The Ambassador of Germany to Qatar, Hans-Udo Muzel, speaking at the roadshow organised by the Embassy in collaboration with German National Tourist Office (GNTO) at Msheireb Properties on Sunday. Pic: Baher Amin/The Peninsula
The Ambassador of Germany to Qatar, Hans-Udo Muzel, has said that about 60,000 people from Qatar visit Germany in a year and according to the figure of visas issued by European Union countries this year, there is huge influx of tourists from Qatar.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a roadshow organised by the Embassy in collaboration with German National Tourist Office (GNTO) at Msheireb Properties on Sunday, the Ambassador said the event aimed at showing German travel agents the potential of tourism in Qatar.
“A huge cruise ship from Germany will dock at Doha Port by the beginning of next month to increase the tourism in both ways. If you travel Germany, you can travel freely to many European countries. We are heart of Europe. Germany is a well-known destination for business trip, tour, travel, trade fair and congress,” said Muzel.
He said that Germany is one of the main exporting countries worldwide. “Qatar is very much interlinked with Germany because of huge investment from Qatar which is about ¤30bn,” said the Ambassador. Speaking about the attraction of Germany for tourists from Qatar, Muzel said: “We have well-developed beautiful hotels, cities, shops, historic city center, world class medical services, best tourism destinations, sport training, horse riding and among many more.”
Attended by over 120 travel trade professionals and media representatives, the GNTO held a successful roadshow event in partnership with premium airline partner Qatar Airways in Doha, with the aim to promote Germany as a year-round travel destination and to share the country’s latest inbound tourism figures and forecast of the Gulf region.
The well-attended B2B event, which targeted key travel trade, media and key opinion leaders, was hosted at Msheireb Properties, Jelmood House, where the German Ambassador, Hans-Udo Muzel inaugurated the event with a welcome speech confirming the commitment to the local travel market.
Underscoring the relevance of Qatar and the Gulf region to ‘Destination Germany’, Nicole Zaspel, Sales & Marketing Manager for the Gulf countries at German National Tourist Office (GNTO), an affiliate of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), explained that travellers from the region are among the country’s highest spenders.
“Being Germany’s third-largest non-European source market after China and the USA, the Gulf region is an extremely important market for us, where its travellers currently stay an average of 11 nights and spend, on average, $5,300 per person per trip, significantly more than other international travellers,” said Zaspel
According to the latest forecast from the GNTB, Gulf region travelers visiting Germany are expected to grow to 3.6 million overnight stays by 2030, compared with 1.8 million guest nights recorded in 2018 with focused promotions of the country’s high-end resorts, shopping complexes, tour operating partners, medical tourism providers as well as excellent connectivity provided through direct flights to various German cities.
Qatar Airways Vice President of Doha Sales, Martha Paulos said: “Germany is one of Qatar Airways’ most important markets for both business and leisure travellers alike. As premium airline partner of the GNTO, we are committed to strengthening our strategic and commercial links with Germany and this roadshow has provided the perfect platform to engage in a fruitful trade and knowledge exchange between our two nations.
“Through our 35 flights per week from Doha to Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart, we have incredible connectivity to Germany and offer travellers an unrivalled experience with our renowned five-star customer service.”
