GNTO focuses on culinary experiences in 2018

The German National Tourist Office (GNTO) introduced the ‘Culinary Germany’ theme in India, to use it as their focus for marketing campaigns this year. The country witnessed 8,52,224 visitor overnights in 2017 making for a 13.8 per cent growth over 2016. Owing to this steady growth, GNTO, India forecasts a 5-8 per cent growth in visitor overnights for the year 2018.
Romit Theophilus, Director, GNTO, India said, “Food forms an integral part of any traveller’s itinerary. Experiencing the local flavours helps enhance the flavour of any holiday and makes for everlasting impressions. With over 5,000 beers from 1,300 breweries, 300 types of bread, 1,500 types of sausage, 13 wine regions, 292 Michelin-starred restaurants and 3,000 to 5,000 Christmas markets, Germany is sure to satiate any traveller’s appetite.”
According to the Quality Monitor survey of the German tourism industry, 4% of international holidaymakers come to Germany specifically for the variety and quality of its food and drink. The sector, therefore, contributes at least 3.2 million overnight stays to Germany’s inbound tourism.
‘Travelling food-lovers’ are generally quite young, well-educated family people with children; they are often city dwellers and are very active on social media. GNTO, India now boasts over 1 million followers on its Facebook platform.