SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai
German National Tourist Office (GNTO) had recently organised workshops in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Lufthansa and the spa town of Baden Baden are the recent entrants to Germany India Pool, which now has 18 members. “Germany is the second most visited destination for Indian travellers in Europe after the Great Britain. We have done over 5 lakh over nights in 2012 (January to November), so keeping December in mind we should be close to 6 lakh overnights. Germany is growing every year by about five to 10 per cent, and in 2013 we hope that we can double that actually. It is not only for trade fairs but people are looking at Germany for holidays. The Fairy Tale Route is getting popular in India. The Black Forest has always been popular and will continue to be,” said Romit Theophilus, director for marketing and sales office India, GNTO.
“Our investment in India in 2013 will be close to 500,000 euros. This is something unique. Our partners are also doing campaigns individually for example Berlin Tourism,” he mentioned. For MICE segments Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Stuttgart are all doing well in the India market. The Fairy Tale Route extends from Bavaria to South West Germany. It is one of the themes for this year along with youth travel. The theme of Germany Travel Mart this year will be cars, the Fairy Tale Route and youth travel.
Stefan Burkart represented the Drubba family or Drubba company which is known for its clocks but also offers accommodation and all Black Forest experiences. “We are about two and a half hour train ride from Frankfurt International Airport. What’s special about us as Black Forest Highllands is that we have the highest mountain in the area, there is Lake Titisee, it is the birthplace of the Cookoo clock and the cake as well.” The Blackforest Highland Guest Card offers great value to visitors.
Munich is known to be one of the best airports in Europe. Corinna Born, manager PR/ marketing communications, Business Division Aviation, Munich Airport said, “Munich is a convenient and easy airport. It has the most connections in Europe. The airport guarantees minimum connecting time of 30 minutes. There are two separately functionlly terminals on two floors. We have so much potential for the Indian market. Two-third of travellers coming to Munich are on business trips or on transit.”
