What is your role as Director of Destination Management in Asia?
We have three regional management offices handled by four destination managers in Germany. As Director of Destination Management Asia, my jurisdiction is from Saudi Arabia to Australia. We have offices in Dubai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Sydney and a P.R. representative in South Africa. Our main office is in Tokyo. Six years ago, we also had a representative office in South Africa, but now we only maintain a press agency over there.

My role is to guide and support these offices regarding marketing strategies, budget allocation and discussing how to best promote Germany in the area. The offices which have minimal staff such as Dubai or Delhi receive more support from my end. I support our representatives with whatever they need. I am the liaison between these offices and our partners in Germany.

There are two sides to my role. The first is to encourage the promotion of Germany in India amongst tour operators and other representatives. The second is to liaise with our partners in Germany to address issues such as training requirements and product development. I do many presentations, which are either about India in Germany or about Germany in India. This is definitely one of the most interesting jobs you can have.

What is the size of the tourism market from Asia to Germany? What are the expectations from India and Asia in the near future?
Firstly, 75% of tourists visiting Germany come from Europe. Of the remainder, 10% is from Asia and 10% is from the Americas. India and China are the two main future markets that have the biggest potential for development in the near future.

In terms of international tourism to Germany, the leader is the United States, followed by Japan and China. With approximately 400000 overnights in 2008, India is in fourth place. For the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), India is absolutely a strong future market. We are predicting that by 2015, India will register over a million overnights in Germany. This is why we have assembled the India Pool Partners, which is globally the first initiative of its kind.

Germany is primarily viewed as a trade fair destination, as opposed to a tourism destination. How do you plan to expand that image?
For our India Pool Partners, we conduct an Activity Week, wherein we visit at least 3 to 5 travel agents every day. During these meetings we spend a significant amount of time with them to present our ideas and understand what they require from us to help promote Germany in a better way.

The response has been fabulous. People are interested in visiting Germany as a solo destination or as part of a larger itinerary across Europe. These are the initiatives we are trying to encourage. During this activity week, we also conduct one exclusive night for select tour operators. We discuss in a more in-depth manner the steps to promote Germany as a leisure destination. Besides Mumbai, we also visit Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi. Regardless of the forum, support from our end is comprehensive in terms of content, activities and knowledge. Our website has more than 3500 pages, which allows people to be aware of the countless experiences available in Germany.

What are the various experiences one can look forward to in Germany?
Let me try to address this question from a different perspective. As a destination, history and culture are the main strengths of Germany. Germany is the most culturally rich destination in Europe, perhaps only behind France. The German National Tourist Board however, does not do destination marketing. We instead focus on theme marketing. This concept leads us to one new theme every year, which comes to the forefront as the main theme ahead of other themes. We create one theme for the year and we continue with this theme as we create other themes for subsequent years.

For example, we currently have “Active Holidays” as a theme for 2009.

We have 16 states and in each of them, we have castles, parks and gardens. If we had to promote destinations, then we would have to promote each aspect 16 times. An activity such as mountain biking can be done in over 80% of the country. Golf, for example, can be played throughout Germany. We have more than 650 golf courses. With green fees starting from 35 Euros, we also have the cheapest green fees in Europe. We have two main marketing components. One is culture which also includes events and city tourism. The other is nature and health care. With “Active Holidays” as the theme this year, next year we will have a cultural theme as the Ruhr area will be a European Capital of Culture in 2010. We change them every year.

Under these main themes, we cater to the categories you mentioned such as honeymooners, families, spa holidays and so on. This is our organisational model and this is how we promote Germany with our partners. The partners follow these guidelines but they also promote their own destination. For example, Bavaria is promoting its natural landscape and Alpine area, as well as promoting art, sports, health care and so on. The partners implement the theme in their own way using their own resources. As the overseeing tourism board, we are only concerned with theme marketing.

Which are the special events-based tourism opportunities that would appeal to the Indian traveller?
Germany is home to more than 3 million events every year. From music to wine to food, these festivals cover countless interests and themes, some of which are the biggest in the world. Some of the music and cultural festivals continue for 3 to 4 months throughout the summer. Germany offers much more than just Okotberfest.

