ກອງປະຊຸມຄະນະ ກຳ ມະການທີ່ປຶກສາດ້ານການທ່ອງທ່ຽວອາເມລິກາແຫ່ງຊາດເຢຍລະມັນ

The German National Tourism Board (DZT) once again invited top representatives of the travel industry from the US to the annual “Advisory Board Workshop”. In panels and individual talks, they exchanged viewpoints with about 80 representatives of Germany tourism, discussing supply and demand from an American point of view. 

The cooperation partners of the GNTO, Tourismus NRW, KölnTourismus, and Düsseldorf Tourismus, were the hosts of this years’ top-class event. 

Petra Hedorfer, Chair of the Board of the GNTB, explains, “The US is by far the most important overseas source market for German incoming tourism. In 2017, the number of overnight stays from the US rose by 8.8 percent year-over-year to 6.2 million. In the first seven months of this year, this dynamic development continues with a plus of 5.3 percent. With the concept of the Advisory Board Workshop, we offer German market participants an exclusive platform to obtain first-hand, up-to-date information on market-specific opportunities and trends in the travel trade industry in the US. At the same time, our American partners are in direct contact with travel vendors to develop tailor-made products for their customers.” 

Dr. Heike Döll-König, Managing Director of Tourismus NRW e.V., adds, “North Rhine-Westphalia offers US travelers a wealth of opportunities to experience Germany as a tourist destination. Accordingly, this source market has recorded continuous growth in our country in recent years. We see the Advisory Board Meeting as an excellent opportunity for our state to win more guests from the United States for NRW in the future.” 

The supporting program first informs the US travel managers about the cultural and touristic offers of the Rhine metropolises Düsseldorf and Cologne. Ole Friedrich, Managing Director of Düsseldorf Tourismus GmbH, states, “We take the opportunity to present our many different facets to US-American experts – with modern architecture and contemporary art, but also exclusive shopping possibilities and the typical way of life of the ‘Rhineland’.”

Stephanie Kleine Klausing, Procurator of KölnTourismus GmbH, adds, “Amongst other attractions, we offer a program including a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cologne Cathedral, the Chocolate Museum, and a ‘Time Travel’ through historic Cologne in a virtual reality format. During an evening cruise on the Rhine, our guests gain a distinctively contrasting perspective of the city, before resuming the workshop on the next day.”