Germany and Austria: destination for business and leisure

The Republic of Germany as a destination for business

Germany is rated as one of the most technologically and scientific advanced country in the world. In addition, Germany is a founding member of the European Union with over 82 million inhabitants, meaning a huge market while Germany itself has the largest population among the European Union countries. Germany can serve as an entry point to this huge market while Germany itself too is a huge market for your products or services. Not only that, Germany is ranked the world's third largest economy by nominal Gross Domestic Products, the largest exporter of goods and the largest national economy in Europe. Germany has a high standard of living, meaning its inhabitants have great purchasing power. It is also a good source of products to import if you are an importer instead of an exporter. Products marked "Made in Germany" command great respect among consumers of the world.

With the world getting more environmentally conscious and solar energy as a source of electrical power, the fact that Germany is now the world's largest producer of photovoltaic (PV) electricity with 39% of world capacity compared to 38% for Japan plus also the fastest growing major photovoltaic (PV) market in the world, businessmen in search of environmentally friendly products to import should be making a bee line for Germany.

The Republic of Austria as a destination for business

Austria is among the 10 richest countries in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) per capita plus a very high standard of living. Germany is the main trading partner of Austria, and the two countries are thus tied together closely in terms of business.

Germany as a destination for leisure

You can have almost anything in Germany. You want fun and relax, Germany have some interesting theme parks such as Europa Park, Germany's answer to Disneyland, and Phantasialand in Brühl, among many others. Like architecture. You can see amazing architecture in Germany. The women will love the fabulous shopping and the men the pulsating nightlife. Those enamoured with quaint and ancient stuff or romanticism will enjoy the enchanting medieval villages and traditional wine villages which frequently host friendly festivals and regional specialities plus the numerous ancient castles, palaces and abbeys. Nature lovers will love the picturesque countryside, ideal for walking or simply relaxing in. Germany is also famous for its spas.

Austria as a destination for leisure

Austria's per capita tourist revenue is the highest in the world and this should tell us something about Austria as a destination for leisure. Austria's largest tourist attraction is the Alps for skiing in the winter and for hiking and camping in the summer. Skiing enthusiast will love Austria with its numerous ski resorts. Worth a visit is also the Danube valley with its vineyards such as the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald.

Vienna, the capital city of Austria, has its Cathedral, its wine pubs (Heurigen) and the romantic Vienna Waltz music.

Those in Media Art will love the Ars Electronica Center in Linz which has been hosting the Ars Electronica Festival since 1979. There is the highly coveted Prix Ars Electronica, the worldwide highest-ranked prize for media art.

Accommodation in Germany

Germany has a state-run Interhotel network. Hotel rooms in Germany may be classified into 4 categories, from the most expensive "Deluxe" rooms to "Expensive", "Moderate" and "Inexpensive". A good place to look for inexpensive accommodation is Germany Hotels although if you want to insist on staying in more expensive 4 or 5 star hotels, you can still find them in that online accommodation website.

If you want accommodation in Berlin, the capital city, try Berlin Hotels which is a German language online hotel booking website. If you can't make head or tail out of a German language website, no problem, for they have a English language version at Berlin Hotels

Accommodation in Austria

Austria has 20,000 hotels and pensions, 50,000 private rooms plus thousands of simpler accommodations, such as youth hostels, mountain huts, and campsites. The later categories of accommodations are harder to book online, but for Austrian hotels, it should be a breeze at Wien Hotels. A warning though, that is another German language website. But with Alta Vista Babel Fish and Google translate, that should be no problem. Just put in the website URL into the appropriate field, chose the language, and you get the whole website translated into whatever language you want.