Germany's tourist industry is doing wellaccording to the German tourist office - ONAT or DZT (Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus). This is the message conveyed by its management in France. Last year, the country recorded 28.5 million international arrivals. This represents a jump of 143.5% compared with 2021. This is still a long way from 39.6 million international travellers in 2019 but Germany should come close this year.
And contrary to popular belief, Germany is Europe's second most-visited destinationbehind Spain and ahead of France.
The French market is no stranger to the charms of Germany. France is Germany's 7th largest emitting market. The country is in fact the third most important international destination for the French market, which generated 3.07 million overnight stays. " French overnight stays expected to return to 2019 levels this year" said Bénédicte Richer, ONAT's Director for France.
The profile of the French traveller in Germany is a person aged 45 on average, who books online at 64%, and generates 6.5 overnight stays, mainly in hotels (51%). The car remains the preferred means of transport (61%), followed by the plane (23%) and the train (11%). According to Bénédicte Richer, Germany is still mainly a leisure destination (72%), followed by the United Kingdom (72%). 17% through business travel. " There has been a decline compared with the pre-Covid period. At that time, business travel accounted for 20% of French people's reasons for visiting France." says Bénédicte Richer.
UNESCO as an incentive for MICE
Destinations, the top 3 most popular regions are Baden-Württemberg (29%), Bavaria (17%) and Berlin (17%). The 2023 marketing campaign could, however, influence French travellers and encourage MICE trips in particular.
That's right, the 2023 theme is devoted to UNESCO World Heritage sites. Germany has 51 sites - two more than France! - and it intends to promote them more widely.
" The idea of promoting UNESCO sites is part of a general drive to promote sustainable tourism in which culture and heritage are essential elements." explains Marion Artarit, Director of Media and Public Relations. Promoting our heritage is all the more important because Germany is the number one cultural destination for Europeans, according to ONAT. Culture represents 12% of travel motivations.
For organisers of MICEUNESCO's promotion of the world's most famous cities means you can discover many more than just the classics. These cities offer both high-quality hotels and conference facilities, as well as excellent connectivity - particularly by air and rail.
UNESCO World Heritage sites include Aachen, Cologne and the old blast furnace near Essen (all three destinations are linked to Paris by Thalys), Hamburg's old warehouse district, the Harz region with the medieval cities of Goslar and Quedlinburg (60/90 minutes from Hanover) and Potsdam near Berlin and Bamberg near Nuremberg. All destinations that could appeal to French MICE organisers. A dedicated website has been launched to showcase this heritage.
Greater accessibility from France
Germany's accessibility is constantly improving. The airline offer has expanded from the regions: Lufthansa has launched flights from Nantes and Rennes, Volotea launches in May from Bordeaux to Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart, and from Lyon to Berlin and Hamburg.
As for rail, the SNCF/DB duo will be launching a direct TGV link between Paris and Berlin. Although the journey time between the two cities will remain more or less the same as at present (8 hours), the advantage will be that there will be no load breaks along the way...
