Steena Joy – Mumbai
Indian travellers were the longest stay visitors to SouthWest Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg in German), logging an average of 5.3 nights vis a vis the global average of 2.2 nights during the period January to May 2016, an increase of five per cent. During their stay the average tourism spend is EUR 175 on shopping and dining. Hector D’souza, director-India, SouthWest German Tourism informed, “During the period the region saw 13,400 travellers from India. Additionally, the Going Cuckoo online training programme of SouthWest Germany for travel agents now has certified 520 specialists in the India market. We are the only state in Germany to have an exclusive online travel agent training programme.”
Launched five years ago, the programme is named after the state’s most identifiable symbol, the cuckoo clock, and has five courses, combining essential facts and background information with interactive activities and insider knowledge about SouthWest Germany. Popularly known as the sunny side of Germany because it averages more than 1700 hours of sunshine each year, SouthWest Germany’s main cities include Stuttgart, Heidelberg and is home to the Black Forest, (a mountainous region after which the cake is named) popular in the India market.
D’souza informed that SouthWest Germany has developed winter packages targeting repeat visitors from the India market, especially the high networth individuals looking for mature and experiential tourism.
He added, “We are looking at promoting unusual ideas like sleeping in a wine barrel, room with a view from a tower in Konstanz, vacation in a rail carriage, the Teddy Bear hotel, etc.”