The Federal Association of German Air Carriers (BDF) responded positively to the implementation of the EU policy on airport fees. It is a confirmation by the committee, the parliament and the council of transport ministers of a basic need to regulate the seesaw over airport fees in Europe.

In a third attempt, the EU now agreed that each member state shall establish an independent supervisory body by 2010, which will inspect airport fees following uniform criteria. Airlines are hoping for the changes to bring more transparency and equality, but also more efficiency to the benefit of their passengers. Airport fees amounting to about 2 billion euros are incurred in Germany each year.

The year 2009 in Berlin will be all about the various festivities on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, the prior peaceful revolution and the political events and decision that facilitated the German reunification.
On November 9, 1989, the wall, the symbol for the division of Germany, fell, having turned the heart of Berlin, Pariser Platz, into a restricted area and a confrontation point of the Cold War for 28 years. Ever since, November 9, 1989 is considered the most important, as well as the most emotional date in recent German history, and the impressive images of the day moved the world.

The best of the best will be awarded the Diamond Award, the Oscar of the tourism industry, at the international tourism film contest THE GOLDEN CITY GATE.

Seize the opportunity!

Take part in the international tourism film competition at ITB Berlin’s ITB-Cinema and submit your film, your web site or your print campaign.
A high-profile jury from Hong Kong, India, Switzerland, Austria, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy and Germany will evaluate your submission and award the best of all entries with the DIAMOND AWARD.

The thirteenth edition of MITM Euromed, Meetings and Incentive Travel Market, will be held in Oviedo, Northern Spain on September 28th and 29th, 2009 where the brand new and spectacular Exhibition & Congress Palace “Ciudad de Oviedo”, a multipurpose complex designed by the famous architect and sculptor Santiago Calatrava will be presented to international MICE hosted buyers.

In defiance of the current economic climate AIME 09, 17th Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, held in Melbourne this week, was a record breaker with both visitor and exhibitor numbers up on last year.

Exhibitor numbers rose to 868, a 5.5% increase on AIME 08. Unaudited total attendance figures were up by 9.6% on last year, with a record 3,584 trade visitors, including 467 Hosted Buyers, visiting the two-day event.

by editorial office, chd, tophotelprojects.com

Investment volume of almost 12 billion euros in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Hotel development in Germany, Austria and Switzerland continues to be very active. At present, there are 443 new construction projects with a total of more than 76,000 rooms in the planning stage or under construction. This was shown by a recent study conducted by tophotelprojects.com, the leading database for hotel construction projects.