The Gulf ranks among the top 20 source markets for Germany, with a total of 626,187 overnight stays made by tourists from this region between January and August 2008. The figure represents an increase of 10.8 per cent in overnight stays by GCC visitors compared to the same period last year.
There were more than 250 million overnight stays in Germany for the period of January to August this year according to Antje Roeding, director marketing and sales Gulf countries, German National Tourist Office (GNTO). Of this total, nearly 40 million were from foreign countries. Compared to the same period in 2007, the increase was 2.7 per cent.
Germany’s number one source market is Saudi Arabia, being the biggest market in the GCC, followed in tandem by the UAE and Kuwait.
“Tourism is an important pillar of the German economy and in recent years, the German National Tourist Board has been consistently engaged in efforts to develop further the new and emerging tourism source markets, notably the GCC states,” said Roeding.
“Germany has witnessed extremely good growth in its tourism sector resulting from GCC nationals. They are an important revenue stream for Germany’s tourism industry, both in terms of numbers and the length of trips; for instance, GCC tourists stay for an average of 22 nights and spend approximately Euros 2,669.00 on each trip. This is higher than the overall average spend of visitors.”
She believed it was still too early to assess the possible effect that the global financial crisis may have on the tourism industry, saying it remains to be seen how the figures for the main holiday periods will develop, especially the summer season in 2009.
The travel trend from the region has shifted from mostly business travel to an increase in leisure trips with visitors also diversifying their choice of destinations within Germany.
The tourist board is promoting Germany as a luxury destination offering top hotels and resorts, nature and spa tourism and a prime luxury shopping destination. Its marketing strategy is currently to target families and young travellers.
 “2009 promises to be a very special year for Germany; firstly there are a number of interesting events planned to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall,” said Roeding.
Guided tours will be taking place in cities from Berlin to Leipzig. Another important theme in 2009 will be activity and adventure holidays.
GCC travel agents are offered a number of familiarisation trips to Germany each year, as well as regular training and workshop sessions to improve their knowledge of Germany.