Germany expects 5-8% growth in Indian tourist arrivals
Germany welcomed 8, 52,224 visitor overnights in 2017 registering a 13.8 per cent growth over 2016. Owing to this steady growth, the German National Tourist Office (GNTO) in India forecasts a 5-8 per cent growth in tourist arrivals this year.
With experiential travel becoming the most sought after genre in leisure travel, GNTO is promoting ”Culinary Germany-More to explore” as its core global marketing theme this year.
”Food forms an integral part of any traveler’s itinerary. ‘Experiencing the local flavors helps enhance the flavor of any holiday and makes for everlasting impressions. With over 5,000 beers from 1,300 breweries, 300 types of bread, 1,500 types of sausage, 13 wine regions, 292 Michelin-starred restaurants and 3,000 to 5,000 Christmas markets Germany is sure to satiate any travelers appetite,” said German National Tourist Office Director for India, Romit Theophilus.
According to the Quality Monitor survey of the German tourism industry, 4 per cent of international holidaymakers comes to Germany specifically for the variety and quality of its food and drink. The sector, therefore, contributes at least 3.2 million overnight stays to Germany’s inbound tourism. 53 per cent of holidaymakers from abroad say that going to restaurants and cafe’s is one of their favourite things to do” besides sightseeing and ahead of visiting museums/exhibitions. Forty per cent of international guests like to experience typical regional cuisine while on holiday in Germany.
Destination Germany, which has always used new and innovative strategies to promote itself, launched its Web Based Destination Training Module www.germanyspecialist.com in December 2017. The platform, which has four interactive and informative training modules, is prepared so that tour operators can easily access all essential information required to create interesting itineraries to Destination Germany. The platform already has over 750 registered tour operators seeking to improve their knowledge of the destinations and aiming at being certified Destination Germany Specialists.