The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. is delighted to announce the relaunch of its website www.germany-meetings.com. One of the major improvements is a greatly expanded range of available languages. Information will now be presented in Chinese, Italian, French, Spanish and Dutch in addition to the standard German and English. Planners from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, Poland, Portugal, Brazil and Japan will soon also be able to find information in their own languages. When the redesign has been completed, the advantages and attractions of Germany as a destination for meetings and congresses will be presented online to the world in the languages of its twelve most important primary and future markets.

Germany's image as a destination for conferences and events is going from strength to strength. This is the firm belief of 91 per cent of service providers and 92 per cent of event organisers. 'Green meetings' are now an established business segment in Germany with excellent prospects for future growth. 44 per cent of event planners and 51 per cent of service providers believe that the importance of green meetings will continue to grow.

Spendings by international visitors to Germany on business travel including an overnight stay have reached €13.5 billion per year. Combined with the €14.6 billion spent by domestic business travellers, business-related travel now accounts for 24 per cent of total spending in the travel sector for trips including an overnight stay – 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). Germany has become the most popular destination for business trips among European travellers. "The particular importance of international business travel for destination Germany is illustrated by the fact that 48 per cent of the total revenue in this segment is generated by travellers from abroad", explained Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

2012년 5월 13일부터 15일까지 독일 관광청(GNTO)이 라이프치히 관광마케팅 및 작센지방 관광마케팅협회와 함께 제38회 독일 관광박람회(GTM)를 개최합니다. 또한, 이번 박람회에서는 루프트한자와 독일철도공사가 주요 파트너로서 함께 합니다. “독일 관광박람회(GTM)는 독일로 여행 관광객을 유치하기 위한 최대 규모의 워크숍으로서 국제적으로 큰 의미가 있습니다. 이곳에 세계 각지의 주요 바이어들이 모이게 됩니다.”라고 독일 관광청장인 Petra Hedorfer는 강조합니다. 특히 관광분야의 중소업체에게 이 박람회는 국제 여행업계와 접촉하고 최신 서비스와 프로그램 등을 주고받을 수 있는 유일한 기회입니다. 올해 이 행사는 처음으로 ‘그린 이벤트’라는 모토 아래 개최됩니다. 이와 더불어 독일 관광청(GNTO)은 모든 부문에서 소셜 미디어 활동을 더불어 진행할 것입니다. 이 계획의 일환으로 독일 관광청(GNTO)은 올해 독일 관광박람회(GTM)에서 처음으로 트위터 계정 @gtm2012을 통해 스토리파이(Storify)에서 관광박람회에 관한 정보를 제공합니다. 또한, 독일 관광청(GNTO) 웹사이트 www.germany.travel/gtmlive에서는 독일 관광박람회(GTM) 기자 간담회가 실시간으로 중계되며, 이 역시 처음으로 시행되는 것입니다.

„핫 스팟, 브랜드 뉴, 라이프 스타일‟. 광범위한 소셜 미디어 캠페인을 통해 독일 관광청(GNTO)은 전 세계 소셜 네트워크에 독일을 매력적인 여행국, 특히 청소년들이 여행하고 싶은 나라로 알리고자 합니다. 이 캠페인은 2013년 베를린에서 열리는 „독일 국제관광박람회(ITB)‟에 맞춰 시작될 예정이며, 2013년뿐만 아니라 2014년까지 이어져 진행될 것입니다. 해당 캠페인은 2013년 올해의 테마 “독일로의 청소년 여행 – 핫 스팟, 브랜드 뉴, 라이프 스타일”을 바탕으로 계획되었습니다. 이를 통해 독일 관광청(GNTO)은 관광 분야의 놀라운 경제적 잠재력을 평가할 뿐만 아니라 상당수의 청소년 여행자들을 유치할 수 있을 것입니다. 현재 해외에서 온 독일 여행자 중 약 3분의 1이 39세 미만의 젊은 층입니다. “현재 해외에서 온 젊은 여행자들은 미래에 비즈니스 업무 또는 휴가를 보내기 위해 독일을 방문하게 될 것입니다. 또한, 국내 관광은 무엇보다 인구학적 변화의 영향을 많이 받기 때문에, 젊은 층은 점점 더 그 중요성이 커지고 있습니다.”라고 독일 관광청장인 Petra Hedorfer는 이야기합니다.

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.

2012 독일 여행 박람회(German Travel Mart™, 이하 GTM2012)가 5월 13일부터 15일까지 독일 라이프치히에서 개최된다.

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."

‘여행하기 좋은 나라’ 독일을 방문하는 한국인이 늘어나고 있다. 독일관광청 공식 통계에 의하면, 2012년 1월에 한국인의 독일 숙박일수가 전년 동기 대비 27% 증가하였다. 이에 독일관광청은 2007년부터 2017년까지 10년을 ‘루터 10년’으로 선정, 개신교와 루터교 신자가 있는 특정 마켓에 집중적으로 홍보하는데, 홍보 대상 마켓에는 한국도 포함되어 있어, 한국인의 독일방문이 더욱 증가할 것으로 기대되고 있다.

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.

2017년 마틴 루터 종교개혁 500주년을 앞두고 독일관광청은 2007년부터 2017년까지, 10년 간을 ‘루터 10년(Lutherdecade)’으로 선정하고, 루터 마케팅과 프로모션에 전력할 방침이다. 특히 성지순레는 독일관광청의 중요한 마케팅 요소 중 하나로, 프로모션 전략의 핵심 부분이다. 독일관광청은 루터2017 사업부, 독일 기독협회(EKD)와 작센-안할트주, 튀링겐주와 주요 루터도시들 관광 사무소과의 긴밀한 협력 하에 본 테마와 관련된 다양한 마케팅사업을 특정 중요마켓을 대상으로 펼칠 예정이다. 집중적으로 홍보될 지역은 개신교와 루터교 신자가 있는 국가로, 한국을 비롯하여, 미국, 캐나다, 스칸디나비아반도, 이탈리아, 네덜란드 등이다.

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.

독일 최대 규모의 지방 박람회인 ‘독일 소비재 박람회(Maimarkt Mannheim)‘가 4월 28일부터 5월 8일까지 만하임(Mannheim)에서 열린다. 매녂 개최되는 만하임 박람회에는 34만여 명의 방문자가 11일 동안 다녀가며, 75,000㎡ 규모로 독일 최대 크기를 자랑하는 지방 박람회에 1,400여 업체가 참석하여 전시를 한다. 또한 전시를 위해 9,000여 명이 만하임으로 모인다.

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.

독일관광청 공식 웹 사이트가 아시아 태평양 관광 협회(PATA) 골드 어워드 2012 (Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Awards 2012) 마케팅-연합 파트너 (Marketing - Allied Partner, AP) 부문을 수상했다. 이번 수상은 지난해 4월, 재단장하여 오픈한 독일관광청 웹사이트가 한국어, 일본어와 중국어를 포함하여 전세계 26개 언어로 접근할 수 있는 것을 높이 인정받은 것으로, 180여 경쟁자를 뿌리치고 영예의 자리에 올랐다.

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).

독일관광청은 대한항공과 함께 A380 프랑크푸르트 운항을 기념하는 이벤트 “하늘 위의 특급호텔, A380 으로 경험하는 새로운 프랑크푸르트“를 공동으로 진행한다. 이벤트는 대한항공 홈페이지에서 항공권 구매와 퀴즈참여 이벤트로 진행되며, 기간은 오는 3 월 30 일까지이다.