by editorial office, chd

The German classification of hotels is currently undergoing complete revision by Dehoga Bundesverband, Berlin, in order to align it with the hotel star systems of Austria and Switzerland.

The new criteria for the awarding of hotel stars may come into effect as soon as early 2010. This was reported by the on-line edition of trade magazine „Top hotel“. Dehoga Bundesverband and Hotrec, umbrella association of the industry in Brussels, are further working towards an alignment of the many different hotel categories on a European level.

OAMTH Duplicate Bridge Club of Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Bridge Federation and EVENT Consulting & Travel, have joined forces to organize the 3rd Bridge International Festival of “Balkan Friendship” taking place between April 29th and May 3rd 2009 at the Grand Hotel Palace.

The “Balkan Friendship” event is incorporated in the Games Festival which is a mass event organized for the fifth year in Thessaloniki. The festival includes a series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, street basketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games and pc games.

The Go Asia Award gala was a big success. More than 300 representatives of Asian tourist boards, destinations, hotels and tour operators, as well as various personalities from politics and media attended the grand award ceremony at Viethaus in Berlin. Go Asia member Thailand won the Go Asia Award in the categories of „Best Destination“ and „Best Tourist Board in Germany“. The second place in the „Best Destination“ category was held by Indonesia, closely followed by Malaysia. The second place in the „Best Tourist Board in Germany“ category was something to show for, too, with Singapore being the one to claim it. The third place went to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

The hotel introduced as „Travel Charme Hotel Is Arenas“ will no longer be managed by Travel Charme Hotels & Resorts AG – Travel Charme AG states impending damage to their image and divergencies on standards and quality as reasons for this action. They announced their withdrawal from the management contract with the owners and operators of the realty development of the Is Arenas plot on Sardinia.

Students of Cologne Business School will award the Best Exhibitor Award at ITB 2009 on March 14 / All exhibitors to be evaluated in 11 categories. Which stand showcases its country or company in the best way? Which one is the most informative and which one offers the best service?

This year, again, aspiring tourism managers of Cologne Business School (CBS), being partners of Messe Berlin, will award the Best Exhibitor Award to exhibitors at ITB.

Tourism Marketing Company Saxony (TMGS) will be showcasing the Free State of Saxony as “Art Hall Saxony” at ITB Berlin from March 11 to 15. Painting masterpieces from museums in Saxony will set the stage for Saxony as Germany’s cultural travel destination number one with unseen quality and consequence, using an area of 1000 sqm in hall 11.2. In doing so, Saxony is aiming to position itself as the foremost address for art and culture in Germany providing travel offers of excellent quality.