The city hall of Hamburg, Germany, a town known for its lakes, canals and museums
German Tourism, which is expecting two million Indian tourists by 2030, will launch a training and education programme for Indian travel agents in November this year to tap the tourism potential in India.
India is one of the first countries where German National Tourist Office (GNTO) is scheduled to launch the Germany Specialist programme for travel trade purposes. Romit Theophilus, director of marketing and sales, GNTO in India says that the programme will be a more generic “introduction to Germany” initially, with more in-depth modules to be rolled out in due course.
According to GNTO estimates, 1,000 travel agents are to be enlisted across the country through the online training programme over the next one year. Theophilus added that those who register and successfully complete the programme will get preference in various trade events and familiarisation (FAM) trips that the tourism board will be hosting.
Indians in Germany
According to the officials of the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), Germany has emerged as the number one tourist destination for Indians coming to Europe. “Last year, Germany witnessed around 0.75 million visitor overnights from India. This year we are hoping to attract around 0.8 million Indians,” stated Theophilus.
Talking about tourism scopes in Germany, he further added, “Many people do not know that Germany is already the most favoured tourist destination for Indians going to Europe. The rise of middle class in India has contributed a lot, as most Indian travellers are either from middle class or upper middle class. For 2020, our target is one million. However, we are now focusing for 2030 as we are looking to achieve the two million mark by then.”
Kushal Chakraborty, a final year Art student based in the eastern city of Kolkata, visited Germany this year and shared his experience. He said, “It is a well-organised country and it was fun exploring Germany. However, being a student of Art, my interests lied in the city of Berlin, which is like an art lovers’ paradise. Not to forget the visit to the Berlin Wall that still bears the stench of a turbulent history.”
According to Theophilus, Delhi and Mumbai followed by Gujarat are the largest tourism markets for Germany. Talking about the future campaigns, Theophilus said that German Tourism has decided to highlight the culinary side of Germany in 2018, with sub-themes like nature around the key theme of Culinary Germany.
Currently, there are 12 non-stop flights from India to Germany by Air India and Lufthansa German Airlines. There are flights from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai in India to Frankfurt and Munich in Germany.
