Increased customer dialogue in lockdown

During the initial phase, the focus was on adapting operational measures and information, but in the second phase we are concentrating on stepping up the dialogue with our customers and on our virtual #DiscoverGermanyFromHome campaign. In the virtual world, we are maintaining interest in Destination Germany among end customers around the globe and the international travel industry through a clear, confident and informative communications strategy.

We assume that the travel restrictions currently in place will gradually be relaxed over the course of the second half of the year, despite the ongoing uncertainty. In addition to the main summer season, we have traditionally always had a strong third and fourth quarter in terms of travel to Germany. We plan to create product incentives targeted at specific markets and groups and adjust our brand communication for Destination Germany with a memorable call to action that is based on our extensive market research.

The working title is #SeeYouSoonBackInGermany.

What opportunities and challenges do we anticipate once the coronavirus crisis is over?

Once the restrictions on leaving the home and on travelling have been lifted, I expect that initially we will mainly see independent travellers from Europe coming to Germany. In the past, around 70 percent of our visitors arrived from Europe, mostly from neighbouring countries. More than half of them were repeat or regular visitors, that is to say real Germany enthusiasts, and over half travelled to Germany by car. In other words, Germany would once again be an accessible destination by rail and road for the majority of prospective visitors from Europe, even though airline capacities may remain limited this year. Our overseas markets are unlikely to pick up much before 2021 or even 2022.

In mid-May, we will conduct an extensive customer survey as part of IPK International’s World Travel Monitor to identify possible changes in our source markets caused by the coronavirus crisis. Two further surveys will be conducted over the course of the year.

Together with international tour operators, online travel companies and transport operators, we are monitoring whether and how customer behaviour is changing. As always, the UNWTO, WTTC, ETC and other international organisations are key sources of information.

We are also continually analysing the post-coronavirus scenarios offered by various international experts and market players. A briefing by McKinsey looking at the overall economic impact of COVID-19 considers air transport and the travel industry to be the world’s most severely impacted industries. Changes to consumer behaviour, regulatory mechanisms and value chains are expected to lead to a ‘new normal’.

The Swiss start-up Viselio has presented a white paper according to which borders will be reopened only slowly and gradually, health checks will become a routine part of immigration procedures in future, and air travel will become more expensive and complicated overall. Initially, the focus will be on domestic tourism and overland transport; air travel is not expected to play a significant role again until 2021.

What particularly interests me and the GNTB team are the challenges in the leisure and business segments. Although those familiar with the executive traveller community expect a faster recovery in the business travel market, 2019 levels are unlikely to be reached again until 2023.

As Germany is by far the leading business travel destination in Europe, I expect us to be facing significant challenges in this segment. Business trips account for 22 per cent of all inbound tourism to Germany. The market for traditional business travel, which had already been deteriorating in recent years, remains under pressure, while Skype calls and virtual meetings and conferences have become the norm under the lockdown. The segment of promotable business trips, which had been growing steadily, will stay very fragile in the medium term, not least due to the numbers of participants – usually over 100 – that attend large conventions and conferences. The threat of recession remains a further cause for concern and is likely to continue to weigh on the market.

There is also another pre-coronavirus success story that has become a challenge. We are the number one cultural travel and city break destination for Europeans, but the majority of cultural offerings in the cities – theatres, museums, festivals, high-end restaurants – will be affected by the lockdown for a long time to come. Together with our partners in the metropolitan regions, we will have to work on designing new forms of city breaks, developing appropriate products and thus positioning Destination Germany in a distinctive way.

But let us now look towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

I can assure you that customers are still very much interested in Germany, and the ‘Destination Germany – Simply Inspiring’ brand remains strong. This is reflected in our social media, where fans, followers and friends are telling us that they still want to travel to Germany.

The government and the federal states have been discussing the first potential steps to ease the lockdown, which gives us reason to be hopeful.

According to an international benchmarking survey of 40 industrialised and developing countries, conducted by the London-based Deep Knowledge Group (DKG), no country in Europe is doing better than Germany in managing the coronavirus crisis, while worldwide only Israel is rated higher. This is sure to boost Destination Germany’s image and is a strong argument for our recovery programmes.

With this in mind, we will continue with our mission to attract people to Germany.

Stay safe and stay in touch. I hope that together we can continue to welcome international guests to Germany in the future.

Petra Hedorfer