• GCC travellers account for more than 872,000 overnight stays between January and September 2022, more than 180 per cent than the same period in 2021
  • Germany’s diverse campaigns focused on market demands from GCC tourists resulted in higher footfall across a range of different regions

Dubai, UAE – Germany recorded a 180 per cent increase in overnight stays from Gulf nationals in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period of 2021, according to new data from the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

During the first nine months of 2022, GCC nationals accounted for more than 872,000 overnight stays, making the Gulf region Germany’s top Asian source market. In 2021, the number of GCC nationals visiting the country was 311,000, demonstrating strong growth. Yet when compared to pre-pandemic figures from 2019, it still represents a decrease of 34.5 per cent, showing not only substantial space for future growth, but also the logic behind the tourism board expecting the gap to close further next year.

“We continue to see strong traction from the GCC region, with visitors looking to fulfil cultural experiences,” said Yamina Sofo, director of sales and marketing at the German National Tourist Office, the regional office of GNTB. “Our goal at the moment is to continue to attract visitors from the region and aim to reach the numbers we welcomed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a striking performance this year when compared to 2021, demonstrating that our diverse campaigns and offerings are attractive, and effectively reaching the audience.”

The aggregate of Asian source markets recorded more than 2.9 million overnight stays between Jan-Sep 2022, indicating a 283 per cent increase on the same period in 2021. This upsurge indicates travellers are determined to travel even more than usual.

To further drive visitors – particularly those from within the GCC – the GNTB introduced three diverse campaigns this year that offer a wholistic tourism offering throughout the country. Aligning with market demands, these campaigns directly attributed to higher footfall from the GCC.

‘German.Local.Culture’ focuses on driving awareness of the huge number of traditional experiences, including national crafts and customs, local fare, and the diversity of the history-rich cities, whereas the ‘Embrace German Nature’ features a plethora of outdoor, nature-focused activities.

‘Feel Good’ focuses on sustainable travel, highlighting the importance of adopting eco-friendly practices when travelling. Under this campaign, GNTB supports its federal states and towns to highlight their innovative transport solutions and accommodation, along with eco-friendly restaurants and sustainable tourism activities – all of which ensure an exciting city break that can be enjoyed eco-responsibly.

  • Visit for more details on Germany’s current ‘German.Local.Culture’ campaign: www.germany.travel/en/campaign/german-local-culture/home.html
  • Visit for more details on Germany’s ‘Embrace German Nature’ campaign: www.germany.travel/de/trade/marktbearbeitung/globale-kampagnen/embrace-german-nature.html
  • Visit for more details on Germany’s current ‘Feel Good’ campaign: www.germany.travel/en/feel-good/sustainability.html

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About the GNTB

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is Germany’s national tourism organisation. It works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to represent Germany as a tourist destination and is funded by the Ministry in accordance with a decision taken by the German Bundestag. Working closely with the German travel industry and private-sector partners and trade associations, the GNTB develops strategies and marketing campaigns to promote Germany’s positive image abroad as a tourist destination and to encourage tourists to visit the country.

The GNTB has a three-pronged recovery strategy for overcoming the challenges of the restart after the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • Raising awareness of the Destination Germany brand and enhancing the brand profile with a focus on sustainability and climate change mitigation
  • Supporting the travel industry, which is dominated by small and medium-sized businesses, through relationship management and the sharing of knowledge
  • Developing evidence-based action plans on the basis of targeted market research and ongoing analysis of changing customer demand.

Focus on sustainability and digitalisation

The GNTB promotes sustainable and forward-looking tourism in line with the objectives of the German government. The focus here is on sustainability and digitalisation.

Sustainability has been a core topic for more than a decade and we engage with it as a strategic issue across all areas of the organisation. Our organisation follows a three-pillar strategy that combines the sharing of knowledge with external partners and a supporting communications strategy with our internal sustainability initiative. The GNTB promotes responsible tourism, a key growth area, by showcasing Germany as a sustainable and inclusive destination in the international travel market. This is particularly important as the pandemic has accelerated the global shift in travellers’ values towards greater social and environmental responsibility.

The GNTB is a pioneer when it comes to using immersive technologies (virtual, augmented and mixed reality), voice assistants and other conversational interfaces, and artificial intelligence applications such as chatbots. To ensure that tourism offerings are visible on AI-based marketing platforms, the GNTB coordinates the German tourism industry’s open-data project, which aims to develop a tourism knowledge graph.

The GNTB has 25 foreign agencies that it manages from its head office in Frankfurt.

Further information can be found in our online press center at www.germany.travel/presse. To download press pictures, please register via: https://dam.germany.travel
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For further information, please contact:
Emma Patterson / Umme Qizra Aleem
germantourism@actionprgroup.com