The certified World Heritage Hosts in the vineyard above Bacharach
ZV-Welterbe Oberes Mittelrheintal
Welterbe Gastgeber – certified World Heritage Host
The certified World Heritage Hosts on the bank of the Rhine
ZV-Welterbe Oberes Mittelrheintal
World Heritage Hosts (Welterbe Gastgeber) are certified quality hosts providing accommodation and services inside the World Heritage property of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The programme was initiated in 2007 by the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Association with the aim to improve the local tourism offer and avoid the loss of quality in the services provided. Today 18 businesses are certified as World Heritage Hosts. They are known for their high quality accommodation and services. They also act as ambassadors for the region having exceptionally knowledge about the many castles, legends, sights and adventure opportunities in the region as well as local products, including wine and cherries.
The certification is awarded to businesses that play a key role in the promotion of the wider World Heritage area on the basis of four criteria: quality of information and communication on the World Heritage value; active participation in local networks; quality of the products and services provided; relevance in relation to the World Heritage status.
In order to obtain the certificate, local hospitality businesses need to be certified by a national quality procedure (Service Quality Germany) and/or graded in accordance to the DEHOGA standards (German Hotel and Catering Federation).
The application for the certification is managed by the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Association and the criteria for the award of the certificate have been developed by the tourism working group of the Association together with the European Institute of Tourism/Europäisches Tourismus Institut GmbH (ETI) in Trier.
- The Word Heritage Host certification has helped create greater awareness for the quality of services and customer experiences.
- The project has brought together competing businesses and enabled them to learn from each other. As a result, businesses have benefited from the exchange and improved their services.
- The Upper Middle Rhine World Heritage Association is not a touristic marketing organisation. Therefore, there are limitations in the marketing of the World Heritage Hosts.