From 13 to 15 May 2012, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is hosting the 38th GTM Germany Travel Mart™ together with Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH and Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH. Other important GNTB partners are Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Deutsche Bahn AG. "The GTM is the biggest event of the year for Germany's inbound travel industry and is extremely important in terms of international marketing. This is where key accounts from all over the world can come together with German suppliers," explained Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB.

'Vibrant, fashionable, innovative'. The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) plans to use a new broad-based social media campaign to promote Germany as a travel destination around the world, particularly among young travellers. The campaign will be launched at the ITB 2013 in Berlin and will continue throughout 2013 and 2014. The planned campaign will support the theme for 2013: 'Germany for young people – vibrant, fashionable, innovative' which caters to a tourism segment offering vast economic potential. The target group is also huge, with current figures showing that about a third of all international visitors to Germany are under the age of 39. "Young people visiting from abroad today are Destination Germany's future holidaymakers and business travellers. They are becoming an ever more important target group, especially as domestic tourism will be increasingly affected by demographic change," said Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB.

A first for the GTM: for the entire duration of the 38th GTM Germany Travel Mart™, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is engaging in a range of social media activities. The content generated on the individual social media channels will paint a dynamic picture of events at the workshops and will be available online even after the GTM has finished. "This is part of our ongoing Web 2.0 strategy", says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB. "As well as offering an authentic picture of what's going on at the trade fair, the multimedia content is also consolidating the impact of this year's Germany Travel Mart™ and extending its reach."

A first for the GTM: for the entire duration of the 38th GTM Germany Travel Mart™, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is engaging in a range of social media activities. The content generated on the individual social media channels will paint a dynamic picture of events at the workshops and will be available online even after the GTM has finished. "This is part of our ongoing Web 2.0 strategy", says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB. "As well as offering an authentic picture of what's going on at the trade fair, the multimedia content is also consolidating the impact of this year's Germany Travel Mart™ and extending its reach."

La popularité de l’Allemagne a des échos partout dans le monde et les récentes statistiques fédérales le démontrent: les nuitées des visiteurs canadiens en Allemagne ont augmenté de près de 1 pour cent en janvier 2012, pour se chiffrer à 29,252. « C’est un départ positif de la nouvelle année, » a déclaré Bernd Haessler, directeur régional des Amériques par intérim pour l’Office National Allemand du Tourisme (ONAT). « L’offre touristique à multiples facettes de l’Allemagne ainsi que son emphase continue sur le rapport qualité/prix contribuent à cette tendance positive, a-t-il ajouté.

Le Château d’Heidelberg est le grand favori des visiteurs internationaux dans la Destination Allemagne. C’est ce qu’a dévoilé un sondage effectué afin de connaître les 100 attractions les plus appréciées en Allemagne. Le numéro deux sur la liste est le Château de Neuschwanstein et le numéro trois, la Cathédrale de Cologne, un site du Patrimoine Mondial de l’UNESCO. Les 100 attractions touristiques les plus populaires en Allemagne ont été identifiées lors d’un récent sondage mené par le Bureau National Allemand du Tourisme (BNAT).

Echoing Germany’s success from around the world, the overnights by Canadian visitors to Germany increased by nearly 1 percent in January 2012 for a total of 29,252 according to the latest federal statistics. "It is a bright and positive start in the new year," said Bernd Haessler, Acting Regional Manager of the Americas for the German National Tourist Office (GNTO).

Heidelberg Castle is the favourite among international visitors to Destination Germany. This was the finding of a survey undertaken to find out Germany’s top 100 attractions. Number two on the list is Neuschwanstein Castle, followed at number three by Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Germany’s top 100 tourist attractions were identified in a recent survey carried out by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in which it sought the opinions of people who have visited the country. Places of interest in eight different federal states can be found in the top ten. Overall, survey respondents selected a wide range of cultural and natural attractions throughout Germany. The UNESCO World Heritage sites are particularly popular, with 22 of the country’s 36 sites featuring on the list.

En 2010, les voyages d’affaires en Allemagne ont généré près de 66 milliards d’euros en revenus. De ce montant, 14,7 milliards d’euros ont été générés par les voyageurs d’affaires de l’international, soit plus de 22 pour cent. Selon l’Institut Allemand pour la Recherche Économique (le DIW), les foires commerciales, les congrès, les conférences et les autres événements professionnels en Allemagne représentent la moitié de tous les voyages d’affaires internationaux.

In 2010, travelling on business in Germany generated close to € 66 billion of revenue, including international business travel, which contributed € 14.7 billion to the overall total, more than 22 per cent. According to the German Institute of Economic Research (DIW), trade fairs, conventions, conferences and other professional events in Germany account for half of all international business trips.

L’Allemagne Créative est le slogan adopté pour mettre en relief le côté nouveau, jeune et créatif de l’Allemagne en tant que destination voyage. « L’Allemagne est traditionnellement connue en tant que pays des poètes et philosophes, souligne Petra Hedorfer, directrice générale du Bureau National Allemand du Tourisme (BNAT). Mais même aujourd’hui, les gens de notre pays instituent encore chaque jour des tendances, lesquelles voient le jour grâce à des idées novatrices qui poussent les frontières de l’art. » Le célèbre label 'Conçu en Allemagne' a évolué jusqu’à devenir la marque “Créé en Allemagne”. De facto, les ambassadeurs de cette marque sont notamment des peintres contemporains populaires tels que Neo Rauch, Bernhard Heisig, Werner Tübke et Wolfgang Mattheurer, tous des personnages illustres de l’École de Leipzig qui se sont battis un nom à travers le monde.

