Travel in city Berlin

ITB Berlin’s new Travel & Tourism Radar, set up in partnership with Ostfalia Hochschule, analyses the business outlook in the travel industry and reveals external factors as the main forces driving digitalisation and sustainability efforts. The actions of global travel companies are driven more by external influences than economics where important aspects of the transition are concerned. The Travel & Tourism Radar survey shows that the approximately 330 travel companies interviewed worldwide offer a generally positive economic outlook. It also gives an insight into their investment plans and how they see their ability to compete.

Oct 21, 2024 • 6 min read

Tourists looking to explore Germany can expect a helping hand from the country’s first AI-generated travel influencer, which the German National Tourist Board debuted on Thursday.

When it comes to public transportation, the Germans are well ahead of the game. Instead of making people purchase different tickets or travel cards for each transport company and each mode of travel in every city and town you visit, they created the Deutschland-Ticket (or D-Ticket for short), a transport card that works throughout the country.

FlixTrain, one of Germany’s largest train operators, has announced it will soon offer significantly more regional connections. 

A Marseille neighbourhood has been crowned the “coolest in the world” in Time Out magazine’s annual ranking.

The playbook for selling flights and hotels is pretty well known. But selling experiences—where the growth is now — is still being figured out.

Italian president Sergio Mattarella has hailed the "great relationship" between Rome and Berlin on a three-day state visit to Germany.

Paris and Berlin will soon be connected by a new high-speed train service.

A popular low-cost air airline is expanding globally. Southwest Airlines recently announced a partnership to offer international flights by partnering with carriers who operate international fights in Southwest markets. “Southwest is formalizing partnerships with international carriers to expand its network and connect Customers with more global destinations to generate additional demand for travel across the Southwest network,” Southwest shared in a news release. The launch of this new international flight program will take place in 2025, with Icelandair as the first partner airline, and will depart from the Baltimore, MD (BWI) airport. There, travelers can fly on Icelandair to Iceland, where they can connect to a variety of European destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Oslo, Prague, Rome, and more. Icelandair is a discount carrier that operates international flights, and similar to Southwest, does not have a first or business class section on their aircraft.  “The partnership will unlock many exciting travel options for our customers, and our extensive network in Europe will open for Southwest customers,” Icelandair President and CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said in a statement.  “As part of our strategic focus on expanding our global partnership network, we seek out airlines known for exceptional service and connectivity.” As an example, a traveler would start their journey on Southwest from Nashville to Baltimore, and then continue on Icelandair from Baltimore to Iceland.

Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is making it easier to travel this fall and winter with $99 flights to popular cities across Europe.

Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio includes 32 different brands. More than any standout architectural or interior design details, consistent quality and a beloved rewards program tend to keep travelers checking into the world’s largest hotel chain. However, one of the first things that struck me about the Munich Marriott Hotel City West, one of the brand’s newest locations, as I approached from the nearby train station on a sunny June afternoon was its impressive, almost Bauhaus-esque silhouette on Landsberger Strasse, the main thoroughfare that leads into downtown Munich.

Train travel has been growing in popularity for the past couple of years and there’s no sign showing that this trend is going to stop any time soon. According to Eurail, the big boss of train travel in Europe, “more than 1,237,000 Interrail and Eurail Passes were sold in 2023, a 25 percent growth from 2022.” To satisfy the ever-growing demand for rail travel, new train operators are popping up and offering new exciting routes, especially crowd-pleasing overnight routes. That’s the case of rail operator European Sleeper which launched in May 2023.

Germany’s got a big secret: It’s got islands. And not the rocky, desolate, and uninhabited kind, but islands with miles of sandy beaches, picturesque cliffs, peaceful, protected forests, and seaside luxury hotels. The Germans obviously are in the know, and because of their geographical locations, the Dutch and Danes are, too. But nobody else in in the world seems to remember that Germany has a coastline on both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, let alone that this coastline is peppered with dozens of islands. The biggest of all the German islands is Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, itself a wildly underrated area. While Rügen takes a little effort to get to, the trip is hardly insurmountable, and travelers who want to see Germany away from the big urban centers, internationally known beer festivals, and packed tourist attractions would be remiss to pass on it.

I think of myself as a well-traveled individual with a very solid knowledge of geography and tourist sights. Most of the people at Matador Network see themselves in the same way. After all, we live and breathe travel day in, day out. Yet, apparently, none of us know much about Germany.

GetYourGuide, an online travel agency for tours, activities, and experiences, has been the target of ongoing protests by World Animal Protection, an activist group.

The shake-up continues at Scandinavian Airlines following its official entrance into the SkyTeam alliance.

Edinburgh is set to become the first city in Scotland to introduce a tourist tax after Scottish government granted powers to local authorities to introduce visitor charges. 

Plan an escape to Europe or beyond starting at less than $500 thanks to this KLM Royal Dutch Airlines fall and winter sale.

VIVA Cruises will offer a wide selection of river cruises throughout Europe this holiday season.

Icelandic airline Play is making family travel easier by offering $2 fares for kids when an adult books a trip to Europe.

Edinburgh is set to become the first city in Scotland to introduce a tourist tax after Scottish government granted powers to local authorities to introduce visitor charges.