GCC travellers flock to Germany

Germany has seen a major increase in the number of Arab travellers, with overnight stays by GCC nationals  increasing by 16.4 percent during the first five months of 2010.  243,759 overnight stays were recorded over this period.

“Germany is the second most visited European country by travellers from the Arabian Gulf,” said Antje Roeding, director for the Gulf countries at the German National Tourist Office. “Germany has wonderful nature, picturesque towns, excellent hotels, high-class restaurants and varied shopping opportunities. Most importantly, we offer our guests from the GCC region our German hospitality, which shows itself both in the famous German quality of service as well as in the warmth of the welcome we extend to each and everyone who is visiting our nation,” she added.

Germany is now looking to target Arab guests over the Eid break, with special packages at luxury hotels that employ Arabic-speaking staff, offer special menus and even reserve entire floors for their regular visitors from the Gulf region. Many of Germany’s major cities also offer guidebooks in Arabic.