GTM 2013 saw the participation of 350 German travel product suppliers who met with 620 overseas informed buyers and media over around 20,000 appointments to understand the latest products and services in Germany’s hotel, transport and incoming tourism sectors. The event was organised by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in association with the Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH and Regio Stuttgart Marketing- und Tourismus GmbH. The largest seller’s contingents were from north-east Europe, with 118 participants, and north-west Europe with 107. A total of 14 buyers and five media from India attended the event.
“GTM is Destination Germany’s most important B2B platform. It can look back on a long and successful history and is of major importance to the German incoming tourism sector. It is a high-caliber forum where German suppliers can come together with key account managers from all over the world to find the best ways of marketing Germany as a travel destination. The country’s positive image also plays a major part in the continued rise in inbound travel,” said Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer, GNTB.
This was the third time GTM was held in Stuttgart. “We are delighted to welcome the GTM again this year, having previously hosted it in 1988 and 2002,” said Armin Dellnitz, Managing Director of Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH and Regio Stuttgart Marketing- und Tourismus GmbH. “The greater Stuttgart area has seen dynamic growth in recent years, as delegates will be able to see for themselves during the GTM. It is a great advertisement for Stuttgart.”
Speaking at a press presentation at Stuttgart’s Porsche Headquarters, Hedorfer outlined the performance of Germany’s tourism industry in 2012 and roadmap for 2013. She informed that the inbound travel to Germany rose by 4.3 per cent in the first two months of this year, and is expected to grow in the range of 2-3 per cent in 2013. GNTB targets to achieve 80 million overnight stays from overseas by 2020. To achieve this, the Board is reorienting its promotional strategy towards competitively priced tourism product to maintain the momentum.
Reporting on a record year for Destination Germany, 2012 witnessed 68.8 mn overnight stays by foreign visitors (including Asia) registering the highest growth of 7 per cent in inbound. Hedorfer rolled out a series of key themes that would be used to drive growth and capture new markets. She suggested value for money as the reason for the growth in inbound footfall. According to her, the German hotel industry offers excellent value for money. While average cost of staying in a hotel in Europe is EUR 104, it stands at EUR 94 in Germany, she said.
Talking about the European market, she stated that Europe remains the biggest source and destination market in international tourism with 420 million outbound trips in 2012 (355 million of these trips were to destinations within Europe). Citing a survey by the WTM and IPK International, she added that, out of a total of 420 million trips made by Europeans in 2012, Germany received 45.8 million trips, reflecting a growth of 7.3 per cent. “Europe’s market share in inbound arrival is 75.6 per cent making Germany the second most popular destination for Europeans for the third year in a row coming behind Spain (49.3 million) but ahead of France (36 million). Significant increases were recorded in the volume of holidays (up 5.5 per cent) and business trips (up 9.4 per cent) made by Europeans in Germany,” she said, and informed that more than half of all Europeans who holiday in Germany are under 45 years old and people visiting Germany from central Europe and Scandinavia are generally older. “People travelling to Germany from southern Europe, south-east Europe and eastern Europe tend to be younger,” she revealed and added that business travel from Europe only accounts for 27 per cent and this market remains a major focus for GNTB. She further added that young travellers who are widely connected through social network is another target group.
In order to attract young travellers to Germany, GNTB has evolved a new marketing theme for 2013 – Germany for Young People – Hotspots, Brandnew, Lifestyle. “2012 saw a marked rise in holiday travel among 30 to 44-year-olds (up 17 per cent), an age group which now accounts for 33 per cent of the market. The source markets are mainly countries in southern Europe, south-east Europe and eastern Europe. The youngest group of visitors to Germany, whose average age is no more than 33 years, are from Turkey. This trend is the driving factor for the GNTB’s 2013 theme,” she said.
Replying to a question over India, she said that India, along with Brazil and China, is a very important source market. “We received over 580,000 overnight stays from India, reflecting an increase of more than 6.5 per cent. We expect the growth momentum from India to continue,” Hedorfer said. Romit Theophilus, Director – Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), informed that arrivals from India during the first six months of 2012 were quite encouraging when Germany achieved approximately 18-20 per cent growth over the corresponding period in 2011. However, it slowed down in the second half of the year resulting into a higher single-digit growth.
“We spend about EUR500,000 every year on marketing and promotions. We are also showing an increased interest towards Germany among Indian outbound travelers and hopeful of notching a good growth in next one to three years,” Theophilus said and looked confident of achieving the target of 1.5 million overnights by 2020. According to him, business travel contributes to 65 per cent in overall Indian arrivals to Germany. “Leisure and MICE contribute 25 and 10 per cent respectively,” he revealed.
To achieve their overall target of 80 million overnights by 2020, GNTB has announced theme years till 2019. While the theme for 2014 is UNESCO World Heritage Sustainable Cultural and Natural Tourism, 2015 will celebrate the 25 years of German unity. The year 2016 will focus on holidays in the heart of nature Germany’s national parks & nature parks. 2017 will highlight religious travel in Germany Sites of the Reformation. 2019 will celebrate 100 years of Bauhaus. Hedorfer informed that GNTB, in partnership with the German Commission for UNESCO and German UNESCO World Heritage Sites Association, will pursue intensive marketing activities in order to raise the international profile of Germany’s UNESCO World Heritage sites and to promote cultural tourism to Germany. The German Commission for UNESCO and the GNTB have developed a joint logo that will provide a common thread running through all communications relating to the 2014 theme, she said.
