Dubai: The number of overnight visitors from the Gulf region to Germany is anticipated to grow 15-17 per cent in 2016 compared to last year, according to an official from the German National Tourist Office (GNTO).
Overnight visitor numbers from the region reached two million in the first 11 months of 2015, up 17.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2014, Maria Amaral, director of the marketing and sales office at GNTO, said by phone on Monday. Spend by Gulf tourists is likely to remain the same in 2016 compared to the previous year, which was an average of 4,344 euros (Dh17,790) per person per trip, she said.
The UAE is the biggest source of tourists from the Gulf for Germany, accounting for 45 per cent of overnight visitors last year, followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
In a bid to woo more tourists from the region, Germany launched a new campaign on Monday — ‘Holidays in the heart of nature in Germany.’
The campaign focuses on promoting Germany’s countryside, which some tourists are not aware of.
Amaral said that tourism to Germany is still strong despite terror attacks in Paris and Istanbul in recent months.
“Germany is still a safe country,” she said.
There were around 29 million overnight visitors in total to Germany during the January-November 2015 period, up 3.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2014. The full year figure is not currently available, she said. Visitor numbers are expected to grow by 2-5 per cent in the current year.
