German cities ready to welcome GCC visitors in 2021

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is participating at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this week raising awareness of what Germany and in particular Berlin, has to offer to GCC countries.

German cities ready to welcome GCC visitors in 2021.  Image:  Shamal Communications

The German capital Berlin is also looking forward to welcoming visitors from across the GCC to discover a reinvented city that has something new to discover on every corner, space for free spirits and a fascinating mix of heritage and innovation.

 

Despite a difficult 12-months, this year has realised many landmark projects in the city, such as the opening of the reconstructed city palace, the prestigious Humboldt Forum, and the reopening of Berlin’s leading art addresses, the Neue Nationalgalerie at the Kulturforum, underlining the intriguing nature of this ever-changing city.

 

The U5 metro line also has a new section connecting Berlin's many cultural attractions, and the new international Berlin airport (BER) is also now open, a positive signal for improved global connections at a difficult time for the tourism and congress industry.

 

Under the Berlin Health Excellence Initiative, launched by visitBerlin in early 2020, the city will also open its doors to medical tourists from the Middle East who visit Berlin in search of ‘Made in Berlin’ medical expertise and cutting-edge medical services that the city is renowned for.

 

With a recent YouGov survey revealing that nearly half of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia residents are planning to make an international trip in 2021, the GNTB is eager to increase the GCC’s share of the 89.9 million overnight stays by foreign visitors it welcomed in 2019.

 

Yamina Sofo, director sales & marketing, German National Tourist Office Gulf Countries (GNTO) said: “With the success of the national vaccination programmes in the GCC countries, particularly in the UAE where more than 11.5 million doses have been administered so far (over 70% of the UAE population have received vaccines and 40% are fully vaccinated), we remain optimistic that the pre-crisis level of incoming travel from the UAE to Germany can be regained by end of 2022.

 

“It gives us immense pleasure to be here, at ATM, to showcase our unique German culture to not only GCC travellers but outbound tourists across the Middle East. We hope to encourage demand for city and nature holidays coupled with sustainable tourism, which draws attention to the many different ways of discovering Destination Germany with its wide range of traditions and attractions,” Sofo added.

 

Germany is extremely popular with GCC visitors, it recorded 1.6 million overnight stays from the Gulf region in 2019 and has a goal of reaching 3.6 million overnight stays by 2030.