For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

Lufthansa makes dedicated staff look bad: The eTN Hero is Patricia Dzai of Swissport Johannesburg

by

Lufthansa

“My personal hero today is Ms. Patricia Dzai. Patricia works for Swissport in Johannesburg, South Africa,” said eTN Publisher Juergen Steinmetz. Swissport is one of the largest aviation ground-handling agencies operating in countries around the world.

Major airlines hire Swissport to manage customer relations and logistics when it comes to baggage handling, including lost or misplaced items.

Lufthansa German Airlines’ ground handler in Johannesburg is Swissport. I recently traveled from Nice to Cape Town via Frankfurt and Johannesburg on Lufthansa German Airlines. I am a United Airlines Star Alliance Gold member and traveled on Lufthansa in Business class. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance.

When I arrived in Johannesburg, I heard my name called by Lufthansa’s lost baggage office handled by Swissport.

I was told my tube was still in Frankfurt, and they would put it on the next flight to Johannesburg. I explained it was of utmost importance to have the tube for an important trade show event, the World Travel Market in Cape Town, in the morning.

Patricia Dzai, the Swissport agent in Johannesburg, wanted to make sure this would be possible and sent an urgent message to Lufthansa in Frankfurt. The message said:

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased to know my tube would go on LH 576 directly to Cape Town almost in time for the start of World Travel Market.

I went on to fly to Cape Town and received a text message in the evening saying my tube would be on the Lufthansa flight to Johannesburg, which was different from what Patricia had requested. Since it was late and the Swissport office in Johannesburg was closed, I was able to find a non-published phone number for Lufthansa baggage service in Frankfurt. Lufthansa, like most airlines, is hiding phone numbers to encourage passengers to communicate only by email.

I was told by Lufthansa Baggage Service in Frankfurt no such message to forward my tube to Cape Town was ever received by Swissport Johannesburg. The agent went on to say that passengers are often not told the truth by Swissport agents.

The Lufthansa agent in Frankfurt explained that his job was not to help me, since this was only handled in Johannesburg. I argued my tube is in Frankfurt and not Johannesburg, and the handling agent for Swissport in Johannesburg was closed.

The agent then said he was now doing a one-time exception for me and would reroute my tube on LH576 directly to Cape Town. He said there were 5 hours to get this done, still plenty of time according to him.

The next day I received another message telling me again the tube was on its way to Johannesburg instead of Cape Town.

I called Swissport in Johannesburg, and the news not could have been worse. They told me, apologizing, that my tube was still in Frankfurt for a second day, and they did not know why.

I again called the baggage-handling office in Frankfurt and was again told it’s all Swissport’s mistake for not telling them where to send it.

This time I was angry and called Swissport Johannesburg again. I asked Patricia why she was lying about this. I told her she never sent this request to Frankfurt, according to Lufthansa.

Ten minutes later, I received an email with a time-stamped screenshot from Patricia Dzai showing me exactly what was requested by her in the first place.

Patricia actually had gone out of her way originally to make sure I would be united with my tube on time and in Cape Town. I felt bad thinking she didn’t care and didn’t do anything, when in fact she did.

It shows that big companies like Lufthansa have a serious customer service issue. They hide behind a huge system and are trained to say it’s not their job and simply blame others for company shortcomings.

There was no way I could talk to anyone at Lufthansa about this, and my urgent email to them on the day I was trying to get the tube re-routed was just responded to 2 weeks after I was already back home in Hawaii. Lufthansa offered a 200 euro compensation.

No explanation was given and no apology for accusing Patricia Dzai and Swissport for not doing their job.

I finally received my tube on the last day after the trade show and took it back to the US unopened. When I changed planes in Frankfurt, I asked the agent working in the Senator Lounge to speak to a supervisor in baggage handling about this case and compensation. She told me I have to send an email, which I had already done days ago.

She gave me some chocolate and said they get customers’ complaints all the time and do their best to help and respond, but the back-up system by the airline is not there.

It’s all about a giant non-caring anonymous machine.

I extend my apologies to Patricia Dzai from Swissport, as I now understand she was also a victim of shortcomings created by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Patricia Dzai is the eTN Hero for today.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Allegiant Air to offer scheduled service to Mexico

by

Allegiant Air today filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to offer scheduled service between the United States and Mexico.

Allegiant Air currently serves more than 450 domestic routes. This will be the company’s initial venture into scheduled international service.

