External Articles

Airbnb Properties In Switzerland Growing In Number | tourism-review.com

The Valais Tourism Observatory estimates that by the end of the year there will be 3 million Airbnb overnight stays – approximately 8% of the 35 million hotel overnight stays.

Since 2014, the Valais Tourism Observatory (Tourobs) has been monitoring the development of the Airbnb properties in Switzerland and especially in Valais canton.

The analyses carried in 2015, 2016 and early 2017 showed a strong increase in the number of properties and beds and quite distinct territorial disparities. A new study provides an overview of the current Airbnb offer in Switzerland, based on the primary data collected by Tourobs at the end of June.

London Tourism Expects Further Investment And Promotion | tourism-review.com

It has become a tradition over the last four years: the mayor of London launching the autumn cultural season of the British capital in the presence of several hundred VIPs and the cream of the crop of London's cultural institutions.

On the 31st of August, Sadiq Khan upheld this tradition during a soiree held at the Museum of Natural History, in Hintze Hall, where a gigantic blue whale skeleton was recently suspended from the ceiling.

In the context of this pre-Brexit period, Sadiq Khan the successor to the flamboyant Boris Johnson – the current Secretary of State for foreign and Commonwealth affairs of Theresa May's Conservative government – spared no effort convincing patrons of London's appeal.

UK's Hospitality industry's rapid growth under threat without Government support, report claims - telegraph.co.uk

The hospitality industry’s stellar growth since the financial crisis could be halted and start to fall by 2021 if the Government continues to overlook it, a new report has suggested. Research by Ignite Economics, carried out for the British Hospitality Association, has predicted the sector’s workforce could begin to drop by 2021 with the contribution it makes to the economy also falling as cost pressures from wages and business rates bite alongside a potential labour squeeze once the UK leaves the EU.

Spiritual Tourism In France On The Rise | tourism-review.com

Whether tourists or pilgrims, more than 51 million people visit religious sites every year in France according to Atout France. Formerly practiced by pilgrims alone, spiritual tourism today attracts an increasingly large and international audience.

Spiritual tourism in France is unceasingly bringing new visitors to the country. Each year, more than 15 million visitors come to explore one of the seventeen shrine cities in France and the trend is on the rise.

Portuguese Hotels – Off-season Tourism Is Reaching New Highs | tourism-review.com

Off-season tourism in Portugal reports positive numbers – two million guests stayed in local hotels in January and February, which is an increase of 11% over the same months last year. The Minister of Economy regards the main impact of the growth on the employment rate. Usually, the first two months of the year are low-demand months. But the boom that is taking place in Portuguese tourism has already reached the off-season.

Cyprus Tourism Announced Record Revenues In 2016 | tourism-review.com

In 2016, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus accrued its highest ever tourism revenue, taking advantage of, among other things, its popularity as a destination for British and Russian tourists – according to the official numbers published recently.

Located in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean, Cyprus tourism authorities recorded the revenue amounting to 2.36 million euros, an 11.9% increase compared to the 2.11 million recorded in 2015 – according to official statistics.

Winter Tourist Season In Austria Not Very Successful | tourism-review.com

In the current season 2016/17, the number of overnight stays in Austrian hotels, guesthouses and apartments has declined by 1 percent to 29 million compared to the year before. Although the number of holidaymakers recovered slightly by 0.4 per cent to 8.6 million, the stays decreased according to preliminary statistic data for the winter tourist season in Austria.

The two most important markets – Germany and the Netherlands – decreased quite considerably. In terms of overnight stays by Germans, there was a drop of 3.3 percent to 11.2 million compared to the previous year, while the Dutch recorded a slump of 5.2 percent to 1.8 million. Italian visitors also booked significantly fewer hotel nights during the winter tourist season – here was a sharp drop of 6.5 per cent to 661,900.

Spain Has The Most Overnight Hotel Stays In EU | tourism-review.com

Last year, Spain was the country in the EU that registered the most overnight stays in hotel establishments, with 454 million nights, 7.8% more than in the previous year. These figures were published by the EU statistical office, Eurostat.

It is the second consecutive year that Spain has been the leader in this statistic, which includes overnight hotel stays for leisure and work.

Tax, not tech, gives Airbnb advantages in UK | theguardian.com

Airbnb may be known for offering frugal travellers savings over traditional hotels, but a new investigation reveals that a lot of the savings the company can offer in the UK come not from fancy technology, but tax advantages.

According to the Financial Times, around one third of the savings the company offers customers on accommodation in London comes from having a lower tax bill.

