Introduction
Welcome to the European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter for November 2006. As always,
we have gathered together different things that we hope you find interesting, and of
course we welcome any suggestions, criticisms or ideas for future newsletters. Please
send them to info@gomio.com.
European Hostel Cooperation News
6th European Hostel Meeting – Invitation
As announced in previous EHC newsletters, and at the 5th European Hostel Meeting in Krakow,
the 6th European Hostel Meeting will take place in Interlaken, Switzerland,
on the 24th and 25th March 2007.
We have been working hard with our friends in Switzerland to get everything prepared, and we are
pleased to say that registration will be open shortly if you would like to join us in Interlaken.
You will get full details on venues, registration and other information on the 6th European Hostel
Meeting at www.europeanhostels.org.
We would also like to use this newsletter to remind people that
if there is any topic you feel should be discussed in the workshops and presentations, or if you have
any other specific ideas for the meeting, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
As you will see on the meeting page, for the first time there will be a trade event in Interlaken,
and we are also looking for co-sponsors of the meeting itself. If you are interested in this, or have
any other suggestions or questions, then please get in contact with Danielle who is our meeting
co-ordinator at danielle.brumfitt@gomio.com.
We are looking forward to the meeting, and we hope that you will be able to join us for what
promises to be an interesting and entertaining weekend.
Pub Crawl World Record
On October 14th Tim the Tourman led over two thousand drinkers around London in an attempt
on the Pub Crawl World Record. Tim was kind enough to invite a member of the GOMIO.COM team along,
and so we handed out some goodies to those who were sober enough to take them, as well as giving away some free accommodation.
Thanks to Tim for letting us join the ride, and to the guys from Bugbitten.com who
were making interviews all day and helped with our prizes, and most of all congratulations
to all 2,278 people who stayed the course and wrote themselves into the record books.
You can read more about the Pub Crawl World Record on Tim’s website at:
www.timthetourman.com
Bakpak Travel Writing Competition
In a previous edition of the newsletter we announced that GOMIO.COM would be sponsoring the accommodation of
the prize winner in the Bakpak Travelers Guide Travel Writing Competition. The winner of the prize was
Rachel Jones, and you can read more about the competition at www.bakpakguide.com.
Rachel traveled mainly in South Eastern Europe, and we would like to thank the following hostels who
helped out with accommodation during her trip: Hikers Hostel (Velico Tarnovo, Bulgaria),
Rolling Stone Hostel (Brasov, Romania), Nathans Villa (Sighisoara, Romania), Villa Butterfly
(Bucharest, Romania), High Class Youth Hostel (Suceava, Romania) and Athens Studios (Athens, Greece).
European Hostel Research
As you might remember, we sent out questionnaires to a number of European hostels in the summer in order
that we could undertake a survey of hostel guests so that we could build a picture of those staying in
hostels across Europe. If any hostels have a good number of surveys that they want to send in to the
head office then please do so (and be aware of the address change below!) and if there are any
questions regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at
info@gomio.com.
The Head Office is Moving
From December 1st the European Hostel Cooperation and GOMIO.COM will be moving to a new address
in Berlin. Email, fax and telephone numbers will remain the same, so from the beginning of
December our contact details will be as follows:
The European Hostel Cooperation
Schwedter Strasse 227,
10435 Berlin
Germany
Telephone: +49 30 2462 8500
Fax: +40 30 2462 8501
Email: info@gomio.com
Hostel News
Independent Hostels UK
A new hostel network has been created in the United Kingdom, and Independent Hostels UK asked us to
include some info in the newsletter... and here it is:
Independent Hostels UK is a newly formed network of over 250 hostels, bunk-houses and backpackers in the UK.
It is administered by the Backpackers Press and for the next three years has 50% funding from the UK government.
The aim of IHUK is to encourage networking between the accommodation providers and to market the hostels.
