News & Stories

Innsbruck. Fascinated by the mountains, but irritated by the iPad. This summarizes pretty much the first sales trade fair in Innsbruck, titled “theALPS” Despite a difficult start, the trade fair is planned to be staged on an annual basis. The event managed to achieve its goal of emphasizing the importance of alpine tourism by introducing a new kind of trade fair and network format. Between June 5 and 7, “theALPS” counted a total of 500 participants, among them, 200 tourist experts and 90 purchasers from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Eastern Europe. The eleven regions coming together at this new platform and the international “Best of the Alps” alliance represent 375 million of the 500 million registered room nights in the Alpine region.

Dubai/Marrakesh. Morocco may be reeling from the impact of a terrorist attack in its top tourist destination of Marrakesh in April that left several foreign tourists dead and the ongoing turmoil in the region, but government officials and hotel operators seem adamant about the tourism sector’s resiliency and the country’s ability to double tourist arrivals to 18 million by 2020. Should Morocco be welcomed to join the Gulf Cooperation Council tourism will experience another push. In the last five to seven years, Middle Eastern investors were also looking to replicate the Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi models in the country. Aside Marrakesh and Casablance new destinations are in focus. And hotel operators from the Thai market and the Middle East bring in fresh ideas.

Abu Dhabi. UAE-based hotel management firm Rotana plans to venture outside the Middle East and North Africa, in a bid to seek growth after planting its flag in almost all major cities in the region, where it plans to boost its portfolio to 70 hotels by the end of 2012, the company’s chief executive officer told hospitalityInside.com in Dubai on the sideline of the "Arabian Hotel Investment Conference". While international resp. Western companies try to get a foot into the Middle East and Africa, Rotana as a local but still young player is heading for Asian markets and for Turkey.

London. TUI Travel plc. in London has now officially acquired Magic Life from TUI AG in Hanover, an Austrian child prodigy turned problem child for the Germans.

Parsipanny/Dubai. US-based Wyndham Hotel Group plans to open at least seven hotels in the Middle East and North Africa region over the next few years as the firm seeks to expand its foothold despite the ongoing unrest, Martin Armitstead, the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa senior vice-president for development told hospitalityInside.com. "We have an encouragingly healthy pipeline given what’s going on in some parts of the Middle East," Armitstead said in a recent interview in Dubai. But: Several projects are on hold or left to the owner's decision. Nevertheless, Wyndham plans to bring in several brands, especially its budget brand.

Frankfurt. The MICE business has rallied. Companies are absolutely ready to reach deeper into their pockets once more for events. But, according to a result in this year's IMEX in Frankfurt, the demands for the event programmes have changed seriously. With smart special offers, theme-specifically trained MICE staff and "guarantees", conference hotels are trying to retreat from the masses.

Brussels. The Rezidor Hotel Group plans to open 15 new hotels in the Middle East and some parts of Africa in the next three years to boost its existing portfolio of 27 hotels in the region as part of the firm’s aggressive plans to expand in emerging markets, the company’s chief executive officer Kurt Ritter recently told hospitalityInside.com in Dubai. He brushed aside the recent political upheaval, which has affected its hotel business in countries such as Libya, Bahrain and Egypt, saying the region has a long-term potential for growth. Current results are less encouraging: In the first quarter of 2011, the Middle East, Africa and other regions, which includes 12 Arab countries, was the worst performer out of the group’s four regions.

Frankfurt. The event industry is on the rise. The results of the "Meeting & Event Barometer" 2011, the annual survey of the events market in Germany, show: The optimism of the industry has returned. More events, more participants and larger budgets underline the fact that the worst of the economic crisis has long passed. Also in Europe, Germany is the favorite meeting destination. Most popular among German destinations are Bavaria and Berlin.

Dubai. Dubai is "out", Abu Dhabi "in" and Doha is "cool": The series of talks at the "Arabian Travel Market" in Dubai three weeks ago revealed the current trend. All partners discussed the market in Dubai very quickly but rather spoke of Abu Dhabi, the new economic and financial centre in the Emirates, and about Doha in the neighbouring country of Qatar, the city with tremendous plans - and of course, about the World Cup in 2022 at 50 degrees of heat that one wants to orchestrate as quite "cool" … Impressions of a new development that sees the three cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha as an engine of the future. The hotel industry is an indicator of the shift in the focus.

Zurich. In financial year 2010, Zurich's hoteliers generated five million overnight stays - an increase of 8.2% on the previous year. These figures are in line with results from the record year 2007. Nevertheless, the region is still not satisfied: By 2030, it is to be among the five best destinations in European city tourism. The demand for new hotels is on the up.