• Over 518,500 overnight stays made by GCC Nationals in 2021 an 82.3% increase over 2020
  • GCC highest inbound performing region in Asia, Australasia and South Africa
  • City breaks (59%), tours (34%) & nature holidays (30%) most popular with overseas tourists

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is providing inspiration for GCC tourists to visit Germany this year, by relaunching their highly successful German.Local.Culture. campaign, as well as launching its ‘Embrace German Nature’ campaign in the GCC, at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022.

The campaigns form a compelling tourism proposition that appeal to GCC travellers, with harmony between generations, traditions and different cultural influences. It reflects authentic, local experiences in urban destinations while shining a light on rural areas and their sustainable tourism.

“We want to inspire GCC travellers. Germany is a diverse destination and ideal for longer holidays for the culturally minded, for families and for those who enjoy outdoor pursuits and natural beauty,” said Yamina Sofo, Director of Sales & Marketing for the GCC, at the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), an affiliate of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).   

Germany is once again becoming an extremely popular destination for GCC Nationals. Pent up demand from GCC Nationals, resulted in 518,516 overnight stays in Germany during 2021, an 82.3% increase over 2020.  

In December 2021 alone, despite the outbreak of the Omicron variant, Germany recorded over 54,493 overnight stays from GCC Nationals, an increase of 335%, compared with the same period in 2020,

“These figures show that Germany is a preferred destination for GCC Nationals. Visitor numbers in 2021 rebounded significantly, which is even more impressive given COVID travel restrictions in Germany only eased end of June 2021. The GCC is now the highest inbound performing region within Asia, Australasia and South Africa,” added Sofo.

This has clearly been supported by the way in which the GCC countries have responded to the pandemic, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are currently ranked second and sixth respectively in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking on 31st March 2022, with a combined 846 vaccinated travel routes.

‘Cities & culture’ and ‘nature & outdoor activities – highlighting sustainability and accessibility form the bedrock of Germany’s tourism offering. According to research conducted by IPK International on behalf of the GNTB, city breaks (59 per cent), multi-destination tours (34 per cent) and holidays in nature (30 per cent) are the most popular types of holidays with travellers from around the world.

In addition, using four themed clusters - ‘Flair.’, ‘Craft.’, ‘Taste.’ and ‘Green.’, brings Germany’s amazing architecture and authentic ambience, its heritage of artisan manufacturers and local crafts, its traditional regional cuisine and its natural beauty, into focus.  

Participants on the Germany stand this year include Baden-Baden Tourism Board, Breuninger, Düsseldorf Tourism Board, Frankfurt Tourism Board, Hotel Palace Berlin and visitBerlin. Each region has its own unique attractions, whether spring, summer, autumn, or winter, emphasising that Germany is a unique all year-round travel destination.

Arabian Travel Market 2022, takes place from 9-12 May and the Germany stand is located in the Europe Hall EU1235

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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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Raising awareness of the Destination Germany brand and enhancing the brand profile

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 the impact of coronavirus.

During lockdown, the GNTB used countercyclical marketing to maintain dialogue with customers, reflect changing preferences in its communications, and show empathy and provide inspiration.

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 27 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:
NATHALIE VISELE
Director
Indigo Icon Tower, Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
E-mail: nathalie.visele@shamalcomms.com
Website: www.shamalcomms.com