“Unlike other U.S. carriers, Allegiant has always been laser-focused on leisure travel and providing access to affordable, non-stop flights for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to go on vacation,” said Maury Gallagher, Allegiant chairman and chief executive officer. “Offering service to Mexico will provide a whole new array of options for travelers to discover world-class destinations that may have been previously out of reach.”

“We believe that providing scheduled service to Mexico will also be of great economic benefit, by stimulating traffic and providing additional competition in the international leisure market,” he continued. “It will not only bring exceptional value to travelers, but will also enhance both tourism and business impact in the communities we serve.”

The DOT application is the first step in the process for Allegiant to begin scheduled service to Mexico. Projected dates and locations for commencement of service will be announced at later dates as the process moves forward.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Delta Air Lines offsets most carbon emissions for over 300K customers on Earth Day

by

In celebration of Earth Day today, Delta is offsetting the emissions of all domestic leisure and business travel into and out of New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Raleigh-Durham and Atlanta for over 300,000 customers across the country.

Plantable seed paper cutouts shaped like airplanes will be distributed on these selected flights to let customers know the environmental impact of their flight has been offset and inspire them to offset additional travel on delta.com/co2. Once planted, this special paper airplane will sprout non-invasive wildflowers.

“Delta led the U.S. aviation industry by launching the first carbon offset program in 2007, making it easy for customers to reduce the environmental impact of their travel,” said John Laughter, Senior Vice President – Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance. “Delta is also the only major airline to voluntarily cap carbon emissions at 2012 levels by purchasing carbon offsets.”

Since 2013, Delta has voluntarily purchased over 12 million carbon offsets, which is equivalent to the emissions from 1.7 million cars or electricity use for one year in nearly 2 million homes. This is more than any other U.S. airline. Today alone, Delta will buy almost 50,000 carbon offsets. To put this in perspective, 50,000 offsets will equal the emissions from more than 10,000 cars driven for one year.

Delta’s carbon offsets to benefit Conservation Coast project in Guatemala

Every offset Delta purchases today will benefit the Conservation Coast offset project, which provides environmental protection from deforestation and sustainable livelihood opportunities for communities in Guatemala. These offsets will help conserve over 400 bird species and 54,000 hectares of threatened rainforests situated along the Caribbean coastline of Guatemala.

The Conservation Coast project also supports sustainable livelihoods within local communities by teaching things like economically viable and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices that work with the environment rather than against it. To date, over 700 jobs are being supported by the project, 30 percent of which are held by women.

“At Delta, we believe connecting the world begins with caring for it,” said Laughter. “The offset projects we support are holistic, going beyond addressing the environmental impact of travel to provide resources, empowerment and financial opportunities to underserved communities like those involved in the Conservation Coast project.”
Offsetting is affordable. A roundtrip ticket from Atlanta to New York emits 0.28 metric tons of CO2, which can be offset for less than $5.

These offsetting efforts and more are why Delta was honored the Vision For America Award by Keep America Beautiful in 2017, recognized with Captain Planet Foundation’s Superhero Corporate Award in 2018, named to the FTSE4Good Index for four consecutive years, included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for eight consecutive years, given an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards and named one of America’s 100 most sustainable companies according to an in-depth Barron’s study.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Boat Charter Policy private stakeholder consultative meeting

by

A consultative meeting with private sector stakeholders to discuss the revision of the tourism Boat Charter Policy was held on the 5th April 2019 at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS).

The Meeting was chaired by the Principal Secretary for Tourism Mrs. Anne Lafortune and in attendance was the Director for Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Mrs. Bernice Senaratne, Director for Standards and Monitoring, Mr. Louis Desnousse, relevant government agencies and boat charter operators.

The aim of the consultation meeting was to present and discuss the proposed amended Boat charter policy which dates back to 2008 in order to collect the views and recommendations of the private sector, mainly boat charter operators who will need to abide by this policy.

During the meeting, it was unanimously agreed that Boat Charter businesses should be reserved to Seychellois including all assets.  The operators highlighted that by not allowing leasing of capital assets from foreigners, the charter businesses will remain free from foreign involvements. The Principal Secretary also assured the meeting that all 300 registered Boat Charter businesses are fully owned by Seychellois as per the Tourism Department’s records.

One of the main concerns raised by the Boat Charter Operators during the meeting was regarding the availability of qualified and skilled labour. According to the operators, graduates who qualify under ‘My first Job scheme’ do not have the required skills and training for the job. The Assistant Director of the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA), Captain Wilton Ernesta also present during the meeting explained that the Academy provides the necessary training for maritime based operations and as of this year they have adopted a new strategy to recruit and produce quality students as opposed to quantity by the year 2020.

