Tag Archives: GNTO

Germany emerges as one of the most favoured leisure destinations for Indian travellers again. From January-July 2018, the country received 547,402 visitor overnights making for a growth of 10.8 per cent from India compared to the same period last year. The Discover Germany roadshow – an annual event for the GNTO -flagged off in Delhi on September 25, was followed by Bengaluru on September 26, and will conclude in Mumbai on September 28. Owing to the growing interest from Indian operators, the roadshow saw the participation of two new German partners this, year namely Europamundo Vacations (Coach Tour Operator) and a&o Hotels and Hostels (A Hotel Chain). The roadshow also saw repeated participation from Maritim Hotels, Baden Baden, KD German Rhine Line, Lufthansa, Rail Europe, Vienna House, Saxony Tourism and Stuttgart & SouthWest Germany. Romit Theophilus, Director Sales and Marketing, GNTO, India, said, “Year on year, we have been noticing an increased interest from the Indian travel trade in Germany. This can be witnessed by the overwhelming participation received in our roadshows. Furthermore, we have witnessed a growth in the overall perception of Germany as a favoured leisure destination by the travellers. Additionally, the forecasted data from airline seat load factors and our overnight statistics prove that Germany is fast becoming one of the most sought after leisure destination for Indian travellers.”

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.

The German National Tourist Office (GNTO), India launched its online destination training programme in India on December 14, via an online webinar attended by over 450 operators. The step comes in the light of the increasing number of Indian visitors to Germany and a request from the travel fraternity for a training module on the destination. The online programme would provide Indian tour operators and travel agents with an in-depth knowledge required to market the destination persuasively to their clients. Romit Theophilus, Director Sales and Marketing, GNTO, India said, “Over the years, we have repeatedly received requests from our trade partners to start an online training programe, which could be referred to by them whilst planning itineraries and travel programmes for their clients; hence the launch of www.germanyspecialist.com. The program consists of four informative modules: Module 1 – Introduction to Germany, Module 2 – Discover the German Federal States/ Regions; Module 3 – Theme-based Travel and Module 4 – Special Scenic Routes. We expect this module to serve as a one-stop shop for all the operators’ queries on destination Germany.”

The Indian market for Germany is growing strongly at 12.6 per cent till February 2017. India is on track to reach one million overnights by 2020, revealed Romit Theophilus, Director-India, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), on the sidelines of the 43rd Germany Travel Mart (GTM) being held from May 7-9, 2017, in Nuremberg, Bavaria. Speaking at the opening ceremony of GTM 2017, Petra Hedorfer, CEO, German National Tourism Board, said, “A lot has happened all over the world not all of it good. We in Germany stand for openness and tolerance. We welcome people from all nations with great respect from the bottom of our heart.” Emphasising how tourism can build bridges between people and nation’s, she adds, “Let us do everything to ensure that we continue to bring together cultures, people, nation’s from all over the world, wherever it is in Germany.” The event is hosted by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in cooperation with Bavaria Tourism-the official marketing agency and the Nuremberg Convention and Tourist Office. The mart is a high-calibre forum at which German providers can meet key buyers from the international travel industry.

Germany recorded 748,737 Indian visitor overnights in 2016 corresponding to a growth of 8.1 per cent over 2015. Buoyed by this steady growth, the destination is expecting to see a 3-5 per cent growth in Indian visitor overnights in 2017, informed Romit Theophilus, Director-India, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), India. Sharing some details, Theophilus said, “The average spending per trip abroad by Indian travellers in Europe is approximately €1,852 while in Germany alone travellers spend approximately €2.375. Also, 53 per cent of Indian visitors preferred to stay in first class hotels. A whopping 48 per cent of Indian travellers are newcomers, 46 per cent are repeat visitors while 5 per cent are regulars to Germany.” The destination’s vision for 20130 is to attract 2 million visitor overnights from India. On the trade front, Theophilus informs that the destination is all set to roll out its online training module in 2017 aimed to educate and update the travel trade on the latest offerings in Germany. This will be coupled with regular online webinars for operators in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Continuing its destination promotions through theme based marketing, Germany is promoting ‘Palaces, Parks and Gardens’ in India while it will focus on ‘Luther 2017-500 years since the Reformation’, as its global marketing theme. In addition to this core theme GNTO will also be promoting its theme parks, smart luxury, barrier free travel and active holidays in Germany.

The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) has made a foray into the Indian market starting 2017 to tap the increasing Indian outbound travel segment. The tourism board recently participated in a travel show in Mumbai to jumpstart its three-year-strategic plan. GNTO’s target is to create increased destination awareness about lesser-known cities of great geophysical, historical and cultural importance and to position Greece in the top five list of European destinations, for Indian tourists. Elena Kountoura, Honourable Minister of Tourism of Greece, says, “With the entry of Greek Tourism in the Indian market we aim to associate with the travel trade industry and offer our audience a customized product. Our strategy aims to promote 365 days tourism in Greece and we are confident that we will see a positive boost in the number of Indian arrivals to Greece with our initiatives. India is a promising market for us and this year we plan to reach out to affluent Indians through a well planned marketing and advertising campaign. GNTO is looking at promoting Greece as an ideal destination for film tourism, destination weddings and celebrations, apart from the existing popular segments like honeymoons, MICE and FITS.” Dimitrios Tryfonopoulos, Secretary General, Greek National Tourism Organization, adds, “Establishing a GNTO Office in India is the ultimate aim. Until then we will associate with our Indian counterpart to bring out the dynamic perspectives of Greek Tourism in the market of India. We are in talks with representatives of large air carriers such as Emirates, Qatar, Etihad and Jet Airways to improve the connectivity to Athens from India.” Greek Tourism recorded a double digit growth in 2016 from India. It is currently represented in India by …