Germany Catapults International Overnight Target During ATM 2021 Participation
German National Tourism Board looks to elevate the country’s position as a cultural and sustainable destination during Arabian Travel Market 2021. The GCC is one of Germany’s top three overseas source markets.
Dubai, UAE, 5 May, 2021 The German National Tourist Board's (GNTB) is geared up to further focus on the GCC with its participation at this year's Arabian Travel Market, taking place 16-19 May at Dubai World Trade Centre, supported by a delegation of six German partners.
Germany registered 89.9 million overnight stays by international visitors, pre-pandemic, in 2019, and plans to accelerate this further by outlining plans and targeting GCC travellers across its best performing areas, Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg, and North Rhine-Westphalia with its capital Dsseldorf.
GNTB's participation at ATM will look to dually reinforce the country's recent efforts to provide a safe travel experience and further position Germany as a leading cultural and sustainable destination.
"The deep cultural and economic ties between Germany and the GCC have seen travellers from across the region explore the country's offering year after year, and while the recent pandemic has stalled travel plans, regional travellers' appetite to visit Germany's cultural sites, national parks and urban destinations remain unabated," said Yamina Sofo, Director of Sales and Marketing, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), the regional office of GNTB.
"ATM is an ideal platform to communicate and engage with our wider stakeholders in person, as well as strengthen crucial relationships with trade partners and media visiting the region's leading industry-specific exhibition."
The country's tourism body will lead a strong delegation of German representatives from Baden-Baden Tourism Board, the official representative for the city; visitBerlin, the official tourism and convention office for the capital of Germany; OutletCity Metzingen, the outlet shopping destination in southern Germany; Munich Airport VIP services; Munich Tourism Office; the official tourism office of the Bavarian capital, and Studiosus Incoming, the touristic service group based in Munich.
Ralf Ostendorf, visitBerlin's Director Market Management Media Relations, commented:"Our main aim at ATM 2021 is to build regional awareness of the German capital and secure updated market knowledge from B2B partners. We have direct links to Berlin through the GCC and were hoping to develop these even further as restrictions ease and travel increases."
Outletcity Metzingen's Sales and Tourism Manager, Angela Rieger added: "The GCC is in our top five global source markets and were looking forward to welcoming travellers back to enjoy our luxury brands in exclusive outlet shopping with up to 70 per cent discount and tax-free shopping. Prior to the pandemic, we received 4.2 million visitors from around 185 countries per year and were hopeful those numbers will return in-line with ease of restrictions through Frankfurt and Munich, which are our two closest international airports."
The hybrid approach taken at this year's ATM will see a live four-day event at Dubai World Trade Centre from 16-19 May, followed by virtual webinars and video meetings from the 24-26 May.
ATM 2021 will also see a strong focus on local culture at the Germany stand to celebrate the unique and diverse flair of its cities, and to highlight the authenticity of local culture in both rural and popular locations. Find us at stall EU2350.
Partnering with visitBerlin, GNTB will host an official press conference during ATM at 12-noon on 17 May at the Al Ain A B on the first floor of Concourse 1 to provide further updates.
-
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 Energy (BMWi) 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 Germanys 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 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 this crisis, the GNTB is using countercyclical marketing to maintain dialogue with customers, it is reflecting changing preferences in its communications, and it is showing empathy and providing inspiration.
Focus on digitalisation and sustainability.
The GNTB promotes forward-looking and sustainable tourism in line with the objectives of the German government. The focus here is on digitalisation and sustainability. 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 industrys open-data project, which aims to develop a tourism knowledge graph.
Sustainability has been a core overarching 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 COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global shift in travellers values towards greater social and environmental responsibility.
The GNTB has 27 foreign agencies that cover more than 40 markets around the world. Its head office in Frankfurt, Germany, is home to strategic departments such as Business Intelligence, Business Development and Brand Communications for Destination Germany.
Further information can be found in our online press center atwww.germany.travel/presse. To download press pictures, please register via:https://dam.germany.travel
Aashif Shaikh
Mumbai, India