Creative Germany is the slogan for a new, young and creative side to Germany as a travel destination. "Germany is traditionally known as the country of poets and philosophers", says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). But even now, people in our country are still setting trends every day, coming up with innovative ideas and pushing the boundaries of art. The famous 'Made in Germany' label has evolved into a 'Created in Germany' brand. De facto brand ambassadors include popular contemporary painters such as Neo Rauch, Bernhard Heisig, Werner Tübke and Wolfgang Mattheurer, all exponents of the Leipzig School who have made a name for themselves around the world. Germany has also become a magnet for international architects, designers and creators of fashion, and it's pulling in the visitors too.

Spiritual travel is playing an important role in the marketing undertaken by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). The 500th anniversary of the Reformation marked by the Luther decade (2007 to 2017) is a key milestone in the promotion of this segment. The GNTB is using a wide range of marketing campaigns in defined key markets to promote the theme while working closely with Geschäftsstelle Luther 2017, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), regional tourism organisations and the main towns and cities in Germany with historical links to Luther. Their joint activities focus on the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, Italy, the Netherlands and South Korea where there is a strong bias towards Protestantism and Lutheranism.

Les célébrations entourant la fête de Pâques sont parmi les plus anciennes et uniques et les plus traditionnelles en Allemagne. Une myriade de traditions régionales différentes, des marchés de Pâques et des célébrations spéciales voient le jour plusieurs semaines avant la fin de semaine de quatre jours de Pâques, cette année du 5 au 9 avril 2012. Plusieurs traditions pascales nord-américaines - dont la décoration d'oeufs, les arbres de Pâques, le jeu d'oeufs de Pâques et bien entendu le lapin en chocolat de Pâques - ont été amenées en Amérique du Nord par les immigrants allemands.

The Easter celebrations are among the oldest, most traditional and unique celebrations in Germany. A myriad of differing regional traditions, Easter markets and special celebrations start weeks before the four day Easter weekend from April 5 to April 9, 2012. Many of the North American Easter traditions, including egg decorating, Easter trees and Easter egg game and of course the chocolate Easter bunny were brought to North America by German immigrants.

The German National Tourist Board has been encouraging students from 126 universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland to take part in a competition they ran on Facebook from 2 November to 16 December. Flyers and posters have been used to draw attention to the campaign, together with a series of online measures including banners on websites for student unions and other student services, advertisements on Facebook and posts on relevant student society and association websites. As a result, up to 2.4 million UK and Irish students have been reached. The prize on offer was an eight-day trip to Germany with a friend. The lucky pair will post live daily reports of their experiences in Germany, upload photos and share information on their latest travel discoveries.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has a new representative office in Australia. Following a thorough appraisal of the bids received, the decision was taken to award the contract to GATE 7 in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. "Australia is an important market for Germany's incoming tourism industry", explained Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB.

Germany is more popular than ever as a travel destination and achieved impressive figures last year despite the tough global economic situation. "In 2011, Destination Germany beat the record set in the previous year by notching up 63.8 million overnight stays by foreign visitors. What's more, there were 330.3 million overnight stays by Germans in Germany, making it the most popular destination for the domestic market.

International visitors spend almost €15 billion per year on business travel in Germany according to a recent study funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and published jointly by the BMWi and the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW).

Business travel is a key economic factor for tourism in Germany and accounts for about 30 per cent of all travel from abroad. Visits to trade fairs, meetings, incentives, conferences and events make up around half of all business trips to Germany.

Wine and food will be a key focus for the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in 2012. The GNTB and the German Wine Institute (DWI) have teamed up with strategic partners Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH, Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg (TMBW) and Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH as well as other regional partners to promote the theme 'Discover the taste of Germany' around the world.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is opening a new sales and marketing agency in Belgrade this month, from where it will provide coverage for the markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. This move is in response to the increasing volume of travel from the Balkans to Germany.

This year, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) will focus on three major cultural events in its global press and PR activities: 800 years of Thomana, dOCUMENTA (13) and the 300th anniversary of Frederick the Great's birth. These highlights will enable Germany to once again showcase itself as a land of art and culture.

Next year, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) will be training the spotlight on youth travel in its global sales and marketing activities. The 'Germany for young people – vibrant, fashionable, innovative' theme caters to a tourism segment offering vast economic potential. The target group is also huge, with current figures showing that about a third of all international visitors to Germany are under the age of 34.

The partnership concept of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has been strengthened by two new additions. The GNTB's Board of Directors voted unanimously to add visitBerlin (Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH) and IHB Travel GmbH as partners. "I am delighted that, in visitBerlin and IHB Travel, we now have two further strong advocates of tourism in Germany at our side", said Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB. "Our proven public-private partnership concept is a perfect combination of expertise and resources, ensuring continual innovation in the marketing of Destination Germany."

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced that the new multilingual website promoting Destination Germany has won one of its Gold Awards in 2012. This is in recognition of the high standards found throughout the interactive site, which is available in 26 languages — including Chinese, Japanese and Korean. "The completely new navigation system and architecture mean the website can be accessed from all the latest mobile end devices", says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

Germany is becoming increasingly important as a destination for Chinese travellers. "In 2011, we recorded more than 1.3 million overnight stays by Chinese visitors. This represents a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent and surpasses the record figures we achieved in 2010. According to the Federal Foreign Office, we are the third biggest issuer of foreign visas in China", says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).