The German travel market is in great shape for the 2025 summer season, with demand for holiday travel bigger than ever. However, under the impact of a weak economy and rising prices, the consequences of climate change are increasingly being ignored. ITB Berlin, the World's Leading Travel Trade Show, puts the latest developments into perspective and focuses on the latest challenges and opportunities in the travel market.
MOB HOTEL, the visionary hospitality concept founded by Cyril Aouizerate, is reinventing the way we travel and stay through four unique destinations across France. More than just hotels, each MOB location serves as a living space, blending affordability with prices starting from €76, community spirit, and environmental responsibility into a singular experience rooted in local life and global values.
Projeto Biodiversidade and BIOS Cabo Verde, two environmental conservation organisations from Cape Verde, have presented the outcome of the 2024 loggerhead sea turtle nesting season. Both of these organisations receive support from RIU Hotels & Resorts, the hotel chain that operates six establishments in the destination and is involved in biodiversity protection and conservation initiatives as part of its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy. The births took place in the hatcheries set up by these organisations on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, which help make Cape Verde home to one of the world’s most important nesting populations of this species.
UN Tourism has welcomed Vienna as the newest member of the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). With this, Vienna becomes part of a global alliance of 46 destinations dedicated to monitoring tourism’s economic, environmental and social impact at the destination level.
In just two years, RIU Hotels & Resorts has doubled the amount of local products used at its hotels in the Balearic Islands. This figure stood at 5.7% in 2023, before increasing to 7% in 2024 and reaching 10% in 2025. This amount is calculated as a percentage of the hotels’ total spending and represents a significant milestone for the chain, which intends to continue increasing the proportion of local products used in the coming years as part of its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy, supporting the community and reducing the company’s scope 2 carbon emissions.
BWH Hotels is enabling its 230 independent UK hotels to take control of their carbon footprint with the launch of a new carbon calculator.
Preserving local communities and fostering meaningful connections are central to the Group. By cultivating strong relationships with local stakeholders, integrating Heartists® and aligning our operations with the unique needs and challenges of each community, we promote more responsible travel practices. This approach encourages our guests to experience a deeper, more authentic connection to the destinations they visit. For our team members, these efforts create opportunities to contribute positively to their own communities, often in partnership with organizations attuned to local needs, giving greater meaning to their daily work.
In Vienna, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili held high-level meetings, reaffirming Austria’s important role in advancing sustainable tourism, including through having six of its villages as members of UN Tourism´s Best Tourism Village Programme and the region of Tyrol as one of the latest members of the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).
As we reflect on another year of dedication to sustainable growth and responsible hospitality, I am proud to present our 2023 Sustainability & CSR Report. At Mitsis Group, our commitment to excellence goes hand in hand with our unwavering dedication to sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical governance. This year, we have continued to make significant strides in our efforts to create a positive impact on the environment, empower our communities, and ensure that our guests can travel sustainably.
UN Tourism has announced the UN Tourism National Open Innovation Challenge, in partnership with France. This groundbreaking collaboration marks a significant milestone as it is the first time UN Tourism and the Government of France have joined forces to empower innovation and entrepreneurship in the sector.
RIU Hotels & Resorts continues to move forward with the Proudly Committed strategy after the circular economy plans in place at its hotels in the Balearic Islands have been certified by AENOR. The Riu Playa Park, Riu Concordia, Riu Bravo, Riu Festival and Riu San Francisco in Playa de Palma, as well as the Riu La Mola in Formentera, have received this certification.
A circular economy could boost the hospitality sector by reducing costs and making resources go further while at the same cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a new report finds.
At Accor, sustainability is rooted at the center of our design strategy. In practice, that means that the Design & Technical Services teams channel their talent and creativity into ensuring that the strategy and the concepts they create have a positive impact on the environment and society. Our teams have developed specific construction guidelines for sustainability for each of our brands, while a rigorous selection criteria for design, and construction products and suppliers has been set to guarantee that all our partners ౼ from conception to production ౼ share our commitment to sustainability. With circularity and carbon reduction in mind, we have also begun using an eco-design measurement tool to analyze the environmental performance of our design concepts.
Guests staying at Premier Inn hotels can rest easy in the knowledge their stay is benefitting local communities following the publication of the company’s 2024 economic benefit and social impact report.
Recently, composters on the roof of the house have been recycling organic waste from breakfast/dinner. The plants in the hostel benefit from the nutrient-rich fertilizer produced in this way. Arben Maliqi: "Our goal is to be the first European hostel chain to be CO2-neutral in 2025. For us, net zero means reducing our own ecological footprint to a minimum and offsetting the rest." a&o is already the only hostel chain in Europe to show the individual CO2 value per booking on all reservations and guest invoices.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) partnered with Hotelbeds to bring sector leaders together in Palma, Mallorca, to delve into the ever-evolving dynamics of global Travel & Tourism.
Zeal Hotels has signed an Exclusivity Agreement with IHG Hotels & Resorts for the hotel, which will be managed by Valor Hospitality.
The hotel will be both companies’ first lifecycle net zero carbon hotel. Aligned with the UK Green Building Council’s framework definition of net zero carbon buildings, it is set to open next year.
In cooperation with ecomi.io AG, the Primestar Group will start the "YOUR TREE" nature conservation project in May, initially in three hotels. At the Holiday Inn Hamburg Berliner Tor, at the Hampton by Hilton Freiburg and at the Hampton by Hilton Berlin Alexanderplatz Primestar will present every guest with their personal tree. if the guest waives the daily room cleaning during multi-day stays. As a consequences, the hotel saves valuable water and cleaning agents, if guest rooms do not have to be cleaned on a daily basis.
Hilton London Heathrow Airport is showcasing a whole raft of new environmental initiatives to coincide with Earth Day.