On 1 September 2011, Dr. Andreas Karsten will take office as CEO of Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG. He is moving to this position after many years as CEO and managing director of MAGIC LIFE GmbH & Co KG in Vienna.

Dr. Andreas Karsten was designated CEO in July by the supervisory board committee of Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG. Pending confirmation of the appointment by the entire board in August, he will assume his office on 1 September 2011. The appointment of the new CEO is for the next three years.

33 destinations can now be booked on a shared flight number

airberlin and American Airlines have expanded their codeshare relationship to include selected flights within the domestic U.S. route network. Passengers can now book additional flight connections from New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Under this extended agreement, airberlin passengers can now enjoy connecting flights from New York to the additional destinations Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. Offering additional destinations Key West and Jacksonville as connecting flights from Miami, Germany’s second largest airline now flies to a total of six destinations in Florida (the two new destinations joining existing destinations Miami, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Tampa), meaning that airberlin is truly establishing itself as a Florida carrier.

New joint venture the first low-cost carrier based at Narita International Airport, Tokyo

ANA Group, Japan’s largest airline, and AirAsia, the world’s best low cost airline, today announced that they are teaming up to form AirAsia Japan, a new low-cost carrier. AirAsia Japan will be the first low-cost carrier to be based at Narita International Airport. Operating under the AirAsia brand, it is to serve both domestic and international destinations when commencing operations in August 2012, subject to obtaining the relevant approvals.

TTG Asia Media has launched a digital version of TTG Asia, the leading Asia-Pacific travel trade news publication. The new product not only makes it even easier for the regional travel industry to access relevant news for their business on-the-go, but also allows industry professionals outside Asia-Pacific (who were previously unable to receive the TTG Asia print copies) to subscribe to the digital publication. This will significantly boost the readership of the thirty-seven year old travel trade title.

Als weiteren Schritt bei der Entflechtung der Interessens-Sphären zwischen Rudolf Tucek und den Mehrheitsaktionären an der VIENNA INTERNATIONAL Hotelmanagement AG (VI) geben diese sowie die VI selbst ihre Anteile an der THE CUBE Hotels GmbH und der THE CUBE Hotels GmbH & Co KG an eine Gesellschaft im Einflussbereich von Rudolf Tucek ab. Dieser hält damit die Mehrheit an den genannten Gesellschaften. Neben der vereinbarten Anteilsübertragung zieht sich die VI aus dem Management der THE CUBE Hotels GmbH & Co KG zurück. Damit ist auch im operativen Geschäft die Entflechtung vollzogen.

UNWTO and China have opened a third Sustainable Tourism Observatory to monitor the environmental and socio-economic impacts of tourism. The Zhangjiajie Observatory, located in Hunan Province, is part of a network of observatories assisting policy makers to ensure sustainable tourism growth. It will gather and report data on the environmental, social and economic impacts of tourism in the area based on UNWTO sustainable tourism indictors.