The well established Independent Hostel Guide provides the network with an instant handbook
and www.independenthostelguide.co.uk
has loads of information about the accommodation and links to the
hostels own websites. The Guide in both media will be the main vehicle for marketing the accommodation.
The Independent Hostel Guide continues to feature accommodation right accords Europe from Ireland to
Russia although, as has always been the case, the largest sections are for countries in the UK. IHUK will use
most of their funding to market The Independent Hostel Guide (book and website) so all hostels in the guide stand
to benefit. There is still time to add your accommodation to the 2007 Independent Hostel Guide.
Just get in touch with sam@backpackerspress.com.
Hostels in the Media – Hostel Mostel
Another article featuring a hostel that came to our attention was an interesting one involving the
Hostel Mostel in Sofia, Bulgaria. The focus of the piece is the tours the hostel organises to visit
the Gypsy community in the Bulgarian capital, one of the more unusual activities in the European hostel scene.
You can read the full piece online at:
www.sofiaecho.com
And remember, if your hostel appears in the media – in whatever language – send us the details so we can
include it in future EHC newsletters.
New Hostel in Berlin
The St Christopher’s Inns, who have hostels across the United Kingdom as well as in Amsterdam and Bruges,
opened their first hostel in Berlin. Formerly the Circus Hostel at Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse,
the St Christopher’s team took over on November 1st. For more information on St Christopher’s Inns,
check out their website: www.st-christophers.co.uk.
New Hostel in Bamberg
We’d like to welcome a new hostel here in Germany, the Backpackers Bamberg, which as you might have
guest is in the Franconian town of Bamberg. The hostel opened on the Memmeldsdorferstrasse on the 26th
September, and we would like to wish the guys the best of luck. You can have a look at their place on the
website www.backpackersbamberg.de.
Once again, if you are opening a new hostel, or you know of a new place opening, send in the details
to us so that we can include the happy news in future editions of the newsletter.
Guests are Getting Older
Hostels are not just for “the kids” anymore, according to an article that we found in the Providence
Journal online. According to the piece, the number of older travelers staying in hostels in growing all
the time, mainly due to the good price in central locations that hostels offer, and no doubt the growing
number of private rooms that are now available. The article is online, and can be found at:
www.projo.com
Is this true? It would be interesting to hear some thoughts on the matter, and if the demographics change,
does that effect how hostels operate? Let us know what you think.
Travel and Tourism News
Tourism numbers in the UK
Some news in the United Kingdom about the total number of tourists who visited in 2005.
The figures that have just been released show that over 30 million trips were made to the UK
in 2005, which was a new record, and this was achieved despite the impact of the July 7th bombings,
and the failed bombing attempts a week later. According to the Office for National Statistics,
foreign visitors also spent over £14 billion in the UK in 2005, which was also a record.
You can read more about Britain’s record year online at:
travel.guardian.co.uk
World Tourism Grows in 2006
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has just released its results for the first
eight months of 2006 and its forecasts for the year as a whole. The UNWTO forecasts that global
tourism will see growth this year of 4.6% on last years figures, and for Europe this growth is a
slightly below average figure of 3.1%.
Within Europe, the breakdown is as follows: Northern Europe (6%), South/Mediterranean (4.6%),
Western Europe (2.1%). The only decline that was recorded was in Central and Eastern Europe,
although at -0.1% this was minimal.
This means 14 million additional arrivals are expected in Europe for 2006, and the UNWTO states that,
“there has been little evidence of travel plans being cancelled as a result of terrorist threats
to aircraft, even to the United Kingdom where the plot was centred.”
You can read more at the UNWTO website:
www.un.org
Branding Countries
It appears that in our globalised, logo-ised world even countries are seen as brands, and for the
second year in a row the Country Brand Index has created a rating system for nations to compare their
“brand quality”. Australia came out top, with Italy the highest ranked European nation in 3rd, behind the
second place United States.
