Germany records 180% surge in Gulf visitors

Reuters/Michele Tantussi

The number of Gulf nationals visiting Germany rose 180 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2022, figures from the German National Tourist Board reveal.

GCC nationals accounted for more than 872,000 overnight stays from January to September, making the region Germany’s number one source market in Asia.

Although the figure was up from 311,000 visitors in 2021, it still represented a 34.5 percent drop on the pre-pandemic figures of 2019.

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The GNTB reported in May last year that it had increased its 2022 marketing budget in the Gulf after making savings by shutting down several of its international offices.

“We actually got a 10 percent budget increase because we unfortunately had to close our Russian office,” Yamina Sofo, director of sales and marketing for the GCC at the German National Tourist Office, an affiliate of the GNTB, said.

In November, Outletcity Metzingen, Europe’s largest luxury discount outlet mall, announced that it had signed a partnership to promote the destination to Gulf shoppers.

The shopping centre, which is located in the south of Germany about 30 minutes from Stuttgart, struck the deal with Dubai-based AVIAREPS Middle East to promote it to travellers and consumers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.