YOUR FAMOUS NEWSLETTER

CURRENT MAJOR TOPICS WITHIN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE DACH REGION

• CUTTING VACATIONS LIKE THE GERMANS? NOT AN ISSUE IN SWITZERLAND!: Many Germans are taking shorter vacations this year than ever before. Families are traveling for an average of ten days in summer 2024. That is two days less than last year. High prices and dwindling purchasing power are likely to be to blame. People in Switzerland are also suffering from rising health insurance premiums, more expensive food and higher rental costs. This means that families have to tighten their belts. However, unlike Germans, they don't seem to be doing this when it comes to vacations. This is the conclusion drawn by a Travelnews survey of various travel providers. Read more?
• ORGANIZERS ARE EXTREMELY OPTIMISTIC FOR 2024: The tourism year has got off to a good start, according to industry barometers such as Travel Data + Analytics, Tats-Reisebüro-Spiegel and the Midoco Travel Index. The market research studies Reiseanalyse by Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen (FUR) and Tourismusanalyse by Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen also expect travel behavior this year to be similar to before the pandemic and that Germans are more likely to save on other consumer spending. Read more
• THE TRAVEL ALLIANCE TAKES OVER ART OF TRAVEL: The Travel Alliance acquires a majority stake in the Munich-based tour operator Art of Travel. The Liechtenstein-based company is thus significantly expanding its portfolio in the luxury travel sector. Read more
• FOREIGN TRAVEL HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2023: With double-digit growth rates in 2023 compared to 2022, outbound travel once again took a big step towards the 2019 level. Compared to the previous year, it increased by 33% and is therefore only 12% below the level of the reference year before the pandemic. The gradual return of Asian outbound travelers and a positive trend in vacation travel are particularly encouraging. Despite rising travel costs, intentions to travel abroad remain high this year - however, it is striking that travel satisfaction in particular is playing an increasingly important role. Read more
• TRAVEL PRICES FALL OCASSIONALLY IN THE HIGH SEASON: According to Holidaycheck, family vacations on the Turkish Riviera (-8%), Rhodes (-8%) and Hurghada (-6%) are becoming cheaper. It will be more expensive in Tunisia (+9%), Bulgaria (+12%) and especially on Crete (+16%). Read more
• WHY VR GLASSES ARE A FLOP IN TRAVEL AGENCIES: With virtual reality glasses, customers can go on a virtual cruise directly in the travel agency and experience hotels in a 360-degree tour. At least that's what tourism experts hoped for a few years ago.? The Dertour concept store in Berlin tested VR glasses at the counter, but decided against using them across the board. "The response from customers was not very positive," says Andreas Heimann, Managing Director of Dertour. In addition, there is still too little relevant content to be able to actively use VR glasses in consulting. Read more?

CURRENT TOPICS WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY IN GERMANY & EUROPE

• LUFTHANSA IS FIGHTING FURTHER STRIKES ON MANY FRONTS: Passengers, tour operators and travel agencies continue to worry about the possibility of further strikes at Lufthansa. The flight attendants have until March 6 to decide whether to strike, while at the same time disputes in the wage negotiations for ground staff and Discover pilots have not been resolved. The same applies to the aviation security staff at the airports. Read more
• SPAIN WANTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SHORTER FLIGHTS: Spain's government wants to drive forward the reduction of flights that take less than 2.5 hours and have a rail alternative. Connections to hub airports that are linked to international routes are to be an exception. Read more
• AIRPORTS FORMULATE CATALOG OF DEMANDS TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: The board members and managing directors of the airport association ADV are calling for better framework conditions for a "responsible, climate-friendly and competitive airport location". Fraport CEO and ADV President Stefan Schulte believes that airports are falling behind in international competition. Read more

DESTINATION NEWS

• THESE ARE THE CHEAPEST PLACES FOR YOUR 2024 VACATION: The Indian capital New Delhi emerges as the cheapest destination in Wethrift's ranking. The Vietnamese capital Hanoi is the second cheapest city. The Egyptian capital Cairo follows in third place. Istanbul, which lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, comes in 4th place, followed by Hurghada, Bali and Bangkok in 5th to 7th place. The top ten is completed by Marrakesh in Morocco, the Thai island of Phuket and the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. Read more
• THESE ARE THE 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TRIPADVISOR: 1. Di Praia da Falésia in the Algarve. 2. Spiaggia dei Conigli, Lampedusa in Italy. 3. Playa de la Concha, San Sebastián in Northern Spain. 4. Ka'anapali Beach, Hawaii in the USA. 5. Race Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands. 6. Anse Lazio in the Seychelles. 7. Manly Beach, Sydney in Australia. 8. Eagle Beach in Aruba. 9. Siesta Beach, Florida in the USA and 10. Playa de Varadero in Cuba. Read more
• EGYPT: Egypt is planning a gigantic tourism project on the Mediterranean coast together with donors from the United Arab Emirates. The future vacation resort is located on a cape 212 kilometers west of Alexandria and 350 kilometers northwest of Cairo. It offers turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. Read more
• AHRTAL: Ahrtal wants to make tourism in the region sustainable with a new concept. To this end, the region has presented a report with around 70 individual projects and is now looking for potential investors and funding. Read more
• SEVILLE: Seville wants to charge tourists for visiting the impressive Plaza de Espa?a square in future. "We are planning to close off the Plaza de Espa?a and charge tourists a fee to finance the maintenance of the square and guarantee its safety," wrote the mayor of the southern Spanish metropolis in Andalusia, José Luis Sanz. Read more
• ATHEN: Green spaces in the urban jungle are not only beautiful to look at, trees also provide cooling shade and store carbon. This idea was put into practice in the Ellinikon project in Athens, one of the largest urban development projects in the world. The newly designed adventure park is a green oasis for both sun-drenched tourists and the residents of Athens. Designed by architecture firm doxiadis+, the area on the site of the historic airport is the first publicly accessible part of Ellinikon Park, which will be the largest coastal park in Europe with two million square meters and over a million new native trees and plants. Read more
• PARIS: Employees at the Eiffel Tower in Paris have been on strike since the beginning of last week. The employees are demanding more money for the upkeep of the landmark. Several trade unions have called for protests. Read more
• AMALFI COAST: The Amalfi Coast is one of the most popular vacation regions in Italy.? Sorrento, Positano and Ravello are just some of them. The problem: the journey from Switzerland can be arduous. It takes around twelve hours by car. By train, the journey takes around ten hours at best - including two changes. The nearest airport is currently in Naples. From there, however, it is two hours by train or one and a half hours by car to Amalfi, for example. This will change next summer when the Amalfi Coast gets its own airport in Salerno. Read more
• GREAT BRITAIN: Business with travel to the UK and Ireland is booming. Guests in the "green destinations" are increasingly looking for individual experiences, want to spend their vacation actively and: The trend is moving away from the masses. Various factors are boosting the market, as tour operators report. On the one hand, higher prices do not seem to be deterring customers. Entry figures are still lagging behind the pre-corona records. On average, however, holidaymakers are spending more money than in 2019. Read more