Beorn
05-11-2009, 09:44 AM
(Just noticed we don't have an Austrian section!)
Austrian hotel bans Jewish guests
A hotel in Tyrol that said it does not accept Jewish guests has caused shock in the local media and tourism industry, the daily Tiroler Tageszeitung reported on Sunday.
A Vienna family of seven had asked the Haus Sonnenhof apartment hotel in the village of Serfaus for a reservation. The owner replied by email that although the room was free, she did want to take in Jewish guests because of "bad experiences" in the past.
The region around Serfaus has become popular with orthodox Jewish tourists in recent years, and several hotels in Tyrol have started offering kosher food.
At Hotel Alpenruh-Micheluzzi, owner Petra Micheluzzi told the German Press Agency that the rejection by the Sonnenhof was "bad for the image" of Serfaus.
One such incident could destroy all the hard work by others in the travel industry, she said, a view echoed by local and regional tourism officials.
"That's terrible," said Esther Fritsch, the president of the regional Jewish community. So far there had been no such incidents, she told the newspaper.
Irmgard Monz, the owner of the Haus Sonnenhof apartment hotel, could not be reached for comment on Sunday. In an interview with Tiroler Tageszeitung, she offered no justification for her email.
For his part, the rejected father of five has decided to spend the summer elsewhere: "I don't want to spend my vacation in such a racist nest, and I will inform all my friends about what is going on in Tyrol," the unidentified man was quoted as saying.
Source (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5557057)
Austrian hotel bans Jewish guests
A hotel in Tyrol that said it does not accept Jewish guests has caused shock in the local media and tourism industry, the daily Tiroler Tageszeitung reported on Sunday.
A Vienna family of seven had asked the Haus Sonnenhof apartment hotel in the village of Serfaus for a reservation. The owner replied by email that although the room was free, she did want to take in Jewish guests because of "bad experiences" in the past.
The region around Serfaus has become popular with orthodox Jewish tourists in recent years, and several hotels in Tyrol have started offering kosher food.
At Hotel Alpenruh-Micheluzzi, owner Petra Micheluzzi told the German Press Agency that the rejection by the Sonnenhof was "bad for the image" of Serfaus.
One such incident could destroy all the hard work by others in the travel industry, she said, a view echoed by local and regional tourism officials.
"That's terrible," said Esther Fritsch, the president of the regional Jewish community. So far there had been no such incidents, she told the newspaper.
Irmgard Monz, the owner of the Haus Sonnenhof apartment hotel, could not be reached for comment on Sunday. In an interview with Tiroler Tageszeitung, she offered no justification for her email.
For his part, the rejected father of five has decided to spend the summer elsewhere: "I don't want to spend my vacation in such a racist nest, and I will inform all my friends about what is going on in Tyrol," the unidentified man was quoted as saying.
Source (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5557057)