Worldwide briefing
BK's retreat
Burger King is to sell its 16 French outlets and close its 20 franchises. The sale is due to low turnover and competition from McDonald's and the Franco-Belgian chain Quick. The only Burger Kings left in France by the end of the year will be three franchises at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Hamburg sale
Raffles Holdings has bought one of Hamburg's leading hotels, the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, from Aoki Corporation of Japan for DM80m (£26.8m).
ECO-conference
An international eco-tourism conference will be held in Bali, Indonesia, from 5 to 7 March 1998, alongside an exhibition on hotel and tourism equipment, services, food and beverages. Contact Astied Julias on 0171-486 1951.
Forte first
Egypt's Forte Grand Pyramids is the second hotel in Egypt to gain the ISO 9002 management system quality award and the first outside the UK to receive it from the British Standards Institution.
Room rates boom
Average room rates in eight out of 10 of Australia's top tourism centres were the best-ever in 1996, but only Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide boosted occupancy rates, says tourism property firm JLW TransAct.
Beriker post
Kerman Beriker - named this year as one of the world's top 10 hoteliers by Leaders magazine - has become partner-general manager of the 179-acre Cap Juluca hotel in Anguilla, British West Indies.
