Informe semanal de noticias del mercado alemán de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en Fráncfort
- Market News
Young tourists prefer environmental awareness instead of luxury stars:A study by the International University of Applied Sciences IUBH shows that luxury hotels are not attractive for young tourists; they value authenticity, environmental awareness, experiences, health as well as the quality of the services and the hotel. The central location close to the beach as well as to nature and the city is important. «Classic package tours do not meet the essential needs of generations Y and Z,» says IUBH Professor Linda Schnorbus. The Digital Natives largely book online. According to Schnorbus, small hotels, flexible meal times and flexible programs as well as healthy vegetarian cuisine are in demand. Also important are environmentally conscious accommodations and hotels that value food and avoid plastic.
- Aviation News
Germania is now finally staying on the ground:The bankrupt airline Germania will no longer continue flight operations, according to Touristik Aktuell. The provisional insolvency administrator Rüdiger Wienberg has announced that all interested parties have bailed out. Therefore, the charter and holiday airline from Berlin, which had filed for insolvency at the beginning of February, will be wound up. The sticking point in all cases – according to investor feedback – was the extremely tight timeframe for the planning of an acquisition. As the period in which Germania employees receive insolvency money ends on 31 March, the investor solution had to be found by then.
Wow Air stops flight operations:WOW AIR has ceased operation. All WOW AIR flights have been cancelled. Passengers whose ticket was paid with a credit card are advised to contact their credit card company to check whether a refund of the ticket cost will be issued. Passengers who bought their ticket from a European travel agent (within the European Economic Area) as a part of a package tour (a package which includes flights and accommodation or other services) are protected by the Package Travel Directive. Those passengers are advised to contact their travel agent to arrange an alternative flight.
- Tour Operator News
Thomas Cook closes 21 UK travel agencies and reviews financial services:According to fvw, the Thomas Cook Group will close 21 travel agency offices and cut around 300 jobs. These actions are based on efficiency improvement measures and changing customer behavior, which is increasingly oriented towards online bookings. The new Tour Operating boss Will Waggott explained that Thomas Cook wants to concentrate on those areas in which it is possible to distinguish oneself most strongly. He also initiated a review of Thomas Cook UK’s financial services division. One possibility could be to bring the business closer together with the tour operator, Waggott said. Until now, Thomas Cook Money was part of the sales division. At the same time, Thomas Cook announced that it plans on participating in the Russian tour operator Biblio Globus.
TUI has new general terms and conditions as well as special prices for hotels:As Travel Talk reports, as of April, TUI will change the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) for advance payments and cancellations. As a matter of principle, TUI generally differentiates between bookings with flights and bookings without flights, for advance payments and also for cancellations. Especially in the case of short-term cancellations, there are now fewer fees to pay. At the same time, TUI is introducing special rates for hotels to attract price-conscious customers. The low hotel rates should bring the travel agencies on equal terms with special online prices of the hotels.
- Hotel News
Intercontinental Hotels Group expands in Germany:As TravelTalk reports, the Intercontinental Hotels Group wants to become more present in Germany. They have established three business units in Europe. Frankfurt is responsible for the region Northern Europe with around 60 employees. These include the DACH countries, Benelux, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Scandinavia. In 2018, IHG announced the launch of the new Avid brand in Germany. The first Avid Hotel is going to open at the Frankfurt airport in 2021. With Avid, a new concept is being introduced in the lower middle class: guests will have the same sleeping experience as in the Holiday Inn Express and high-quality technology, but a budget service concept. It will be the only hotel that does not offer a breakfast buffet, but Grab & Go service.
