Innsbruck Tourismus offers welcome card to Gulf tourists
DUBAI, 11 hours, 30 minutes ago Innsbruck Tourismus, the official destination management organisation of the Innsbruck region of Austria, has introduced the Welcome Card Unlimited (WCU) with exciting promotions and offers to travellers from the Gulf region, The move follows the announcement of opening the Austrian borders to GCC travellers from July 1. The Welcome Card Unlimited, which guests staying for at least 2 nights can purchase as an upgrade for the complimentary Welcome Card, includes seven exciting attractions all less than an hour away from Innsbruck. This premium guest card entitles visitors to numerous offering across various services including, but not limited to, free public transportation across Innsbruck, indoor and outdoor activities, regional attractions, and discounts on lifts and cable cars.
Family feud rages as Swarovski empire loses its luster
By Denise Hruby / AFP, WATTENS, Austria
Crystal-studded clouds reflected in a pond, an oversized crystal chandelier surrounded by mirrors: The headquarters of the Swarovski AG crystal empire are every bit as glitzy as one might expect but the sparkle cannot distract from a bitter family feud over the company’s future.
Normally, 650,000 tourists flock to the site in the town of Wattens in Austria’s mountainous Tyrol region every year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has not only left it deserted it has also magnified much deeper issues for the company.
Exactly 125 years after founder Daniel Swarovski developed a machine to cut glass to shimmer like diamonds, his great-great grandchildren now reign over a diversified operation offering rhinestones to fashion brands, binoculars to hunters, and jewelry and crystal figurines of characters from Mickey Mouse to Princess Leia.
Swarovski loses its sparkle: Plunging profits caused by the pandemic and Chinese competition sparks a bitter family feud within the £2.5bn crystal empire
Swarovski profits are due to fall 30 per cent, from £2.5bn to £1.7bn, amid pandemic and Chinese competition
Robert Buchbauer, CEO and great-great grandson of the company s founder, plans to transform the firm
He wants to sack 6,000 staff, close 750 stores, and move the brand upmarket with more expensive products
But family including Paul, Nadja, Helmut and Gerhard Swarovski say he is steering the ship towards a reef
This crystal-decked waterfall designed to look like the head of a giant is the entrance to Swarovski Crystal Worlds, which opened in 1995 in the Austrian Tyrol, in the town of Wattens, Innsbruck-Land District, where Swarovski was founded and still has its headquarters today. (Image by Image by Igor Levitskiy from Pixabay via Courthouse News)
WATTENS, Austria (AFP) Crystal-studded clouds reflected in a pond, an oversized crystal chandelier surrounded by mirrors: the headquarters of the Swarovski crystal empire are every bit as glitzy as you might expect but the sparkle can’t distract from a bitter family feud over the company’s future.