The boat charter policy comprised of 11 policy statements which include ownership and investment in the charter business, Fleet size, Qualifications required, Conditions of Licence, Standards to be maintained, Environmental actions, Preservation of the Environment, Operators subjected to Integration policy , Information to be submitted to the relevant Authorities, Non-compliance and Emergency and Evacuation procedures.

The main recommendations submitted by the operators in the meeting were regarding the preservation of the environment statement, whereby they emphasized on the need for better infrastructure and facilities to support this policy. The example of introducing a black water pump out system for the disposal of waste was given in view that currently waste is being disposed in the sea. They will be unable to implement the policy requirements without the proper infrastructure in place. It was also recommended that a Boat charter association should be set up to facilitate dialogue and support the operators and the different activities of this sector.

The Tourism department will be taking into consideration all comments and issues raised during the meeting. The proposed draft will be amended and presented to the stakeholders in a follow up validation workshop.

Travel News | eTurboNews

New US Cuban sanctions target tourism, remittances and banking

by

The US is targeting Cuba with additional sanctions, including restricting travel to the island nation, limiting remittances, and sanctioning additional entities, White House national security adviser John Bolton said.

US citizens sending remittances to Cuba will be limited t $1,000 per person per quarter, Bolton said on Wednesday. Non-family travel will be restricted to reduce “veiled tourism” that benefits the Cuban government and military, he added.

“Through the Treasury Department, we will also implement changes to end the use of ‘U-turn transactions,’ which allow the regime to circumvent sanctions and obtain access to hard currency and the US banking system,” Bolton said in a speech to veterans of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, when Cuban exiles tried to overthrow Fidel Castro’s regime.

The move comes a day after the White House announced it would stop issuing waivers on implementing the Helms-Burton law, which would penalize anyone in the world who did business with Cuban entities using property seized from US owners following the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Treasury has not officially announced the new sanctions, but Bolton said five entities will be added to the Cuban blacklist, including the military-owned airline Aerogaviota.

The US cut diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961, and over the following decades imposed a wide range of sanctions on the island nation, just 90 miles south of Florida. Former president Barack Obama sought to soften the US policy in 2015, leading to the reopening of the US and Cuban embassies and loosening of travel restrictions.

In June 2017, however, Trump rolled back all of Obama’s changes, returning to a hardline policy on Cuba. Additional sanctions were introduced this year, as Trump administration has accused Cuba of and its military of occupying Venezuela and helping Nicolas Maduro’s regime to stay in power.

Travel News | eTurboNews

How does India travel? Let us count the 94 billion ways

by

Bain & Company and Google India are together launching a report on “How Does India Travel.” According to the report, the Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018 on around 2 billion domestic and international trips. This has helped the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale, and the momentum is expected to continue with the industry growing at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report.

Fueled by digital, Indian travelers are expected to spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next 3 years. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey, and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses until 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing.  The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travelers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalized marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorized each against their online research behavior:

  • Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.
  • Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.
  • Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online. and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.
  • Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.
  • Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

However, challenges remain in meeting the expectations of these travelers. Customers perceive online channels geared towards premium cohorts (frequent flyer and experience-oriented traveler), while mass cohorts, with $55 billion in spending, remain underpenetrated. There are about 160 million non-transacting active Internet users in India with only 5 percent of online travelers from Tier-2 or Tier-3 cities. There is a significant (20 percent) difference between the booking rates of premium cohorts and mass cohorts, the latter being also dissatisfied with online channels (~33 percent satisfied) vs. premium cohorts (~42 percent). The second challenge is in penetrating existing users who exhibit a marked distrust in use of online channels to make bookings, especially around payment and pricing terms and booking experience compared with offline channels. Consequently, their online usage drops between the research (>86 percent online influence) and booking phases (~40 percent offline bookings).

How travel businesses need to adapt to the needs of online consumers

The report cites five major shifts that marketers need to make to market to the online travelers – First, alleviate consumer concerns by improving the booking and payment experience to build a trusted brand and increase adoption. Second, they need to address the negative customer perception issues by mass customization to drive higher share in the segment. They also need to utilize consumer technology to penetrate mass segments (standardize, enable sharing), reach non-transactors (build offline presence), and create new user access.  Moreover, they need to find innovative and frugal ways to package the experience to increase both adoption and retention.  Finally, they need to create a robust digital backend to adapt to customer needs across the purchase journey.