The study involved over 1,500 travellers and industry experts to examine how countries can be branded and
ranked according to different criteria. You can read more about this experiment online at:
biz.yahoo.com
The Stern Report, Budget Airlines, and Impact on Tourism
The Stern Report into carbon emissions that was published in the United Kingdom focused on the proliferation of
budget airlines in Europe as a major contributor to global warming. The sheer number of flights that now take
to the skies has meant that between 1990 and 2000 the emissions from the aircrafts doubled. Environmental
groups are now recommending that a tax on aviation fuel and VAT charged on plane tickets may be necessary as a
means of encouraging other forms of transport and bringing about a decrease in the overall number of flights.
This is interesting for the tourist industry as the rise of the short haul low cost airlines has created a
boom in city tourism that would no doubt come under threat if the bargains were no longer available.
What this would mean for hostels would of course depend on the hostel, and the number of guests they
receive on weekend breaks or trips using such airlines, but the impact would certainly be felt in
those up-and-coming destinations such as Tallinn, Ljubljana and Krakow that have seen a huge amount
of visitors since the budget airlines opened routes there.
For more on the Stern Report and the issue of airlines and emissions, check out:
politics.guardian.co.uk
Travel Fairs 2007
Of course, the EHC has already announced details of the 6th European Hostel Meeting
earlier in this newsletter, but throughout the year there are numerous travel and tourism industry
events that might also be of interest. There is a good overview at the World Tourism Organisation website
(www.world-tourism.org),
and we have compiled a list below of some of those taking place in Europe in the first six months of 2007:
January 11 - 14
REGIONTOUR
16th International Fair of Regional Tourism
Brno, Czech Republic
E-mail: regiontour@bvv.cz
Website: www.bvv.cz/regiontour-gb
January 11 - 14
GO
17th International Travel Trade Fair
Brno, Czech Republic
E-mail: go@bvv.cz
Website: www.bvv.cz/go-gb
January 12 - 14
G-Mex Manchester
The Holiday and Travel Show
Manchester, United Kingdom
E-mail: james@johnfishexhibitions.co.uk
Website: www.johnfishexhibitions.co.uk
January 18 - 21
MATKA 2007
The Nordic Travel Fair
Helsinki, Finland
E-mail: matka@finnexpo.fi
Website: www.matkamessut.fi
January 24 - 26
ENTER 2007
"Connecting Destinations"
Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: ifitt@ifitt.org
Website: www.ifitt.org
February 6 - 7
IMTM 2007
13th International Mediterranean Tourism Market
Tel Aviv, Israel
E-mail: imtm@ortra.com
Website: www.ortra.com
February 15 - 18
HOLIDAY WORLD 2007
Central European Premier Tourism Industry Event
Prague, Czech Republic
E-mail: triumf@triumf.cz
Website: www.holidayworld.cz
March 7 - 11
ITB BERLIN
International Tourism Exchange
Berlin, Germany
E-mail: itb@messe-berlin.de
Website: www.itb-berlin.com
March 10
TNT Travel Show
London, UK
Webiste: www.tntmagazine.com/travelshow
March 13 - 14
ECORISMO
the first annual forum-exhibition of eco-products and environmental solutions for the hospitality, catering and tourism sector
Arles, France
E-mail: p.francois@francoistourismeconsultants.com
Website: http://www.ecorismo.com
April 19 - 22
SITC
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SHOW IN CATALONIA
Barcelona, Spain
E-mail: turisme@firabcn.es
Website: www.saloturisme.com
May 17 - 20
MITF 2007
THE 7th MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FAIR
Moscow, Russian Federation
E-mail: mitf@ugol.ru
Website: www.mitf.ru
Contact Us
And that’s your lot for this edition of the European Hostel Cooperation newsletter. As always, we love to hear from you, and if you have any ideas for things you would like included in future editions, or information you would like to share with the rest of the European hostel scene, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
European Hostel Cooperation GmbH
Schedter Str. 227
10435 Berlin
Germany
Telephone: +49 30 2462 8500
Email: info@gomio.com
Until next time, best wishes from your European Hostel Cooperation team.