If you visit the website of the German National Tourist Board, you will find the most comprehensive list of events for international markets. Regardless of the region and time of year you are visiting, you are certain to experience the local festivities. People from all over the world visit Germany specifically for such events. An Indian traveller is sure to find something worth experiencing. For example, you can experience Christmas in a new light by visiting the famous Christmas Markets of Nuremberg or Dresden. Even Berlin itself has approximately 65 Christmas Markets.

What are the different themed routes of Germany and how did they evolve?
The first themed route was the Alpine Road which was founded in 1921. The Romantic Road was founded towards the end of the 1940s. There is cooperation amongst partners along these routes depending on the theme. The Romantic Road for example is based on a route through ancient cities. The Fairy Tale Road is based on locations described in the famous historical fairy tales. There is also the Goethe Road which is based on the places where Goethe – an influential German writer - lived and visited.

With this concept, local partners can combine tourism highlights under one route and sell this as a single unit. We feel that for novice visitors to Germany, these routes allow for easy travelling and experiencing much of Germany under a particular theme. The infrastructure of these routes is maintained as each route has its own business centre. We have approximately 160 different routes in Germany. Information of about fifty of the more popular routes can be viewed on our website. 

Which are the GNTB's key areas of focus in 2009?
20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; Theme for 2009 – “Active lifestyle holidays – walking and cycling in Germany.” The 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall is our press theme for 2009. “Active lifestyle holidays – walking and cycling in Germany” is our marketing theme. In light of recent economic events however, we have been promoting a different theme, which we believe is the most important - value for money. This is a global initiative for the German National Tourist Board and accordingly one of the main themes for India in 2009 as well. We focus heavily on families, honeymooners, groups as well as individual travellers.

How long have you been with GNTB? How has tourism in Germany evolved since then?
I have been with the GNTB for 32 years. I started in 1978 where I was involved with national exhibitions. I then moved onto a department where we contracted hotels for different programmes. This involved much travelling as I had to check and confirm contracts. I did this until 1995 after which I changed my focus to product management. I became heavily involved with many products and themes like sustainable tourism and handicap tourism. I was the founding member of numerous boards and committees regarding these types of tourism. I moved over to destination management in 2000.

Germany has evolved much as a tourism destination during my tenure. We evolved from destination marketing and image marketing in the 1970s to product management and theme marketing today. This has been a significant change. We have been much more pro-active in marketing Germany as a tourism destination, especially in the last 10 years.

What is your reason for coming to India? What has your experience of India been so far?
Establishing the India Pool is our reason for coming to India. We are here to promote, expand and create a network for the partners of the India Pool. The India Pool is the first initiative of its kind and we are currently only focusing on India. This is a very exclusive venture. My experience of India has only strengthened my belief that it is a future market with the highest potential for growth.

What are your favourite leisure destinations in Germany and in India?
Unfortunately, my experience of India has not been as ample as I would like. We visit India for a week at a time and the majority of our perspective is through the window of a car. I have not experienced enough of India, especially in the areas renowned for vacationing. I have only visited Delhi and Mumbai so far. I have seen numerous pictures of southern India which fascinate me. The pictures are fantastic, but no personal experiences as yet.

In Germany, I am an absolute fan of the northern region. I love the sea, the lifestyle and food of the north. I love Hamburg. Even during the winter, taking a walk along the beach with the fresh chilled air is the best feeling. At the same time however, I also like to go to skiing in the Alps. I currently live in Frankfurt which is 10 minutes from the Rhine region. This is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Germany truly offers the best of all experiences.

Lastly, what is your message to the readers?
There are 16 different states and 16 different cultures, dialects and cuisines. Even within the states themselves, there is a vast difference in cuisine. For example, the cuisine of northern Bavaria is totally different from the cuisine of southern Bavaria. This diversity is most appealing to our visitors as well as to locals, especially as it is all within a comparatively small area – 1000 kilometres from north to south and 650 kilometres from east to west.

Germany is a very small country located in the heart of Europe but it is also very unusual because with every 5 kilometres, you have a different landscape or culture to experience. With every step, you are compelled to stop and appreciate your surroundings.

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