The positive effect of Germany’s hosting of the World Cup in 2006 seems to be never-ending, Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Office DZT, told the media at ITB on Wednesday. In 2010, Germany proved more popular than ever, surpassing most other European countries.
“We welcomed 11% more tourists last year, the equivalent of 26.9 million arrivals, while overnights topped the 60-million mark fort the first time ever, up 10%. And in Europe, we became the second most popular travel destination last year. Thanks to 40 million trips by Europeans to Germany, we became the second most visited country after Spain, pushing France back into third position in the ranking,” Mrs Hedorfer said. The DZT head is already dreaming of the possibility of Germany close the gap with Spain – there is just 4 million arrivals in it now – or even ousting Spain from the top rank. While outbound markets in Poland and the UK declined respectively by 7% and 5% overall, and outbound travel from the Netherlands and Italy remained flat, those markets showed increases to Germany of 18%, 14%, 7% and 6%, respectively.
In terms of image, Germany ranked second among the top ten countries worldwide. The country is especially popular as a cultural destination but is also seen as a destination offering good value for money destination with consistent good quality in terms of product and services. In 2011, Germany will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and especially the 125th anniversary of the motor car with events and exhibitions planned in over 200 museums and attractions dedicated to the automobile as a leisure transport.
