Tourism TriRhena is a touristic project which involves Basel and Baselland (Switzerland), Colmar and Mulhouse (France), Freiburg (Germany) and the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. The trinational area on the south side of the upper Rhine, where the border of Germany, France and Switzerland meet, offers a great touristic variety. This region is known as Regio TriRhena, or just Regio.

For 15 years the tourism offices of Basel, Colmar, Freiburg and Mulhouse have been actively cooperating together with the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Within the transnational promotion project Interreg II were made the first common publications. In 2005 was born the internet site http://www.tourismtrirhena.com, as consequence of the project “The touristic site for the Regio TriRhena”. The project, in which Baselland was accepted as a new partner, is promoted by the European Union within the program Interreg III

In the beginning the Regio TriRhena was known by the singles names of each one of the touristic areas (Black Forest, Alsace and Switzerland). Nowadays is always applied the motto “3 countries = 1 destination”, as well as the denomination Regio TriRhena / Tourism TriRhena, so that a common image and brand can be created.

The aim of the project is to promote the tourism in the border region, focusing on the enormous possibilities of the zone, like natural attractions, culture, gastronomy, etc. The touristic offer of the Regio presents many common characteristics so as complementary elements. For instance the rich cultural heritage and the important museums (Technical museums in Mulhouse and Art museum in Basel), customs and traditions (Christmas Markets and carnivals), old towns full of charm (Colmar), incredible landscapes (Baselland), a mild and sunny climate, excellent gastronomy and wines, sport and wellness offer (Freiburg).

It is focused first of all to tourist with short stays, with visits to cities, together with sport activities, culture and package tours.

The cultural offer is really extraordinary, enjoying all their dimensions : architecture, music, art, history, etc. The museum offer is very complete. You can visit more than 40 museums in the city of Basel dedicated to different specialities (history, carnival, painting, sculpture…). In the near canton of Baselland there is a very interesting roman city called Augusta Raurica, where every summer takes place a roman festival. In Colmar is essential to visit the Unterlinden Museum and the Bartholdi Museum, author of the famous Statue of Liberty. In Freiburg stands out the Augustiner Museum, with works from the middle age until the XXth century, as well as the museum of modern art. Mulhouse is famous for its technical museums, like the Automobile and Railway Museum.

The Regio TriRhena presents great architectonical interest, like the gothic cathedral of Freiburg, or the samples of modern architecture in Basel, with buildings designed by the most important architects of the moment.

Referring to gastronomy, Freiburg and Colmar deserve a high position, both wine capitals of the wines of Baden and Alsace.

The natural highlights have their presence with the astonishing landscapes of the Black Forest, Alsace, and the region of Jura in Baselland. Environments that delight the senses and invite to relax.

The Carnival, or the fifth season, as it is here called, has a great importance. You can enjoy the alemmannic Carnival in Freiburg or in Basel. Also in Christmas is the time for the Christmas markets, where you can taste the Christmas cakes and the typical Glühwein.

The web site http://www.tourismtrirhena.com has a very important role promoting the Regio, because it offers all the highlights of the area to a world wide public. The work of the site is supported by the common publications: a broschüre with information of the Regio in general and of every partner of the project specially, an events calendar and a newsletter.

The main door to the region is the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Placed in the hearth of Europe, provides an exceptional access gate to the Regio TriRhena. From here all the partner of the project can be reached between 15 and 50 minutes. Besides there is a welcome desk of Tourism TriRhena in the arrivals sector offering the travellers all the information which they may need.

The project is financed by the European Union and the Swiss Confederation.

With more than 133 million foreign visitors (2008) Germany is ranked as the 7th most visited travel destination worldwide. A total of 27.2 billion Euros is spent on travel and tourism, this is equivalent to 3.2% of Germany's GNP. The capital city of Berlin is currently ranked as the 8th most visited city worldwide. Including camping sites and accommodation with 9 or more beds, a total of 369.6 million overnights were spent in Germany during 2008, this includes 56.5 million nights by foreign visitors. More than 30% of Germans spend their holiday in their own country. which shows that Germans love to travel within their own country.

The majority of foreign tourists came from the Netherlands with 9.69 million nights, the United States 4.45 million nights and the UK with 4.22 million nights.

The history of tourism in Germany traces back to cities and landscapes being visited for education and recreation. From the late 18th century onwards, cities like Dresden, Munich, Weimar and Berlin were major stops of a European Grand tour. Spas and resorts on North and Baltic Sea, as well as along the Rhine valley particularly developed during the 19th and early 20th century and since the end of World War II tourism has expanded greatly as many tourists visit Germany to experience a sense of European history. The countryside exhibits a pastoral aura, while its cities exhibit both a modern and classical feel. Some tourist towns in Germany include: Bamberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Munich, Tübingen, Calw, Goslar, Lübeck, Aachen, Schwangau, Dresden and Quedlinburg.

During 2008 the most visited federal states were:

• Bavaria with 76.91 million nights
• Baden-Württemberg 43.62 million nights
• Lower-Saxony with 41.52 million nights

Popular perceptions and reasons for holidaying in Germany are: culture (75%), outdoors/countryside (59%), cities (59%), cleanliness (47%), security (41%), modernity (36%), good hotels (35%), good gastronomy/cuisine (34%), good accessibility (30%), cosmopolitanism/hospitality (27%), good shopping opportunities (21%), exciting nightlife (17%) and good price/performance ratio (10%) (multiple answers were possible).

Forthcoming highlights for Germany are: 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Passion Plays in Oberammergau (Bavaria) in 2010, Ruhr 2010 European capital of culture and the 2010 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.

The official body for tourism in Germany is The German National Tourist Board, represented worldwide by local National Tourist Offices in 29 countries.

For the USA the official website for tourism to Germany is http://www.cometogermany.com and http://www.germany-tourism.co.uk for the UK. Both websites offer a variety of information services and a selection of free brochures.

The Free State of Saxony is a state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area (18,413 km²) and the sixth largest in population (4.3 million), of Germany's sixteen states.

Located in the historical heart of German-speaking Europe, the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium. It has been a medieval duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom and, since 1918, a republic.

During the early Middle Ages the term Saxony referred to the region occupied by today's states of Lower Saxony and northern North Rhine-Westphalia. The term Saxon does not always correlate with Saxony: a Saxon is not necessarily an inhabitant of Saxony (e.g. Saxon people, Anglo-Saxons or Transylvanian Saxons).

Tourism
Except for Dresden and perhaps Leipzig, Saxony is not known as a primary destination for foreign tourists. Areas along the border with the Czech Republic, such as the Lusatian Mountains, Ore Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, and Vogtland, attract significant visitors, largely Germans. Saxony has well preserved historic towns such as Meissen, Freiberg, Pirna, Bautzen, and Görlitz.

Languages
The most common patois spoken in Saxony are combined in the group of "Thuringian and Upper Saxon dialects". Due to the incorrect usage of "Saxon dialects" in colloquial language, the Upper Saxon attribute has been added to distinguish it from Old Saxon and Low Saxon. Other German dialects spoken in Saxony are the dialects of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), which have been affected by Upper Saxon dialects, and the dialects of the Vogtland, which are more affected by the East Franconian languages.

Upper Sorbian (a Slavic language) is still actively spoken in the parts of Upper Lusatia that are occupied by the Sorbian minority. The Germans in Upper Lusatia speak distinct dialects of their own (Lusatian dialects).