“The contribution of travel and tourism’s spend in India has reached developed market levels, from 6.7percent of GDP in 2013 to 9.4 percent in 2018. This growth, combined with a rapidly growing internet user base and adoption of online bookings will lead to $24 billion in incremental revenues through online channels by 2021. In order to benefit from this trend, businesses need to actively increase new user adoption and increase penetration in the existing user base across the purchase journey.” Joydeep Bhattacharya, partner Bain & Company said.

Travel News | eTurboNews

California-based Surf Air eyes profitability in 2019

by

A turbulent year for Surf Air has finally come to an end. Exciting recent updates have already resulted in massive improvements to its scheduled service and membership growth.

A recent lawsuit against Encompass Aviation, its former flight operating partner, has been settled. Under the terms of the settlement, Surf Air has regained full access to its entire fleet of branded Pilatus PC-12s, an unfortunate consequence of negotiations that caused severe disruptions to the company.

“By doubling down on our most popular routes and eliminating non-core flying we have proven route profitability and that the fundamental business model works. Our plan for 2019 is to continue to invest further into these core markets and expand access to Surf Air through new, more flexible membership product offerings,” says Surf Air Chairman & CEO Sudhin Shahani.

Recent Club Updates:

A Robust Core Schedule

Surf Air has rebuilt a core schedule and added more flights across its most important routes: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Lake Tahoe. The company will continue to add flights as it continues to acquire more members.

The company will also add back leisure weekend destinations as it makes sense (Las Vegas, Napa, Monterey, and Palm Springs).

Best-in-Class Reliability

With the help of Advanced Air, the company’s current third-party flight operator and long-time partner, they’ve restored operational reliability to its former best-in-industry levels of over 90% completion factor.

“Advanced Air has been a critical partner during this transitional period. With their proven professional and safety record, they’re the perfect, value-aligned partner to continue to scale our business,” says Sudhin Shahani.

Flexible, Per-Seat Membership

Perhaps Surf Air’s most promising opportunities for scaling membership growth is the new Express membership, allowing flyers to buy and fly on a per-seat basis. Meaning, for the first time, less frequent flyers can enjoy the time-savings benefits of zero hassle air travel.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Twinsburg hosts largest annual gathering of twins in the world

by

The 2019 Twins Days Festival will be held in Twinsburg, Ohio on August 3rd and 4th. This annual international event is recorded as the “Largest Annual Gathering of Twins in the World” by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Located 25 miles southeast of Cleveland, Twinsburg plays host to thousands of twins from all over the world. Non-twins are also welcome.

The theme of this year’s festival is “Home for the Holidays.” For many twins and multiples, Twins Days has become, in a sense, its own holiday. It’s a special time each year when twins gather together with friends and family to celebrate the special bond twins share. This year’s theme encourages everyone to celebrate and dress up for their favorite holidays!

Saturday morning kicks off with the “Double Take” parade. Activities during the day will include twins contests, twins talent show; twins research area, twins group photo, entertainment, arts & crafts and twin related/sponsored booths, small amusement rides and games, and a spectacular fireworks show. Also available are food concessions and official souvenirs Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday morning’s activities include the Twins Days 5K Run and Fun Walk benefitting the Melanoma Education Initiative. During the day the activities will be the same as Saturday’s with the exception of the parade and fireworks.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Wings Travel Management Appoints Chief Operating Officer: Asia Pacific based in Singapore

by

Wings Travel Management , a leading global travel management company providing business travel services to clients in the finance, construction, security, energy and marine sectors, has appointed Sonja Hamman to the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer – Asia Pacific, based at the company’s office in Singapore. The move reflects the importance of the region and its potential for growth, since Wings established an operation in Singapore in early 2018 after acquiring Olympia Travels & Tours.

Sonja Hamman first joined Wings in 2001, and her impressive 18-year career with the global travel management company has spanned diverse operational, senior management and project-led roles in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria and Angola.

Most recently, she has held the London-based position of Director of Global Strategic Partners & Yield Management during which time she has been instrumental in expanding Wings global supplier relations portfolio, focussing on supplier negotiations, NDC solutions and content..

Prior to this role, Hamman was Director of Global Projects, managing major initiatives such as the launching the Wings’ wholly-owned operation in Lagos, Nigeria; the acquisition and integration of Michelle’s Travel in South Africa; and establishment of Wings’ IATA and ticketing functionality in Angola – a non BSP region.

