2. ITB Hospitality Day: Med versus Mountains, individuals versus chains
Berlin (February 23, 2007). Budget airlines have revolutionised travel trends and climate change will do the same. When with the ice the appeal of the Alps melts, will more travellers head for the Mediterranean? Low airfares are one argument strongly in support of such a prediction, the attempts of the Alp resorts, on the other hand, another against. Will the huge wholly interchangeable hotels on the coast now have to step back and reconsider their business plan? Top competition is no longer a rare commodity - especially from Asia. The opening discussions at the second ITB Hospitality Day on Thursday 8 March will show just how strongly the hotels and the destination depend on one another.
The panel that will be discussing these issues on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in hall 7.1a, room New York, will deal with many facets of this difficult subject complex. Stefan Leser as Execute Vice President Corporate Development with Swiss travel provider Kuoni thus gives the Alp regions a good chance of being able to set themselves apart from the coastal resorts.
Daring entrepreneurs together with creative designers develop new hotel projects which in themselves operate as new tourist magnets. Milanese Architect Matteo Thun conceives such magnets. Who knows him knows also: His work appeals to the "genus loci", to the local feel. His most recent projects - the Vigilius Mountain Resort near Meran - and his newest designs for the Alp resorts - the future InterContinental in Davos - shatter old and outdated traditions in resort architecture.
Switzerland, so much has already been leaked of the expected statements, will probably better be able to accommodate the consequences of climate change than Austria. Swiss mountains are higher thus providing extra security for snow fall. All the same, more cautious regions, such as Wallis, choose to look into alternative mountain projects as well as to focus more attention on summer tourism. Bruno Huggler from Wallis Guest Marketing, however, still comes across hoteliers and property developers on an every day basis who are slow to respond, only supporting the para-hotel industry (second homes).
So will it be mountains versus Mediterranean? This questions is not being posed by Spain's largest hotel chain, Sol Meliá. Its portfolio already contains mountain resorts. Luis del Olmo, Chief Marketing Officer for the group sees the chains attention better focused on the Asian chains. Slowly but surely, they are buying up top locations around the Mediterranean (Portugal, Greece, Morocco and more) and the competition they provide for Sol Meliá's top brands is hard to ignore. The Spanish hope that new and innovative concepts are the solution, these and their home advantage.
As representative of an Asian chain, Raymond Hall, Chief Marketing Officer of the Six Senses Group specialised in destination resorts and spas, will explain exactly why the Mediterranean is so attractive to the Asians and how they plan to combine their high service standards with European salaries.
Host to the discussion will be Carl-Otto Wenzel, Managing Director of Wenzel Consulting in Hamburg. With over 30 years in the business, he is well versed in all facets of the hotel trade and destination development and is thus certain to ensure with his probing questions an exciting opening to the second ITB hotel congress. The event is free of charge to all ITB visitors. / map
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