Germany revels in 8.1% growth

Germany recorded 748,737 Indian visitor overnights in 2016 over 2015. The destination is targeting 3-5 per cent growth in 2017, and is focusing on promoting its ‘Palaces, Parks and Gardens’ this year.

ANKITA SAXENA

Buoyed by the steady growth, the destination is expecting to see a 3-5 per cent growth in Indian visitor overnights in 2017, informs Romit Theophilus, DirectorIndia, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), India. The destination’s vision for 2030 is to attract two million visitor overnights from India. Germany witnessed 80.7 million overnight stays by international visitors in 2016 which was an increase of 1.4 per cent over 2015 while the Indian overnight stays amounted to 748,737 travellers, registering 8.1 per cent growth over 2015. Elucidating the trends amongst Indians visiting Germany,

Theophilus says, “The average spending per trip abroad by Indian travellers in Europe is approximately €1,852 while in Germany alone, travellers spend approximately €2,375. Also, 53 per cent of Indian visitors preferred to stay in first class hotels. A whopping 48 per cent of Indian travellers are newcomers, 46 per cent are repeat visitors while 5 per cent are regulars to Germany.” Affordability was a contributing factor for the increasing popularity of Germany as it is a cost-effective destination as compared to the rest of Western European destinations.

Theophilus informs that the net room prices for Europe (average of 58 towns and cities) in 2015 was €119.1 which was an increase of 3.3 per cent over 2014 while net room prices in Germany (average of 11 towns and cities) in 2015 was recorded at €102.8, corresponding to an increase of 1.0 per cent over 2014. On the trade front, he says that the destination is all set to roll out its online training module in 2017 aimed to educate and update the travel trade to become German Specialists. This will be coupled with regular online webinars for operators in TierII and Tier-III cities. Germany will also focus on social media promotions through its GNTO India Facebook Page.

Continuing its destination promotions through theme based marketing, Germany is promoting ‘Palaces, Parks and Gardens’ in India while it will focus on ‘Luther 2017-500 years since the Reformation’, as its global marketing theme. In addition to this core theme GNTO will also be promoting its theme parks, smart luxury, barrier free travel and active holidays in Germany. Germany is also eying Bollywood projects at the destination and is beginning to target the honeymoon market from India apart from its core focus on leisure and incentive travel from India, Theophilus adds.