British tourism: after Brexit, a record summer season | hospitality-on.com

The UK has recorded its biggest-ever month for tourist visits, with 3.8 million international visitors in July. This dynamic is expected to continue in the upcoming months, especially due to the consequences of the Brexit on the purchasing power of foreign tourists.

Brexit delivers cheaper hotel rooms. Here's why that's not something to celebrate | independent.co.uk

Fancy a night in a London hotel? It’s probably going to get a bit cheaper, and you've Brexit to thank for that. Good news, if you have a job and the spare funds to take advantage.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, occupancy rates in the capital will steadily fall from 82 per cent this year, to 81 per cent next year and then 80 per cent the year after that.

Partly as a result, the price per room will also fall from £143 to £141 although it is expected to pick up a little to £142 in 2018.

July: France's hotel industry continues its course... | hospitality-on.com

This July 2016, France's hospitality industry continued to follow the trend established since the beginning of the year, producing highly contrasting - and even opposing - results depending on region and range. While in the Paris region brighter skies are not always in the forecast, and the French Riviera is in mourning, other dynamics persist in the different regions.

Hotel rates in Paris halved as visitor numbers slide | telegraph.co.uk

Hotels in Paris are offering discounts of up to 56 per cent in a bid to entice tourists back to the city.

The recent terror attacks in France have had a devastating impact on the country’s tourism industry. According to Matthias Fekl, the junior minister for tourism, hotels in Paris had an occupancy rate of just 32 per cent in the second half of July, compared to 77 per cent for the same period in 2015.

Dutch Hospitality Sales Growth Outpacing Rest Of EU | nltimes.nl

In recent years the turnover of Dutch hotels, restaurants and bars increased more than the European Union average, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. The Dutch hospitality industry’s sales are currently at a record high.

In the first quarter of this year, the Netherlands hospitality industry saw its sales increase to 24 percent above the lowest level during the financial crisis, in late 2009. The turnover in the rest of the EU grew by an average of 20 percent.

Iceland hotel growth requires hinterland infrastructure | hotelnewsnow.com

Iceland tourism and hotels are booming, but its hoteliers know that the pressure needs to be lifted off the country’s southwestern nexus of Keflavik International Airport and capital Reykjavik. The dramatic increase in tourism and the hospitality industry in Iceland in recent years is focused mostly on Reykjavik, with nearly all travelers arriving in Iceland via the country’s principal international airport 30 miles southwest of the capital, according to sources.

The City Scene: Berlin Market Update | hotelmanagement.net

In the first of IHIF's and JLL's look at European markets, we put Berlin, host city of the International Hotel Investment Forum, March 7-9, under the microscope. Stay tuned for future looks at Europe's top hospitality markets, including London and Madrid. Berlin is Germany’s most popular city destination, and one of the most frequented metropolises in Europe. Over the past decade, Berlin has witness considerable growth in demand and is a leading destination for both leisure and MICE travelers, ensuring only limited seasonal fluctuations throughout the year. The city has also become a preferred destination for start-up companies in recent years, further strengthening corporate demand and international appeal.

Parisian hotels will bounce back, experts say | HotelNewsNow.com

Industry observers expect the Parisian hotel industry to bounce back following terrorist attacks on 13 November at six locations in the city, which so far have resulted in 129 deaths, according to reports. But sources said it might take longer after this incident than it did for previous ones. Gwenola Donet, director of the hotels and hospitality group, France, for business consultancy JLL, said this latest incident is “something different.”

Branded Hotels Set To Increase In Uk | TheCaterer.com

Branded hotels are set to increase their footprint in the UK market, according to new research published today (10 November). The Hotel Bulletin: Q3 2015, drawn up by AM:PM, HVS and AlixPartners, showed that 2,500 bedrooms of the 3,000 new rooms that opened during the third quarter of the year were branded. It said that while 37% of current UK bedrooms are independent, 84% of the active pipeline will be branded properties. According to the report, the shift “reflects the preference of investors, developers and lenders for the relative safety of branded investments”.

What Makes Spain's Hotel Recovery Remarkable | HotelManagement.net

The new Christie + Co report, "The Keys to the Spanish Hotel Market Recovery," indicates that Spain's "remarkable resurgence of hotel investment" will continue on through 2016, at least. Spain has seen record-breaking levels of inbound tourism in 2015 (so far), following four years of consistent growth. More than 38 million foreign tourists visited the country in the first seven months of the year, 4.7 percent more than during the same period in 2014.