Her robust understanding and experience of Wings’ business has also been honed by setting up the company’s UK operation in 2002 in the role of Director – Operations – UK & Europe. This was Wings’ first office outside South Africa, where the company was founded in 1992. Hamman grew the UK business from the ground up, to a total of three offices. From here she moved to become Director – Oil & Gas Division with the remit to grow and expand Wings’ global energy business. While in this role, she also worked closely with the company’s Learning and Development team to establish the Energy Academy™, a unique in-house educational programme giving Wings’ travel consultants an in-depth understanding of how the oil and gas sector operates, in order to service their clients more insightfully.

“I am delighted that Sonja has taken up this strategic role – her extensive experience in opening and operating new regions coupled with her Wings DNA, places her as the perfect candidate to consolidate our operations in Singapore, and build a platform to grow our business in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Tony Sofianos, CEO, Wings Travel Management

“Wings is strategically and uniquely positioned to service existing global customers, but also capitalise on the growth opportunities across the corporate, energy and marine sectors thanks to our unique value proposition and wholly owned global operations” added Sofianos

Sonja Hamman stated: “I am very pleased to be joining Wings’ Asia-Pacific region as it’s such an exciting market with many opportunities. As well as ensuring the Wings brand becomes a recognised market leader in Singapore, I also look forward to driving the development and execution of our growth strategy for Asia-Pacific.”

About Wings Travel Management:

Wings is an award-winning global travel management company which has carved a niche in the market as a trusted travel provider for clients in the finance, construction, security, energy and marine sectors where travel is an integral part of their business model. Founded in 1992, Wings’ global reach spans North America, South America, UK/Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where the company has wholly owned and managed regional offices. Wings Travel Management employs over 400 people around the world and has a global turnover of around US$325M. Wings is known for its unique expertise in navigating complex and challenging business travel, as well as generating cost savings without compromising on traveller safety. The company’s advanced, customizable technology solutions are all seamlessly accessible over a standardized global platform. www.wings.travel

Travel News | eTurboNews

GCC produces 1.8 million overnight stays in Germany during 2018

by

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has announced that it will be showcasing a range of key destinations at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 28th April to 1st May.

Participants from Germany partnering with the GNTB this year include the ‘Hotel Palace Berlin’; ‘Frankfurt Tourist and Congress Board’; ‘Baden-Baden Tourism Board’; ‘OUTLETCITY METZINGEN’, the State Tourist Board SouthWest-Germany (Baden-Württemberg Tourismus) and the Black Forest Highlands (Hochschwarzwald Tourismus).

The GNTB’s tourism partners covering local tourist boards, luxury hotels, hospitality, retail, spas and theme parks, each has its own unique proposition, whether spring, summer, autumn or winter, emphasising that Germany is a diverse and unique all year-round travel destination.

Underscoring the relevance of ATM to ‘Destination Germany’, Sigrid de Mazieres, Director for the Gulf countries at the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), an affiliate of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), commented:

“ATM presents us with an ideal opportunity to showcase our wide-ranging tourism offering from dynamic cities to breathtaking countryside with fairytale castles, lush forests and mountains. In addition, there are great family attractions, excellent shopping centres and superb sightseeing opportunities – visitors will be fascinated by the incredible diversity that Germany has to offer.”

The GCC market is Germany’s third-largest non-European source market behind China and the US and is important for Germany. GCC travellers tend to stay an average of 11 nights and spend on average $5,300 per person per trip, significantly more than other international travellers.

According to the latest forecast from the GNTB, GCC nationals visiting Germany are expected to grow to 3.6 million overnight stays by 2030, compared with 1.8 million guest nights from Gulf nationals recorded in 2018, with key markets being UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The forecast increase is being attributed to the collective efforts of all German Tourism stakeholders identifying and accommodating the travel requirements of GCC nationals, not to mention the excellent connectivity provided through flights from the GCC to Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Berlin. In Germany’s hospitality and retail sectors, it is common to meet Arabic speaking staff, familiar with Islamic culture and tradition. Hotels offer copies of the Quran and prayer mats on demand, connecting family rooms, plus restaurants serving halal food are easy to find.

Germany’s attraction as a destination of choice for tourists, is further illustrated by the number of visitors recorded in 2018. Last year, Germany’s inbound tourism figures reached record levels for the ninth year in a row. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, there were 88 million international overnight stays recorded (in accommodation establishments with at least ten beds) – an increase of 5% compared with 2017.

According to IPK World Travel Monitor’s annual survey, in 2017, Germany was the top ranked country among European tourists for cultural trips and with 13.1 million inbound business travellers from Europe, it ranked number one as a business destination in 2018.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) will be at ATM 2019 stand no. EU5930.

 

Travel News | eTurboNews