SAYONI BHADURI – Leipzig
German national railway service Deutsche Bahn (DB Bahn) plans to aggressively pursue the India market and has joined German National Tourist Office’s (GNTO) India Pool. Irina Ens, area manager non European markets, International Sales, DB Bahn said, “We are looking at developing the Indian market, there is definitely room for more.” Currently, DB Bahn is working with Swiss Tours who are DB Bahn’s representatives and sellers in India. Ens added that the biggest challenge in India is that currently not many people are aware of train travel as an option of travelling within the Germany and even Europe.
Elaborating further on their plans for India, Ens said, “For 2012, we are going to be a part of GNTO’s India Pool. This is the first time we have participated and we will be coming to India in October to conduct a workshop and sales call.” Apart from this they will also be intensifying their marketing initiatives within the country.
DB Bahn is also setting up a B2B website with an online tool which will allow travel agents and tour operators to book tickets directly rather than approach local sellers. “We expect this website to be active by July this year,” she said.
