News & Stories

Zurich. A new study indicates: The Swiss winter sports locations have Zermatt and St. Moritz ahead of the pack. A remarkable statement: The strong Swiss Franconia plays a far less important role than was supposed up to now.

Munich. Rezidor has discovered resorts. Yesterday, Joerg Schiffmann, Area Vice President of the hotel group, headquartered in Brussels, presented a new expansion approach to the press in Munich. In doing so, the hotel group will move closer to Carlson.

Vienna. Austria might be one of few tourism countries that has a knack for repeatedly questioning themselves self-critically. Such an opportunity arose once again with the traditional "Summit Talks at the Winter Prelude" in Obergurgl two weeks ago at which the Austrian Hotelier Consortium also introduced the results of the still unpublished "Destination Study 2010". This documents the continued low nationality mix in the resort regions of Austria. Experts doubt whether only higher advertising budgets can change the situation. Here, the opinions of Austrians and non-Austrians clashed against each other. In any event, the portion of foreign holiday makers in Austria is growing more slowly.

Vienna. Better dominant in Vienna than ambitious in CEE: The Austrian Verkehrsbüro Group optimistically places its hotel business in its hometown and less on Central and Eastern Europe. Finally and in these days, the group is raising their Viennese bed statistics: In the west of Vienna, it has contributed 1,000 new rooms to its brand, Austria Trend Hotels and through its joint-venture with the German low budget design chain, Motel One. The concentration of the hotel activities on a city by the Austrian Verkehrsbüro Group is unique in Europe. Of the 25,000 rooms within the 3 to 5 Star categories in Vienna, including the Event Pyramid in Vösendorf directly on the city border and Motel One, 4,100 rooms now belong to the largest tourism group in Austria. An update.

Oberursel. With immediate effect, Juergen Marbach will be taking over 26.1 percent of the shares of Aldiana GmbH from the Spanish Grupo Santana Cazorla. This changes the shareholder structure.

Frankfurt. Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V. initiated a study for sustainable business travels. The first results are available now. And a new "green" mobility association presents itself in Germany this week.

Frankfurt. Both the blue and green Aldiana dolphins have recently graced the catalogue logo. The colour change should also symbolise an image change in the resort club. "We want to present ourselves with a higher quality and as snazzier and thus establish ourselves in the premium club segment", explains Aldiana Managing Director, Peter Wennel, at a press conference two weeks ago. Aldiana is currently concentrating entirely on the entrance of the new brand. Wennel has plans for other Aldiana clubs but is giving them time.

Hannover. The latest hotel brand by the tour operator TUI will be called "Viverde Hotels". It should appeal to vacationers oriented toward nature. 15 hotels are planned by 2015.

Hanover. TUI Deutschland has launched its "GET 2015” strategy and growth programme. By 2015, the tour operator aims at further increasing its return on sales. To achieve this goal, TUI counts on growth through new exclusive hotels as well as targeted expansion of the online business. At the same time, the group will be cutting 550 jobs.

Augsburg. The rainy summer shortly cast a cloud over vacationers' moods on the coasts of Germany, but nonetheless, the seaside resorts in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein remain attractive resort destinations in the long run. Meanwhile, a competition between these two federal states seems to be in the offing. In Schleswig-Holstein, numerous new mega resorts have been announced, while Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is struggling with decreasing numbers of visitors despite growing bed capacities.