Summary

Hotels and restaurants are the backbone of rural tourism in the Northern Eifel region. However, demographic change is hitting the industry hard. Business owners need to work on succession planning to enable their hotels and restaurants to continue after their retirement and to retain jobs and apprenticeships. Given that the topic of succession is a very sensitive one for the "old owners", many suppress or postpone it for years until it is too late. The project “Company succession in the hotel and hospitality sector in the Northern Eifel region” developed specialised advisory and support services for the sector, in order to assist hotels and restaurants in the Northern Eifel region to stay in business. This benefits both the tourism industry and the local population.

Results

The project is still in progress. As of June 2019, more than 30 companies have made use of the consultation offers. At least seven of these have improved their economic performance.

Four buildings found new owners via the initiative's website.

The number of guests and overnight stays in the Northern Eifel has risen significantly in recent years. Compared to 2011, the number of day tourists rose by 89%. The number of overnight stays by 31% (2017). In total: 1.3 million overnight stays and 10 million day tourists per year.

A second Eifel follow-up day was organised for the hospitality industry focusing on protection and maintenance of (historical) buildings by the tourism and gastronomic industry - 90 guests attended.