the percentage of providers that have integrated a sustainability management system in their companies, has increased by ten percent to 37.7 percent. This now means that more than every third provider has firmly established the topic in their organizational structure.

Frankfurt/M. These results can hardly be topped: After a striking breaking down of business in 2009, results of German MICE industry in 2011 beat all records. The number of participants grew stronger than the number of events, even in comparison with growing markets like Asia, Germany benefited from its infrastructure and its excellent price performance ratio, which is mainly due to the hospitality industry. As a new plus factor „Meeting- & EventBarometer 2012“, introduced at IMEX, Frankfurt, on Tuesday, identifies the field of regional industry competence: More and more organizers are interested in company tours, matching with their conference or meeting topics, or in integrating speakers of the region. Furthermore, the topic “Green Meeting” gains speed enormously – German Convention Bureau responds to this with the development of a plentitude of activities.

Abu Dhabi. Only a super wide-angle camera is able to grasp the entire lobby at a single glance. It is an eye-catcher one way or another: sofas and armchairs stand on a slight downward slope in front of glass panes measuring 21 metres of height bringing the sky right into the lobby. Somewhere near the border between lobby and sky, there is also a reflection – it is a deco pool ingeniously visualizing this transition. The Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi is the city's new 5-star superlative. The tower quintet consisting of the hotel as well as offices and residences is located right in front of the long drawn-out drive to the legendary Kempinski Emirates Palace. Behind this legend, the new presidential palace will be erected. This clearly defines the hotel's strategic positioning. After the Emirates Palace, the Etihad wil become the government's second "guest house". The giant pushes its competitors into the background.

Paris. "Hollande is the new president amidst the 20th anniversary of Disneyland. Micky Mouse policies are sure to follow", twittered BBC journalist, David Vance, on the election results in France. Whoever sits in the Elysée Palace, one thing is clear: Micky holds the rod on France's policies. In time for the anniversary, a study published by order the Sarkozy government praises the positive balance sheet of the Disney park. According to the study, Disneyland Paris is by far the most popular tourist attraction in Europe.

Baku. Der Countdown läuft: Am 26. Mai findet das Finale des "European Song Contest" in Baku, Aserbaidschan, statt, ab 22. Mai starten die Halbfinale. Die Hotellerie vor Ort hofft auf nachhaltig positive Auswirkungen auf den Tourismus, die westliche Presse prangert unterdessen Menschenrechts-Verletzungen im Land an. Die Preis-Steigerungen zum bevorstehenden Massen-Event kann ein Hotelier allerdings nicht bestätigen.

Frankfurt/M. In the European hotel industry, the handling of MICE enquiries is still a weak point. However, the customer contact has improved recently, as a recent survey reveals.

Vienna. A real estate convention about the development in Central, East and South East Europe will be taking place in Vienna in June. One of the three key subjects is hotels. The convention is the "substitute" for the cancelled trade show Real Vienna.

Abu Dhabi. The new Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi is a new symbol for the self-confident Abu Dhabi that, with this world-class hotel, can hold a candle to any of the luxury hotels in Dubai - but also for the large gap in the ranks of 5 Star hotels within Abu Dhabi. The latter impels the worry lines on the forehead of the entire industry within the location. A journey through four of the six hotels newly opened within the last six months demonstrates the tremendous arc of tension in the 5 Star category. Now, a new classification still threatens to intensify the problem. At the same time, the demand is lacking in Abu Dhabi: There are not enough tourists, business travellers and events. Tourist projects are being delayed. Sarcasm is skirting around the hoteliers while the next big wave of Five Star hotels is impending. A visit to the new St. Regis and Park Hyatt hotels on Saadiyat Island, to the immense Jumeirah at Etihad Towers on the Corniche and to the slightly more remote Rocco Forte Hotel Abu Dhabi.

Dubai. The Arabian world has become a shade more sober since the last year but, indeed, remains optimistic. This week, tourism professionals from all over the world once again flowed into the "Arabian Travel Market" in Dubai; the trade show halls hummed from the first hour. Dubai is still the shining star of the United Arab Emirates, but the region is in motion. Qatar displayed a massive presence everywhere – from the large-scale advertising in and beyond the trade show up to the sponsorship of the new multimedia information centre. The hottest trade show news also came from Qatar. The small emirate clearly signalled: Now it is involved in the determining regions and business segments – and as the richest country in the world, is also establishing still new accents in the international expansion in parallel while others are struggling with their debt. And likewise, the remaining emirates and countries of the Middle East are vigorously polishing their tourist profiles with new hotel facilities or ecological projects.